Chapter Nineteen
The killings formed a circle on the map.
“Well, what do you know…” whispered Casey. “A ring of murders. Do you think the killings will stop now?”
Hannah moved from one foot to the other, eyeing the map through narrowed slits. “No, obviously this monster is focused on something in that area.” She scrutinized the screen, stepping around the table to come closer to it. “Most likely right smack in the middle of the ring. This is a geometrically perfect circle.” Hannah was very good at deciphering things of that nature. It was one of her gifts.
The perfect circle reminded Angel of Michael. He had loved circles too, and spheres as well. Any round thing, really. He even had an Ouroboros tattoo on his inner arm that had been made out of a geometrically perfect circle.
He’d told her there was “magic” in a perfect circle. She used to smile and shake her head, and he would insist that all she needed to do was look around at the cosmos to see that round things were fate’s preference: stars, planets, rain drops… and he would smile a cocky, killer smile and nod to his bike before adding wheels to the list.
Angel flushed a little at the memory of his voice and that smile, but the strange feeling was chased hard with a kind of despair that made her dizzy. She put her hand on the table for balance and yanked her attention ruthlessly back into focus.
“Assuming this is exactly where the bodies were found,” Hannah added, gesturing to the map.
“It is,” said Gabriel solemnly.
“Any idea what’s at the center, then?” asked Casey, who was studying the map carefully now too.
Angel looked at the map. She happened to know there were several stores, restaurants, coffee shops, apartment complexes, and even a warehouse and a mall in the vicinity outlined by the red circles. But Angel didn’t answer Casey’s question. She couldn’t. Gabriel didn’t respond either, and Angel knew why.
“Given how perfect this circle is, we should go to the trouble of determining the exact single point center,” said Hannah as she picked up a marker and began drawing on the screen. That’s what the dry-erase had been made for, after all, but Angel didn’t need Hannah to do any calculations. And the more she made, the more worried Angel became.
She looked over at Gabriel. His eyes met hers.
It was a general rule that no warden was aware of the “resting place,” or in other words, “home” of another warden. These locations were obviously kept secret so wardens couldn’t accidentally divulge the information if interrogated by the enemy.
The exceptions to this rule occurred on two counts. One, warden couples or family were clearly given leeway, but that was rare, and inter-clan romance was frowned upon for safety reasons. And then there were the clan leaders. They knew everything about their members, from home addresses to blood types. And Gabriel very well knew where Angel lived.
Hannah finished with her calculated drawing. Angel’s one-bedroom apartment was at the map’s bulls-eye.
It’s coincidence, she told herself. It doesn’t mean anything. But she knew she was lying to herself.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Gabe calmly – too calmly. His gaze captured Angel’s again, and that tension between them seemed to solidify the air she tried so hard to breathe. “Because the last two victims were found in someone else’s jurisdiction. This is officially no longer our case.”
Angel’s eyes widened.
“You could have told me that before I put in the work,” said Hannah, who popped the top back on the marker and a little too forcefully set it back down in its holder.
Angel felt the blood drain from her face. Her eyes flew to the map. He was right. The last two circles had landed across the border of their district. No sooner had they even learned of the Apex killings than the job was thrown into someone else’s lap.
“Damn it,” swore Casey through clenched teeth. He expressed what they were all feeling.
“That’s Monsters territory,” said Hannah with a sigh. “The job is theirs now.”
Like hell, thought Angel. “Please excuse me,” she muttered and spun away from the meeting without another word. She practically threw open the briefing room door to storm out into the hall. But Gabriel was right on her tail.
His hand enclosed her wrist, but she yanked it back out and turned to face him of her own accord. She leaned in so only he could hear. “Gabe, you saw the same thing I did. There’s some crazy Apex out there with a vendetta against me.”
Gabriel put his finger against her lips, glanced back over his shoulder, and gave her a look. He leaned in even closer, whispering, “Not here, damn it.” Then he took her arm and lead her down the hall to a room they normally used for interrogations. Angel hated this room. As a rule, the wardens never tortured prisoners for information. But they weren’t opposed to finessing it out of them, which often called for pharmaceuticals. Sometimes there were syringes in this room. Angel hated syringes.
Right now, the room was empty save for a metal table and a single metal chair. Gabriel closed the door behind him and faced her. “We need to talk.”
Angel was ready to argue, but the in was just too perfect. She lifted her brows. “You breaking up with me?”
Gabriel blinked. Then he pursed his lips and clearly tried not to smile. “Have a seat. There’s something you need to know.”
“You mean other than the fact that an Apex is hunting me?”
“Yep, pretty much.”
Now it was Angel’s turn to blink. She didn’t sit down, though. She was too on edge. “Okay, so just tell me what it is, Gabe.”
“Damn woman, why won’t you just do what I tell –”
“Gabe!”
Gabriel took a deep breath, put his hands on his hips, and said, “You remember learning about the Taal during training, right?”
Angel frowned. The Taal? It had been a while since they’d come up in conversation. “You mean Malek Taal and his band of merry men?”
Gabe didn’t smile this time though. “Not so merry at the moment.” He let out a sigh and nodded to the chair. “Please sit, Angel.”
Angel didn’t move. If she sat down, she would probably vibrate the chair.
Gabriel swore softly, crossed his arms over his chest, and looked down at the floor. He began to pace, muttering something about stubborn people and not needing any more problems than he already had.
Angel watched him as she chewed on her bottom lip. She ran a hand through her hair and waited. After a few seconds, she finally made a frustrated sound, moved to the chair, pulled it out and sat down. One caged lion in here was enough. But her leg bounced nervously as she waited for her boss to tell her whatever it was he so obviously needed to tell her.
Gabriel finally turned to face her, planting his boots in a strong stance. He seemed as troubled as ever. “The Taal are attacking mortals. And one of them is after you.”