you took it as something completely different than what I meant. You’re in a world where it’s not just humans and animals anymore, Raphael. You don’t get to go back to the life you thought you had. You’ve lost that humanity, not your fucking moral compass. That much is clear.” I waved a hand at him. “Then there’s the judgmental bullshit I’ve gotten about the shit going on. Sorry, but I don’t fucking need it or your concern, or anything else from you right now. Try to do something nice for once, and my life has fucking imploded, and my few friends are getting hurt.”
I stomped off, dealing with the conflicting feelings I had toward the note and the ache in my fangs. I went straight for Cassius’s office, knowing he would be there, but stopped short.
I thought I had decided on the drive back, but I stood there and realized I was a long way from making any sort of decision.
I could give away Raphael and get the information I needed to find who killed my family. Maybe. It would at least get rid of the fucking stress of having him around and the implications of him being here, in my space.
Or I could keep Raphael and hope to get a break in the case later.
With a heavy sigh, the ache in my fangs won. I opened the office door and walked in to find Cassius deep in papers, reading through stuff. At a glance, I realized it was the photos of the Mygi intel I copied from Sinclair.
“Sinclair showed up.”
His head popped up, his eyes narrow and suspicious, but also full of concern. When I didn’t say anything more, he got up and walked around his desk, grabbing my shoulders and looking me over.
“Are you hurt? Did he try to attack you?”
“No and no. We chatted. He figured I would go back to see if he left anything useful.”
“You chatted?” Cassius seemed confused, but I knew he was just processing. His mind was probably working out the thousands of ways the conversation could have gone.
“He offered me a deal. Not to my face. When I got back into the car to leave, after he left, there was this.” I fished the note out of my pocket and had to force myself to give it to Cassius. It was so hard showing it to him, knowing I was giving up on taking the trade the way Sinclair intended. If I wanted Sinclair’s information now, I was going to have to capture him and somehow get the information out of him, which could prove impossible.
Cassius read the note several times. I watched his eyes flick across it, his expression growing darker each time.
“Thank you for showing me this,” he whispered. “I know it was hard for you.”
“I had a chance to get rid of Raphael, so the other nagas wouldn’t expect me to become a breeder. I had the chance to get intel from Sinclair.”
“Do you honestly think he knows anything?” Cassius asked, almost disbelieving.
“You know I don’t leave stones unturned. That’s what gets me into trouble most of the time. I’m giving you this to stop me.” I needed someone rational. If it were just me, I would be questioning whether to take the deal until I was at the meeting place.
I knew I was willing to give up everything—Cassius, Carter, Paden, even Raphael, who could help me save my kind. I knew I needed one of my friends, the most powerful of them, to stop me from doing something terrible.
It’s finding justice for my family, though. Who passes up on an oppurtunity to do that?
“Adhar should stop trying to make you feel bad for not wanting to take that route in life,” Cassius whispered, stepping away from me. “He’s an ass for treating you like that.”
“It’s okay. He treats all the other male nagas like that too. We’re either having kids, or we’re doing it wrong.” I shrugged. “Either way, this is me making my choice and sticking with it. Does it surprise you that when I first saw it, I thought about not showing you?”
“I’ll never be surprised by your dedication…no, that’s not right. I’ll never be surprised by your obsession with finding out who killed your family.” He sounded sad, and that sadness leaked into his eyes.
“It sucks when the only thing you can bury is pieces,” I mumbled, looking away from him, thinking about the closet in my secure office. The few boxes I had