“Not definitively, but I did hear a few contemplating it. It’s one of the reasons I rushed into it. Figured I could get a drop on the party boy.”
“I understand, but right now, I think it would be best if you get treatment. I believe you might be heading into shock. So, once you’re treated, you’ll most likely be sent to booking. We will discuss bailing you out once we’re on more solid ground, but I will likely need to come in and ask you other questions.”
“I understand.”
Cherry nodded. “All right, I’m good for now.”
She stood and crossed to me, an incredibly serious expression on her pretty face. “Can I talk to you somewhere a bit more private? I’m not used to being surrounded by so many peeps with shifter hearing.”
“My room is soundproof,” Jackson said casually as he got to his feet and strolled over to the bar against the wall. That and the couch he’d been sitting on were the only things that hadn’t been demolished.
Yet another thing I didn’t need to know about my little brother.
“Thanks,” I said. I had no idea what possessed me, but instead of just leading the way, I offered Cherry my hand, like I was an escort to a noble lady, or evenhersecurity guard. “This way.”
Surprisingly enough, she put her hand in mine, and I felt that same simmer of energy go through me. Was she reading me again? Or was I just sensing the sheer aura of her presence?
So many questions. As confounding as it was, it fascinated me. Who would have thought there was a part of the magical world I was so divorced from?
When we were in my brother’s bedroom, I shut the door. However, we didn’t start speaking right away. If Cherry wanted privacy, I was going to make sure she got it. I went to the attached bathroom and turned on the shower at full blast.
“That should suffice for now,” I said, trying not to think about how there were potentially dozens of different ne’er-do-wells trying to hunt down my brother for profit. It wasn’t exactly a comforting idea. “What did you want to say?”
“So, that bounty is super recent.”
“Yes, I did hear the assassin say that.” What was she getting at?
“Meaning that whoever sabotaged that beam did it before there was a bounty. Whoever set it tried to be more hands-on. The real question is, did they do it after what happened with your father and Luther? Or before? At the same time? Why would they choose a seemingly banal method when they went so balls to the wall with killing your alpha and his heir?”
“I...” Those were all good questions. And I had answers to none of them. “How do we find any of that out?”
“I’m not entirely sure. I’m asking the fates, but they are being… tight-lipped on that. Or perhaps I’ve just exhausted my abilities for today.”
That was fair. We’d arrived at the manor about three hours earlier, which wasn’t really all that long, but also seemed like quite the extended time to read so many people and commune with psychic energy nobody else could see.
“Tell you what,” I murmured, somewhat reluctant to let her go, but a gift like hers probably required special care to recover. “How about I have one of our drivers take you home and pick up dinner from anywhere you want, while Chris and I get Jackson somewhere safe? I believe the farther you are from us tonight, the better for your own security.”
“But—”
I held up a finger, shocked that it worked to get her to stop talking. “Once my brother is safe, I’ll call all the contacts my family has, so we can figure out who put out this bounty. And if you have any insight after a solid night’s rest, that would be most welcome.”
“I… actually, yeah. That’s a good idea.”
Despite the situation, I smiled. There was something about the way the strange woman in front of me could wildly vacillate between intimidating, mystifying, and flippant that I liked—probably more than I should. Very little about her was peaceful or serene, but she had shown a flair for taking control when the need arose.
“Meanwhile, if you could email me your per diem, I’ll make sure you’re properly compensated while working this case for my family.”
“Per die—Oh, I don’t need your money. I’m doing this because I want to figure out what’s going on. I want to stopwhoever is doing this from hurting anyone else. I can see all these threads, but they’re all separate, and I’vegottaknow what’s tying them together.”
She would do this for free? That spoke quite a bit about her character.
“I appreciate that, but I must insist. Here, give me your phone. I’ll put in my personal number so you can contact me directly.”
“O-okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am.” That same reluctance to let her leave arose, but it really would be better for her. “Now, let me call that driver for you.”
“Now that you mention it, I guess I am a bit hungry.”