Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,49

attention.

Hate raged in that bottomless gaze. Untapped, pitiless…hate.

The words turned to ash in my mouth. “I’m sorry,” I said, and glanced at Ruth. “That was uncalled for.” She was pale…and shaking, the brandy in her hand sloshing against the sides of her glass. Now I felt like a true bitch.

“Forget it,” she said, her tone wounded. “I expected nothing less from you, Carina.”

Jesus, I really knew how to fuck shit up. The look from Phantom said just as much. My heart thundered as disgust flared in the silver of his eyes. I felt it like a punch to the heart. I took a step toward her and caught the shake of Phantom’s gaze. Was he warning me, or protecting me?

I shifted uncomfortably. I wasn’t used to this…watching my words, caring what impact I had. My heart pounded in my chest and with each boom, a fresh wave of disgust spread through me. “We’ve gone out of our way to hurt each other, haven’t we?”

“I guess you could say that,” she answered. “Although for me, it was always in self-defense. I can no more apologize for what my family has done than I can change my DNA.”

Her words invaded me, driving home with a heavy thud in my chest. Heat rushed to my cheeks as she shifted her gaze to mine. Our energy collided. Opposite sides of the same coin, we’d danced around each other for what felt like an eternity. I’d chased and hounded. I’d done things I wasn’t proud of, narrowing in on her with a singleminded savagery. Had I been wrong to pin every dark and foul deed her family had ever done on her alone?

I’d never thought that before…so why now?

Because we’re now standing on the same fucking side. Heat carved through me. My throat thickened as I drained my glass and shrugged. “Well, look at that. I think that’s my cue to leave.”

I turned, scowling at the floor, and took a step.

“Wait,” Ruth called, stopping me.

But I didn’t turn, just focused on the floor while thoughts raced through my head.

“The image,” she started. “You said there was an image of the warehouse, the day your father was framed. Can you tell me about it?”

I spun then, fixing my gaze on her. There was genuine interest, more than just a passing exchange of information. She wanted to know more…was almost desperate to know more. Looked like I wasn’t the only one wanting to unearth the truth. Now wasn’t that a kicker…

I swallowed and steadied myself for unfamiliar territory before answering. “What do you want to know?”

14

This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Not between me…and Ruth Costello.

She just turned and paced, processing every scrap of information I’d gleaned from that one image.

“And you’re sure this Murphy had a contact?” she questioned, glancing my way.

“Someone was feeding him information,” I answered. “Someone who was either there, or knew someone who was. That kind of stuff isn’t freely passed around.”

“No, no, it’s not,” she mused.

Phantom and the Vampire watched us with nervous attention. It wasn’t like I was gonna throw her on the floor and arrest her…right?

“Could it have been someone on a case he’d been working on?”

I stilled, my mind working. “It could have been. I didn’t think to look at his previous cases.”

“If we cross-referenced, maybe we could find someone connected,” she suggested hopefully. “I know most of my father’s contacts…well, the ones he didn’t hide from me, that is.”

I swallowed hard. Working with Ruth. Never in a million fucking years had I ever thought. “I mean, it makes sense…”

Thud.

The sound came from behind me. I spun as a monstrous dark wave of terror slammed into me. I stumbled with the feeling, throwing my hand out as that thud came again and the Unseelie darkness inside me let out a shattering scream.

A shadow crashed into the room, falling through the open door. Blood…all I saw was blood as that scream of chaos inside me unleashed like a bomb. Panic rose, consuming, choking…unforgiving.

“Mojin?” Phantom roared and lunged, charging past me in a rush. “WHAT THE FUCK?”

“Hurrow!” Elithien roared. “Russell!”

The air quaked with brutal savagery that punched me in the chest.

“Attacked…” the Unseelie forced as he tried to sit up. Phantom was there, catching the Fae’s shoulders in one sweeping lunge. “I got you, buddy. I got—”

“No,” Mojin roared, and swiped his hands away, desperation etched in his gaze…“need to get to them.”

The male was a mess. His black shirt was reduced to nothing more than scraps that