Sing, Canary - Ashley Amy Page 0,33

mentioned that, but Lyra looked puzzled. "Phone call? We were never offered one."

"All of you?" I asked her.

"Right. We were detained and then placed in cells immediately. Caine and I in one, and Axel and August in another."

"Who was the cop that brought you in?"

"Officer Dwight Livingston. A pompous dick that allowed Caine to trip me. He let go of my cuffs to allow me to fall."

"Livingston..." I let the name roll off my tongue. "I'll look into him."

As I spoke, I noticed Lyra not paying attention to me. Her eyes roamed over the highway picture where we found four of Gideon's victims.

"Highway 20... Mile marker 62," she whispered the data's details.

I let her have whatever moment she needed, seeing something click inside her little brain. Her fingers trembled, showing it wasn't a light detail.

"Tal?" she called.

"Yeah?" I moved closer to her.

"I know a man in here that was accused of killing his angelic wife two miles south of this... he never pled guilty, but he was found with her. There weren't any other suspects. Her grace had been stolen."

"You think the man is innocent?" I asked her. When Lyra got a thorn in her side, she'd battle Hell for people.

"I know he is. He vowed silence until her killer was brought to justice."

"If he vowed silence, how do you know any of this?"

"I'm his guardian, Tal. I am who he speaks to within his mind. If this is accurate, I believe Delilah may have been his first victim. My guess, she got free and ran. Men are sloppy with their first kill or their last."

"I'm not even going to ask how you know some of that."

"I'm the daughter of Armoni Stamos. I know far too much when it comes to death."

"I'm sorry, Lyra. I didn't mean..."

She placed a finger to my lips. "Tal, you have never purposefully hurt me. I know you never would. I would never hurt you by choice either."

She was so cute when she talked like this. Her little flair of sassiness had to be my new favorite thing.

"I take it you want me to look into this?" I nibbled on the tip of her finger resting near my mouth.

"I do. Roan has grace in him, Tal. It just isn't his wife's."

"How do you know?" I stopped being playful.

"He was in love with her. Demons can't love. Not until after they've been given grace. If he loved his wife..."

"Then he didn't kill her for her grace." I scrubbed my face. My ass should be working on her case, but I knew she'd never forgive me for leaving innocents locked away. "I will cross-reference the cases and see if there's something similar that could tie Gideon to it. I'll also question the little fucker. I need to figure out why they wanted Simone in prison."

"You're the best, Tal." Her arms came around my neck.

"Yeah, well, I'll have Simone out probably tomorrow with the mistake the courts made. They're likely to give her a settlement for having this big of an error in their paperwork. I'll keep her close to make sure she stays safe on the outside. I'm also going to see what cops were working all of these corresponding nights."

"Tal?" Lyra fidgeted with her fingers. I took her in my hold, closing the empty space between us. "I'm not sure how to say this, but I'm an honest person. I like Simone."

"I'm sure she's been a great friend to have in this place." I shrugged.

"No, like, I like her as more than a friend. I also like you as more than a friend." A ringing settled within my ears.

I thought for sure my competition was going to be Axel. Lyra's heart was always going to need more people to love. I also knew she'd do it fairly. With the right people, it could work.

"Does she know about us?" Even as I raised the question, I realized neither of us had defined what us was.

"She does. I told her before we got too intimate."

"Then we're fine."

"You're not mad?" She gaped at me. She lifted her neck to mask sure there was honesty in my stare.

I held her cheek against my palm. "You're an angel. I think you forget that most have more than one mate, Lyr."

Her arms moved to circle my middle as she breathed me in. I loved how she always wanted my smell.

"I love you, Talon." The words were soft but powerful.

Kissing the top of her head, I held onto her for a few breaths