Jaw hard, Reena folded her arms as she came to stand in front of them.
Jolene’s smile was all teeth. “Reena, always a pleasure.” Although she was no longer Devon’s Prime, they’d decided to let her take the lead, since Devon’s new Prime couldn’t be with them.
“What do you want?” the other female asked, annoyance written all over her features.
“I was hoping you could answer a question for us,” said Jolene. “See, we’ve wracked our brains trying to understand … but the answer just eludes us.”
“If you have questions, you should talk to my father. He’s Prime of the lair; it’s up to him what he does and doesn’t share with outsiders.”
“True,” said Devon “But I doubt he’ll have the answer as to why you wrecked my apartment.”
Reena froze, then quickly forced a disbelieving snort. “Why would I even go near your apartment?”
“Don’t bother playing games, Reena,” Tanner warned. “We have a witness who says you came running down the stairwell of Devon’s building. A witness who then went up to Devon’s apartment, only to find that it had been ransacked.”
“That doesn’t prove anything,” Reena maintained, eyes flickering.
“It proves you were there,” said Devon, sounding dangerous even to her. “Maybe you’d like to explain why that is.”
Reena lifted her chin. “I don’t have to explain anything to—”
“Do not be under the mistaken impression that your being female will keep you safe from me,” rumbled Tanner. “I could kill you where you stand and think nothing of it. Nor would I give a hint of a fuck how pissed that made Finn. He wouldn’t be the first Prime to come at me—they all died, too.”
“Be smart, Reena, and tell us what we wish to know,” said Jolene.
Reena’s nostrils flared. “I went to see her that day, yes,” she told the Prime. “I wanted to ask her some questions about the conduit, Sheridan. You were vague to my father, and I suspected you were holding back. But when I got to her apartment, I found the front door wide open. I rushed inside, saw the mess in her living room, and thought someone had taken her. I called my father and asked if he’d heard from her. He said he’d just gotten off the phone with her, that she was at the airport.”
“He didn’t tell us you went to her apartment,” said Jolene.
Reena cheeks flushed. “He doesn’t know. I didn’t tell him, because I knew what it would seem like. I knew people would suspect I ransacked the apartment. It wasn’t me.”
“What was it you wanted to know about Sheridan?” Devon asked. “Were you curious about if he’d mentioned you? Because he did know you, didn’t he? He was your ex-boyfriend’s cousin. You failed to mention that as well.”
“Because I knew you’d think I had something to do with this. I didn’t.” Reena clenched her fists. “I wouldn’t come up with some messed-up plot to have you kidnapped so I could force my father to release Asa. I mean, what possible reason could I have for wanting him released?”
“We all know that Finn never would have made the trade. You could have then killed me and made it seem like it was his fault for not releasing Asa.”
Reena’s jaw hardened. “I don’t want you dead.”
“Because you care so much about her,” Tanner deadpanned.
Reena ignored him. “I don’t like you much, Devon, that’s true. But there are lots of people I don’t like. That doesn’t mean I want them all dead. All I ever wanted was for you to stay out of our lives—that’s it.”
“And this would have ensured I was no longer in your life, if only the kidnap attempts had worked,” Devon pointed out.
“I didn’t vandalize your apartment, and I didn’t play a part in any scheme. You’ll all see that for yourselves when my father finally gets a name out of Asa. He won’t give up until he does.”
Just then, Eric sidled up to Reena, bringing with him the scent of cloying cologne. “I just wanted to check if everything is okay over here,” he said.
Reena took a centering breath. “Everything’s fine, Eric. We were just discussing the investigation.”
Eric didn’t look convinced, but he nodded at them in greeting. “It’s good to see you all again. I heard you two claimed each other,” he said to Tanner and Devon. “Congrats.”
Reena didn’t pass on that same congratulations. She just looked at the floor. Maybe Devon should have been hurt by that but, honestly, she was beyond caring.
“Can I get you a drink? You’re welcome to join us.” Eric gestured at the pool table with his thumb.
“No, thank you,” said Jolene. “We’re leaving now. You know, Reena, I wouldn’t have thought this was your scene. It makes me wonder what else we don’t know about you.”
Something flashed in Reena’s eyes. Unease, perhaps?
“Come on, kitten.” Tanner took her hand and led her outside. “You all right?” He didn’t like the strained smile or barely-there-nod she gave him. It had to be downright dispiriting to hear your own sibling tell you they didn’t want you in their life when you hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.
Devon glanced over her shoulder at the bar. “If anyone asked me if Reena drank beer, played pool, and hung out at places like this, I’d have laughed in their face.”
“Same here,” said Jolene. “She always came across as very high-and-mighty. Yet, she looked right at home in there.”
“So, do you believe her?” asked Devon.
“That she wasn’t the one who went crazy on your apartment?” Tanner pursed his lips. “My gut says she was telling the truth, but it’s clear that she’s very good at deception. I doubt her own parents would guess that this is how she sometimes spends her free time. They’d probably be appalled.” Tanner went to speak again, but then Knox’s mind touched his, buzzing with frustration.
We have Patrick Stephens’ location, said the Prime.
Tanner’s mouth snapped shut. Where is he?
A cemetery in Ohio. He was killed—and mutilated—a week before Mattias.
Which makes Stephens the first victim, Tanner realized, silently cursing to himself.
The killer has to be Royal Foreman—there’s no one else left. He hasn’t returned Muriel’s body to her home. I can’t think of where else he’d put her.
Tanner rubbed at his jaw. Is Larkin still struggling to locate him?
Yes, but she’ll find him. She always comes through.
A thought occurred to him. What if it isn’t Foreman? What if the reason Muriel’s body is nowhere to be found is that she’s the one who’s been doing the killing? Foreman could be her last intended victim.
Knox paused. She seemed to be genuinely grieving her brother’s death. Then again, she also seemed to be genuinely sure that Dale, Harry, and the others couldn’t have been involved in anything. I’ll have Levi look at what was happening in Muriel’s life over the past year to see if there’s anything that could have acted as a trigger.
Tanner gave a satisfied nod, even though his Prime couldn’t see it. As a child, she was too low on the power spectrum to be able to subdue people or cause heart attacks, and I’ve never known her capable of altering her scent, but she may have grown in power as she aged and developed other abilities. I’d like to think she’s not the killer, but my instincts won’t let me dismiss the idea. And his instincts had never let him down before.