I missed this more than I wanted to admit, having left the I.S. three years ago. Maybe this was why Ivy had returned to the I.S. as a consultant.
“Can I talk to Jacqueline? Maybe she doesn’t want to remember. If I’d tried to kill someone I loved, I’d want to forget that, too.”
Edden nodded as we dodged busy people on our way to the garage. “Sure. She’s been moved, so I’ll need some time to get the paperwork through.”
“Great.” I didn’t know when I would fit an interview at the hospital in, but Trent would understand if I had to take an hour out of our weekend. We could stop in on our way out to the golf course, or lunch, maybe. Get out of his compound and mingle. “I want to ask her about him cheating on her,” I said as we neared the back entrance. “Maybe he’s picked up the habit again.”
Edden’s long “Mmmm” snapped across me like a wet towel, and I eyed him. “Could be,” he finally said, and I frowned when he avoided my eyes. It was pretty obvious that someone was targeting couples, but why? Or maybe how? And, more important, who? “Can I have those back, please?” he added, his attention on the reports still in my grip.
He held out his hand, and I pulled them closer, grinning. “I need them,” I said, then sneezed, backing up more when Edden punctuated his “Bless you” with a grab for them. Dancing back, I tucked them under my arm so I could take out my phone and look at the time. It was eleven, straight up.
“Thanks for letting me interview Jack,” I said. “You don’t mind if I talk to Jenks about it, do you? He knows the damnedest things and might have an idea,” I added, and Edden nodded, looking pained. “Let me know when Jacqueline is available?” I asked, wondering if he was upset I wanted to bring Jenks into it, but jeez, he knew how to keep his mouth shut.
“You got it,” Edden said, lingering by the back door. “Ah, Rachel. One more thing.”
“If you wanted them back, you never should have given them to me.” I smiled, finding my keys as I walked backward to the door. Edden had said I could park in their garage, but the nearest slot had been someone’s reserved spot, and I knew I was pushing it.
“It’s not that,” he said, and I rocked to a halt, not liking his faint tells that something was wrong. “There are people, not me,” he said hesitantly, “who think the murders might be a demon having some fun.”
My smile vanished as if he’d socked me in my gut. Fun? “You’re serious, aren’t you?” I said, and he winced, making me even more angry.
“Could you ask around in your unique circle?” he said, his stance stiff. “See if you can find out which one of the demons is pitting couples against each other?”
Is? As in a foregone conclusion? Pissed, I stomped back and put a hand on my hip. “That’s the only reason you let me talk to Jack, isn’t it,” I said flatly.
“No,” he said, but the charm on my key fob had gone a muddy reddish green. “But it was how I got the okay to involve you,” he added, looking relieved when it shifted pure again.
“Well, isn’t that dandy,” I said, and he gave me a weak, uneasy smile. “It’s only been two months since the demons were freed to walk in reality at will, and the first time something crops up that you can’t easily find a cause for, both you and the I.S. blame the demons.”
He shrugged, and my hands stiffened into fists. No wonder Dali and Al were the only two demons living openly. Asshats. They were all asshats. “Thanks, Edden,” I said, turning to leave. “See you around. Do me a favor and tell Jacqueline for me that Jack says he loves her.”
“Jesus, Rachel,” Edden coaxed, but I was having none of it. “Don’t take this personally. You can’t deny that forcing couples to kill one another is demonic.”
I spun back around, frustrated with the way the world worked. I’d thought things might be different, but they weren’t. People only got better at hiding it. “You’re forgetting one thing,” I said as I took three steps back to Edden. He could have stood up for me, told them that they were wrong instead of asking me to spy on the demons with the