Page 76 of Captive Audience
His eyes met mine. “Niall’s room.”
His brother’s personal space that Rook hadn’t entered since his death.
He didn’t wait for my answer before turning and walking down the hallway. I went after him, pulse spiking forreasons I couldn’t name.
Rook opened the door and gestured for me to step inside. He didn’t follow.
“Aren’t you coming in?” I asked.
“I’ll stay here.” His voice was rough. “Just…look around. No rush.”
I turned back to the room, taking it in. It was large, tastefully furnished, and had its own en suite bathroom. The king-size bed was made, and the tan duvet and moss-green throw pillows were neat as a pin. Dust had settled on the shiny surfaces, and there were reminders of Rook’s dead brother everywhere. A half-read novel on the bedside table; a tray with cuff links, watches, and sunglasses atop a chest of drawers; and an acoustic guitar on a stand in the corner.
It was as if Niall had stepped out and never come back.
Rook hovered by the doorway, arms crossed tightly over his chest. “He was a neat freak. Took pride in everything he did. He loved this room. This apartment.”
I wandered deeper, exploring the books and photos on the shelves. Niall and Rook laughing with pints of Guinness in their hands. Another of them in boxing gloves at a gym. Rook looked lighter in the photos. Happier.
My chest squeezed. “I didn’t know you could smile like that.”
He cleared his throat. “That was before.”
I kept moving—opening drawers, peering in the closet. I wasn’t sure what I was looking for, only that if Niall had discovered something that had gotten him killed, maybe he’d left breadcrumbs here.
I rifled through a sock drawer, and my fingers brushed something hard. A small velvet box. Inside was a ring. An emerald flanked by two red hands.
“Rook.” I turned to face him. “This is almost the same as mine.”
He stepped forward, took one look, and stilled. “That’s a Beasts protection ring.”
“For wives?”
“Aye.” He nodded. “Sisters, daughters, and mothers, too. No one touches a woman wearing one of those.”
My heart beat faster. “Who do you think Niall was planning to give it to?”
Rook’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know. He didn’t have a girlfriend.”
I looked back at the ring. “Maybe there was someone. Someone he wanted to protect.”
Rook shook his head. “He would’ve told me.”
“He might not have if he thought you’d disapprove. Or it was new. Or complicated.”
He didn’t reply, but his jaw worked like he was grinding gravel between his teeth.
I slipped the ring back into the box and closed the lid. “Looks like I have a new mystery to solve.”
32
ROOK
The next afternoon, I was halfway to West Philly when Asha called.
“Wildfire?” I answered.
“I think I found something.”
