Shadow of Doubt - Hailey Edwards Page 0,81
concerned older sister. It had been a burner phone, a tripwire for me to stumble over. A concerned call from me would tip him off when the gig was up, and I fell for it. I had called, several times, clanging the frakking alarm bell until his ears must be ringing.
“That information is classified.” I hated I couldn’t give her more. “Trust me when I say those girls are in danger. They’ve had contact with a person of interest in multiple homicides, one who preys on women and girls.”
These had interacted with him, and that made them potential targets.
Ford, who had hung back while I questioned the girl, escorted me to the truck while I texted Bishop with my suspicions about Jessica.
“Bonnie didn’t tell us her son inherited her magic.” I chewed my bottom lip. “She’s protecting him.”
Gwyllgi born this side of Faerie didn’t have more than transformational magic. Crossbreeding them with wargs neutralized most of their gifts. Granted, I had never come across a first-generation hybrid. They might inherit more power, abilities that got bred out of their descendants as more warg blood joined the mix.
“Victims protect their abusers all the time.” Ford let a bit of growl enter his voice. “Doesn’t make it right, but it doesn’t make it uncommon either.”
“She took the first and second calls.” I drummed my fingers on my thigh. “She was playing corgi when the third call came in.” I replayed that sequence of events in my mind. “You and I were in the meeting with Ayla. She was pacing the doorway like a guard dog. I remember thinking it was cute. She ghosted once, but it couldn’t have been longer than a few minutes.”
“We would have heard if she shifted and had a conversation in the hall.”
“I didn’t keep an eye on her the whole time, did you?” I had been too focused on Ayla, on the danger her loose tongue represented to me. “Bonnie could have ducked into another office, made the call on their landline, and resumed her post.”
“You’re reaching.”
“Maybe,” I allowed, “but it’s possible.”
“The caller was male,” he reminded me. “Bonnie is…”
A fae, maybe. A shifter, definitely.
She had changed forms—and scents—multiple times. Right in front of us.
I was missing something, something vital. Jessica had cuddled Snowball, but Bonnie hadn’t said a word. She could have ended it there, right then, but she chose to play along. Maybe because she had played us all along.
Bishop couldn’t I told you so me with this just yet.
About to call Midas and warn him, I remembered why he wasn’t here. “Where did you say Midas went?”
“Fuck.” Ford punched the gas. “He’s with Bonnie.”
The reason why the charm Bonnie wore the day Midas found her bothered me so much hit me in a cold rush of understanding. Once again, I hadn’t been smart enough, fast enough, or clever enough to pull the big picture into focus in time.
Story of my life.
I had been so eager to derail the scent-charm conversation to protect my own hide, I missed the big picture. I let myself get hung up on how Midas knew she was an albino without following that lead to its logical conclusion—that he shouldn’t have known she was gwyllgi at all.
Midas discovered Bonnie while she was in her human form, but the charm she wore was meant to disguise her fae nature. Meaning she put herself in that hot room, guaranteeing he would smell her. She hadn’t slipped up, she had baited her hook and wiggled it in front of his nose until he bit.
No wonder Ambrose wanted to eat Bonnie up with a spoon. Charms as subtle as hers were top drawer.
“I’ll see what Bishop can do for us.” I dialed him up, explained the problem. “Well?”
“Give me a second.”
Multiple voices conversed in the background, the team pulling together to help us locate Midas.
“I see him,” Bishop said. “He took a Swyft to Historic Fourth Ward Park.”
Chest winding tighter, I gripped the phone. “See him or saw him?”
“Saw him, damn it. I’m hopping from camera to camera during the given timeframe.”
An apology threatened to pop out, but so did my lunch. “Anything?”
“Midas will be okay,” Bishop grated out between orders he hurled at the rest of the team. “He’s the next best thing to an alpha.”
Ford touched my thigh, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. “What?”
“He’s right.” He patted me. “Midas will be fine.”
“I don’t need soothing,” I snarled at them. “I need his location.”
“Got him,” Reece said into my ear,