Page 93 of Corpse Roads

“He’s busy.”

“Braiding Brooklyn’s fucking hair and playing happy families?” I snort, swigging more coffee. “Give it up already.”

“I am home,” Theo snaps. “This is it, right here. The house has nothing but bad memories and people I have no interest in seeing.”

The truth is a bitter pill to swallow. I stare into the depths of my black coffee, trying to remember a time when Theo last smiled.

“Including me?” I ask pointedly.

The harsh bark of my voice causes him to wince. I’m so sick of being treated like a stranger by someone I once considered my brother. This has gone on for too long.

We’ve fought together. Lost together. Grieved together. Does our history mean nothing to him? He abandoned the family we spilled blood to protect.

“This isn’t what Alyssa would’ve wanted,” I add, too tired to dance around it any longer. “You know that.”

“How would I know that?” He slams a hand down. “She’s dead, Enz. Alyssa can’t give a fuck about us anymore. She’s gone.”

“You have to let go. We can’t live in the past.” My voice catches. “It won’t bring her back to us.”

“I’ll do whatever the hell I want.”

“And how’s that working for you?”

“Better than this crappy act you’re all putting on,” he lashes out. “It’s pathetic. Did you even care about her at all?”

“Enough!”

Hunter’s furious growl stops us both as he strides into the office. He looks rested, his clothes clean and ironed. Fucking asshole.

“What are you two doing?” he demands, pouring himself the world’s largest cup of tea. “Bickering like children when we have more important matters to discuss. What’s gotten into you?”

I jab a finger at him. “Don’t act all clueless, Hunt. We’ve been sat in this office for days, doing all the goddamn legwork.”

“Leave it,” Theo mumbles. “It’s not worth it.”

“No, I won’t. He needs to take some responsibility for the state you’re in, Theo.”

“If you have a problem, tell me.” Hunter levels me a glare over his cup. “We’re all adults here. I can’t run a business if the pair of you aren’t on point.”

Slamming his laptop shut, Theo stands and attempts to leave the room. Hunter grabs his shoulder before he can flee, as he always does.

“Where do you think you’re going? We have work to do.”

Theo grits his teeth. “I’m leaving.”

“This is your department.” Hunter gestures around the office. “Look how far we’ve come. We finally have leads.”

“Leads?” Theo scoffs. “Fucking leads? We have nothing! An office full of dead girls and a traumatised witness with no memories. This case has taken everything out of us.”

Pausing, Hunter looks at him. Actually looks. Not a cursory glance, or his usual emotionless dismissal. Theo stares back—drained, exhausted and at the end of his tether.

“We can’t let Harlow down,” Hunter says, shocking the hell out of me. “She needs us to catch these bastards. I won’t break my promise.”

Theo deflates. “I want to help her, Hunt. I really do. But we need more time, more resources. Hell, more evidence. This dickhead is a ghost. He’s too good.”

“More evidence? A girl is missing! We have eighteen dead bodies and firsthand fucking testimony. What more do you want?”

“I want my family back!” he explodes.

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