went into the house and has never come out."
I shrug, that's obvious enough. "How far back did you go?"
He groans. "I went as far back as it took for someone not to fucking leave the place. Crawford doesn’t shit where he eats, thank God, so it's not like I had to look for body bags either."
Aodhan pulls me further into his body, tucking me in close and burying his face into my neck while he tries to sleep through the phone call.
Just once I'd like to enjoy it rather than dealing with this bullshit.
"The only person who has gone in but not out was his brother, Bingley. The Butcher delivered him there four years ago and the pervert has never left."
Bingley.
Jesus H. Christ, could it have been him? I didn't get a good look at the guy, the smells and moaning were terrifying and I was too goddamn distracted by the murder board to get a proper photo of him, but... I mean, it could have been. Four years of captivity and if Atticus wasn't exactly taking care of him then it definitely could have been him.
Why the hell would he be keeping him down there?
The obvious answer is that Bing is a pedophile who was possibly worse than Randy and Holden in his depravity because he aimed his perversions at innocent children, but why not just kill him? If Atticus paid the Butcher to find him and bring him in then why not just get him taken care of in a more permanent way?
Obviously, Randy and Holden don't know that Atticus has him locked up, so he could have easily hidden his death. Illi has access to cannibals, for Christ's sake, they don't exactly leave much evidence behind!
I'm going to have to speak with him.
I don't want to but there's too many inconsistencies, too many variables, too many different scenarios that could be happening. He could be innocent.
As innocent as the Crow can be.
"Thank you, Jackson. As always your work is impeccable."
He huffs down the line at me. "Does this mean I'm off your shit list? I like breathing."
I hum at him, the same way Lips does when she's toying with people’s lives in her head and I swear I can hear him start to sweat. "You're awfully worried about what I think of you these days. Where has the snarky, sarcastic hacker asshole gone that we all know and tolerate?"
He's quiet for a second, only the beeping and whirring sounds of his computer to be heard. "I've got Viola to think about. She's only got me now that her family disowned her, and I've done a fuckload of bad shit in my time that might bite us in the ass. I can't have you sending the fucking Devil here to take me out."
Aodhan doesn't react at all, his breathing still even, so he's either asleep or didn't hear him. "I thought your bunker was bomb-proof? You've never worried about someone showing up before."
He lets out a shaky breath. "The Devil got in. Fuck knows how he did it, but he got in here the day he came calling about the Wolf. I haven't slept right since."
Chapter Four
When I finally fall asleep after a brief visit to the bathroom for a cleanup, I sleep right through until long after dark. My body clock is all out of order and I feel sick the moment my eyes open, groaning and searching in the bed for my phone.
I find Aodhan instead.
He’s awake, sitting up and on his phone, something I very rarely see him do with me around. The moment my hand touches him he glances over at me with a lazy smirk before leaning down and kissing me softly.
“Good evening, sleeping beauty.”
I frown at him, completely aware that I look like a mess in the mornings even when I can do my usual nightly routine, so I must be freaking hideous. “What’s the time? Why are you looking so… alive? I feel like death.”
He chuckles under his breath and strokes back my hair, far too sweet for me this early. Or late, I guess. “It’s almost midnight, Queenie. You were fucking out like a light. I had to switch your phone to silent because it’s been going crazy.”
When my eyes narrow at him, he holds up a hand. “I told Lips, Harley and Illi you were sleeping, so if it was an emergency, they’d have called me. Everyone else can fucking wait.”
It’s flawed logic but, again, sweet of him.
I go