Chapter Eighteen
The next couple days passed by without incident. That is, as long as a kitchen fire doesn’t count as an incident. The night after Muccino’s, Quinn was determined to show Selena he, too, could make fancy meals like Chef Dante. He ended up burning the steak, as well as his right hand when he tried to put out the fire. It seemed like Quinn’s skills in the kitchen extended only to breakfast, so, like true New Yorkers, they called for delivery. That same night, they finally finished the last Lord of the Rings movie.
It became almost routine—Quinn took her to work first and picked her up, then they had dinner back at his place. Selena felt bad for leaving Evie alone, but Quinn assured her that her roommate was safe, especially if Connor was watching after her. Evie, on the other hand, didn’t seem to know about her shadow, so Selena kept quiet. It was better if she didn’t know anything more about the threats to Quinn’s life. She didn’t want to make her best friend panic.
Selena knew she should feel guilty, as her father was calling her at least once a day and had left her several voice messages. She hadn’t even listened to them as she wanted to put off the decision. The truth was, there was no decision. Leonard had made himself very clear, even without saying the words: Marry Jason or leave the coven. But the only thing she felt guilty about was not telling Quinn. Every day, it was a looming thought in her head, and she couldn’t stand lying to him. Because whatever was happening between them, it had gone way past a one-night stand. And if she didn’t handle it now, it would surely explode in her face.
But what was she to do? She had a duty to her coven and her family. And she wanted children, eventually. She would love her children, no matter what, even if they didn’t possess any power, but having some magic would surely shield them from the cruelty of other witches and warlocks.
She finally made a decision. When she was sure Quinn was safe, she would end things and accept Jason’s proposal. The thought brought a stabbing pain to her chest, but she didn’t have a choice. Quinn would never settle down with her anyway. He would tire of her eventually and then what? She would be the one left with her heart broken.
Her phone’s ring tone jolted her out of her thoughts. Without thinking, she picked it up, hoping it might be Quinn, even though it was too early. He usually called her in the middle of the day just to say hello and sometimes tease her with dirty talk. He once gave her a searing description of how he was going to tie her up and make her come with his tongue as she was watching over a senior’s book club.
“Isn’t it a little early for your three o’clock?” she asked in a seductive voice.
“Selena, what are you talking about?”
She cringed. “Uh, hey Alexis.” Her stepsister’s voice was like a cold ocean wave, crashing over her and zapping all thoughts of sex out of her head. “What’s up?”
“She’s so weird,” Alexis staged-whispered, probably to Katrina. “Selena, how are you?”
“I’m great.” She swallowed a gulp. “Just great.”
“So, I wanted to tell you, Katrina and I are coming to New York City,” she said in her nasal voice that made Selena want to poke her eardrums out with a chopstick.
Selena bit back a retort. “Oh, that’s nice.”
“We were thinking, we should totally hang out at Merlin’s,” Alexis continued. “It’s been ages since we’ve seen each other and Uncle Lucien.”
Selena snorted inwardly. Uncle Lucien hated Alexis and Katrina almost as much as she did, as he saw through their fake facades. But why would they invite her to 'hang out?’ Well, it was simple. They would never get through the door on their own. But if Selena were with them, Lucien would have no choice but to let them in. “I don’t know, I’m kind of busy these days …”
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Alexis said. “I was thinking you should bring your roommate, too. We were just over at your place, and we ran into her.”
Shit.
“And I’m sure father would be thrilled to know you’re not alone at home.”
Double shit. Technically, even if she didn't possess any magic, Selena was supposed to declare to the coven if she lived with anyone. However, she didn't want the coven looking into Evie's background because if they found out about her mom being a Lycan, well, the elders would not like that and could force her to evict Evie.
“Actually, I’m free tonight,” Selena said quickly. “Why don’t we meet at Merlin’s? Say, around eight p.m.?”
“Great,” Alexis exclaimed. “We’ll be there. See you at the door, Selena!”
As soon as Alexis hung up, Selena let out a groan. Fuck my life. She had a feeling Alexis and Katrina were going to cause a lot of trouble for her.
Crap, now she had to entertain her stepsisters. Maybe she could sneak them into Merlin’s and then slip out before they noticed, then get back to Quinn’s without him being any wiser. She bit her lip. She didn’t want to lie to Quinn, but she also didn’t want him to know where she was going and that her stepsisters were in town. If Alexis and Katrina even got a whiff of what was going on between her and Quinn … she didn’t even want to think about the consequences.
Her phone rang again, and she picked it up, relieved that it was Quinn this time. “Hey,” she said in a small voice.
“Hey, kitten, are you being a good girl?”
She laughed. “I’m getting ready for Storytime. Of course, I'm a good girl.”
He chuckled. “Three Little Pigs again?”
“No , Little Red Riding Hood.”
He let out a dramatic sigh. “Don’t you have stories where the wolf is the good guy?”
She laughed. “I’ll try to find one next time.” She bit her lip. Here goes nothing. “So, I was thinking, tonight …”
Quinn let out an unhappy sound. “Yeah, about that. I’m sorry, I gotta work late tonight. Sebastian’s put me on a case, and I’m dealing with this accident shit.”
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, hallelujah! “Oh, that’s too bad.” She tried to contain her relief.
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ll bring you home, and then I gotta go right back to the office.”
“Oh, no, don’t worry about me,” she insisted. “I can get home by myself. I have to go back to my apartment and pick up some clothes anyway.”
“Will be you with Evie? I’d feel safe then because I know Connor’s still tailing her.”
“No. I mean, yes, I could be.” An idea popped into her head. She took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t freak out at her next statement. “You know, I haven’t been much of a supportive friend to Evie. Her show premiered at Merlin’s the other week, and I haven’t seen it because you know … we’ve been busy.”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Very busy.”
“Anyway, I was thinking of heading over there with her. To Merlin’s. And there’s no place safer. Uncle Lucien has some pretty strong magical protections around the entire building.”
There was silence on the other end. “All right,” he finally said. “I suppose you could have a girls’ night out with Evie.” His voice dipped low to a sexy rumble. “Just remember who’s going to make you scream and moan after.”
She gave a nervous laugh. “I will. Anyway, I have to get ready for Storytime.”
“Fine. Make the wolf a little sympathetic this time, okay?”
“I’ll try,” she said wryly and then hung up.
Talk about great timing. This could work. She could get Alexis and Katrina in, get them a few drinks (she’d pay for them herself if that meant keeping them occupied) and then sneak out. Now, all she had to do was convince Evie to go with her, so it wouldn’t technically be a lie.
Nothing could go wrong, could it?
***
Quinn stretched his arms over his head and let out a groan. It was already dark outside, and he was all alone in the Lone Wolf Security office. Killian had gone home long ago and Connor, as usual, didn’t show up. Of course, he knew where Connor was—tailing Evie and Selena. Normally, he’d be uneasy leaving Selena alone, but he had complete faith that his brother would keep both women safe if anything happened. Besides, as far as he knew, his troubles weren’t connected to anything magical.
He let out a yawn. When had he eaten last? Hours ago, probably. But the good news was he was nearly done. Sebastian had been generous in letting him investigate the accident, but he wasn’t paying them to figure out their own shit. Creed Security was having trouble with a client somewhere in East Africa. Quinn had been overconfident, thinking he could get into their servers quickly, but the place was apparently protected better than a penny in a miser’s fist. He had to do it the old-fashioned way, which was to send a virus to someone on the inside. He checked his monitor and breathed a sigh of relief. One of his victims just opened the file. Now, the little program he embedded in the photo was working its magic, and soon he’d be able to find the right info on their servers.
A soft chime caught his attention, and he looked at his left monitor. There was a little red message icon in one of his private chat windows. He clicked on it.
I have the info you need.
Quinn bit his lip and then typed back: What do you have?
Information vital to your investigation. Send the payment to the usual account, and I’ll forward it to you.
He retrieved his phone and logged onto the secure banking app for his Swiss bank account, then sent the payment over. This contact was expensive but had never let him down yet.
Payment received. Happy hunting.
Quinn immediately dragged the file from the chat window and clicked on it. It contained scans of reports and pictures. When he looked closer, he realized what it was.
“Sonafabitch!” He slammed his closed fists on the desk, making the monitors rattle. The car wreck wasn’t an accident. Worse than that, it was a cover up.
The first photo was that of the initial report, dated right after the incident. While the copy Quinn got indicated that it was an accident, this one said that the detective was unsure. The name of the detective on this report was different as well.
The next photo showed an autopsy photo of a half-burned body on a coroner’s slab, along with an initial report. It was Jon Dover’s body. The medical examiner had found a stab wound on his lower back, right into the kidney, which was the likely cause of death. The victim had bled out even before he burned in the crash. However, this was not the report filed with the NYPD, nor was this the same ME. Quinn paused to think. This meant Jon Dover was killed first and then his body placed in the car. Quinn thought for a moment. After that, it would have been easy enough to set the car to drive and crash it or hack into its electrical system and control it remotely.
Whoever did this was probably hoping the fire would disintegrate the body and destroy any evidence of murder. And when that didn’t happen, they used other means—bribery or coercion—to cover up the findings.
So, he now had proof that the crash was no accident. If he had been trapped between the exploding car and the wall, even his Lycan healing abilities wouldn’t have been able to save him. But who would want him dead? It had to be someone who had pull in the NYPD and Medical Examiner’s office and probably had a lot of money or influence. Who the hell had he pissed off so much that he’d want him dead?
“Okay,” he said aloud and then went back to his computer. Time to find out how the subway incident was connected. First, he would need to get camera footage and photos from around the subway station, anything from security cameras around the block to cell phone selfies from tourists. A quick message to his contact took care of that. Next, he needed a list of possible suspects from his past. That would be a long list, but he could narrow it down to people still active in the business. Finally, he needed a lead on the guy in the hoodie. Sebastian Creed had put him in touch with Alynna and Alex Westbrooke from the Alpha’s office. He sent them an email, asking them for a list of male Lycans in the city and state who could match the description of hoodie guy—male, anywhere between eighteen to forty years old, and around six feet in height. There were only about 250 Lycans living in New York, so that should narrow it down.
He glanced at the clock again and gave a heavy sigh. Selena and Evie were probably at Merlin’s. She had sent him a text about an hour ago when she reached her apartment and then again later when they were leaving. Grabbing his phone, he typed a message to Connor.
Are you at Merlins?
Outside was his brother’s reply.
The girls?
Inside.
He rolled his eyes. Connor was as prolific with texting as he was in real life.
I’ll be there in 10.
He didn’t bother waiting for Connor’s reply. After slipping his jacket on, he locked up the office and headed to Merlin’s.