Whispered Darkness by Jessica Sorensen Page 0,30

there’s a lot of kinds of drugs available in this town. There are even types of drugs hardly anyone has heard of.”

“Like that night kiss stuff?” I ask, and he nods. “How do these new drugs even end up here? Where do they come from?”

“That’s what Porter and I are looking into. We have some theories and ideas, but in order to get to the bottom of it, we’re going to have to go deeper into it.”

“Deeper into the drug world?” My stomach churns at the thought.

Sure, I was aware he was working as an informant, but tracking down people who are making illegal, weird drugs is beyond sketchy.

He nods. “We’ve established some connections, but it’s been pretty quiet for the last few days, which I guess is a good thing since the detective of the case has been pushing us to do some surveillance on Foster and Grey for now.”

I swallow thickly. “And what happens when you’re done looking into Foster and Grey?”

He lifts a shoulder. “Then we go back to working our way toward whoever’s running the operation.”

“It sounds dangerous.” My voice is laced with uneasiness.

“It is,” he says matter-of-factly, as if he’s not worried at all. “But it’s better than going to jail.”

“I know, but … aren’t you worried you’ll get hurt?”

He shrugs, once again not seeming to care. “Sure. But like I said, it’s better than going to jail.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” I whisper truthfully.

Harlynn, the liar, except apparently when I’m around him. Then I’m all about the truth.

“I probably won’t,” he states dismissively.

“No, I don’t want you to get hurt with any of this,” I repeat again, needing him to understand that this isn’t something dismissive. “Which is why I’m gonna track down Star and see what she knows about Beth, because I think that’s a start to solving Beth’s death.”

Wariness floods his features. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea … Star … when she’s strung out, she’s really unstable.”

“You let me go with her the other night,” I remind him.

“But you weren’t planning on giving her an interrogation the other night.”

I fiddle with the hem of his shirt, my knuckles grazing across his abdomen, making him shiver. “You can just go with me. Then I’ll be safe.” And it’ll also let me keep an eye on him. Or, more specifically, I’ll be certain he isn’t running around, spying on drug dealers.

Sure, I understand he has to do it, but that doesn’t mean I want him to.

Maybe there’s a way for him to get out of it. Of course, I’m not a lawyer, so I don’t know for certain. It seems plausible, though.

“I know we need to talk to her, and I’ll go with you,” he starts. “I’m just worried. Depending on what drugs she’s doing, she could react really badly to getting questioned. Plus, she might start wondering why we’re asking her about Beth and could think maybe we’re helping the police which, technically, I am, but not for that reason. Still … she might get suspicious and freak out.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” I say with a sigh. “I’ll just go by myself, then.”

He swiftly shakes his head. “No, please don’t. Just the idea of you going makes me uneasy. I was only saying that so that maybe we can plan out what we’re going to say and be careful with our words.”

“I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

“I won’t,” he attempts to assure me.

Concern still resides inside me, though.

“Where does she even live? And do you have a way of contacting her? Because I don’t.”

“I know where she’s staying. She doesn’t have a phone, so we’ll just have to go over there, maybe before we meet this Death person.”

“That sounds like a plan.” Though, not a foolproof one.

Maybe if I get some sleep, I’ll be able to come up with a better one. If I can even sleep after everything that just happened.

“I hope Beth is okay,” I utter quietly. “She gets on my nerves and everything, but what happened …” I shudder.

“I’m sure she’s okay,” he tries to comfort me, but doubt radiates from him.

Just like it does me.

The truth is that I’m worried about Beth. Just like I’m worried about myself and Kingsley.

If I don’t figure this out, are we going to end up like Beth? Sucked into a vortex that looks an awful lot like hell? I’d like to believe the answer is no, that I didn’t fight my way back to life