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“Bianca.” I moved my hands to her shoulders. She was still trembling, and a surge of anger began to swell in my chest at the thought of what might have caused her to act like this. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

Bianca POV

“What happened? Are you hurt?”

I wasn’t sure if it was his words or his tone that reached me, but the soothing way he comforted me caused the furthest edges of my fear to disperse. He’d already saved me at least once, and he was strong. No one could hurt me while I was with him.

My skin flushed as I released his shirt, and yet, a lingering vulnerability still made my breath on edge. As if, at any moment, someone might step out of the shadows and take me away.

I pulled my hands close to my chest and struggled to control my breathing.

“Um…” I looked at my knees, and my teeth rattled as Damen began to run his hands down my arms, checking for injuries. His attention lingered on my knee and the palm of my hand, where I must have scraped them when I fell.

“I—I’m not hurt,” I told him.

I wasn’t hurt, not really. But then, why was I still upset?

He crooked his finger under my chin, urging me to look at his face. “What happened?” he asked again.

“I w-was at the pond and,” I began, and noticed that we had an audience. I looked at the ground. “And t-two men jumped out of the bushes and—” I clenched my fists over my knees, shivering. “—they tried to grab me. I got away, and they chased me. I fell and ran here.”

“What can you tell us about them?” the stranger asked, and I glanced at him.

He had a serious, somber expression and a strong build that reminded me of Dr. Stephens.

Since he was sitting behind the large desk and seemed to be in a position of power—if the professionalism behind his gray suit was an indication.

I assumed that he was ‘Detective Joseph Kohler’ as the tag on the surface indicated.

Could he be related to Julian?

“Um…” I touched my fingers together in front of my mouth. I wanted to answer, but the features of my potential abductors were already blurring together in my thoughts. “They were wearing black?” I ventured. “And one had reddish-blond hair, and the other was dark-haired.”

“Anything else?” he asked. “Did they say anything?”

“I—” My thoughts were blank as my focus turned from him toward the plant on his desk. It was a flowering plant and should be in season—at least indoors—but it wasn’t in bloom. “I don’t remember,” I told him. “O-or if they did, I didn’t hear it. I-I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Damen told me.

“So, they chased you?” Dr. Stephens interjected. “Nothing else?”

My shoulders tensed as I curled my fingers into my skirt. “N-no,” I answered softly. “They just tried to grab me and chased me.”

Someone knocked on the door, and Detective Kohler moved to his feet—proving that he was as tall as I expected—and answered, opening the door only a crack. Damen held my hand as the detective spoke to someone on the other side.

“An unmarked van was seen speeding away a few minutes ago,” he said as he returned, speaking to Damen and Dr. Stephens. “We’re trying to track it down, but no luck yet. They must have left when she got away.”

“It has to be related to Caleb’s murder,” Damen said, squeezing my arms as he looked at the other two. “What are you going to do about it?”

“There’s nothing we can do yet.” The detective shrugged as he returned to his seat.

“Just keep an eye out and continue to monitor things while we investigate. There’s no indication that Michelle Nolan is involved or that anyone in the Cole family has a part to play.

We need to handle this carefully. As for now, the area is secure. ”

“That’s not good enough!” Damen protested.

“W-why…” I began. Something the detective said had caught my attention, and I waited until he looked at me to continue.

“You said that you need to handle things carefully. Why?” I asked. Besides standard procedure, which I understood—I, too, was a fan of procedural justice—there had been an underlying warning in his tone.

Detective Kohler quickly glanced at the door. I didn’t know him, nor how he worked with Dr. Stephens and Damen, but he had a severe and dependable way about him. “Alexander Cole is the current chief of police—and my direct supervisor,” he told me.

Hence the need for discretion.

I nodded. That made perfect sense.

“I don’t care,” Damen protested, the stirrings of anger beginning to break out on his features. Obviously, his finesse was the opposite of tactful. “This isn’t acceptable!”

“Mr. Damen,” Dr. Stephens cut in, disapprovingly looking at the other man.

“All we have right now is Caleb’s recount that there’s even a connection between the property and the Cole family.

There must be some reason those records are sealed, and it will take convincing to force them open.

And we’ve no suspects to tie to Caleb’s murder. We are not arresting anyone today.”

Damen grumbled and looked out the large windows as the muscles in his neck tightened. “Fine,” he said, not sounding fine at all.

“I wonder…” Detective Kohler was studying me. “Do you know Gloria Protean? ”

“At the college?” Was he talking about the professor Damen had scared away from me in the library? “S-she tried to talk to me once,” I told him. “But Damen chased her off.”

Dr. Stephens frowned at the aforementioned man.

“You should see what she has to say,” Detective Kohler said. The notebooks on his desk were uneven, and he began straightening them into piles. “You both might find it interesting.”

“O-okay.” My heart rate had begun to calm during our conversation—having something different to focus on was tremendously helpful.

The office door was suddenly slammed open, and I jumped.

“All right, old man.” Julian strode through the door with a tight, grumpy expression. “Let’s get this over with. I…” His words trailed off as he noticed me clinging to Damen’s sleeve.

“Bianca?” he asked, blinking, and the darkness vanished from him instantly. “What are you doing here?”

My voice shook as I let go of Damen and waved at him. “H-hi.”

Then he was kneeling in front of me, pushing Damen out of the way as he grasped my hand. “What happened?” he asked, studying the reddened skin on my palm. “Did you slap Damen?”

“No.” Why would I do that?

“That’s a pity,” he said. His voice was so soft I doubted anyone could hear, but the words were clear enough from the motions of his mouth.

“I fell when I was being chased,” I said instead. There was no need to respond to a comment not meant to be heard. He’d already procured a baby blue handkerchief and was wrapping my hand even as I spoke, and his attention then moved down.

“Who was chasing you?” he asked, poking at the skin around my knees. “You’re going to have a bruise.”

“B-bad guys?” I ventured, looking to Damen for help .

Once more, he stood with his weight on the desk as he stroked his chin and looked out the window.

“Well—” It was Detective Kohler who elaborated on my statement. “—it is possibly the same group who killed Caleb. But I don’t understand why a simple inquiry into the history of a house would cause such backlash.”

“It’s the Cole family,” Dr. Stephens pointed out. “We’ve known they’ve been involved in unsavory business for years. We’ve just never had any proof.”

“Yes, we’ve looked into their actions before,” Detective Kohler replied. “But you’ve never encountered a spirit like that one before, either. So, perhaps the answer lies there. It is perhaps good that your understudy did not complete the exorcism.”

I glanced at Damen again; I had been right after all. But he didn’t appear to be listening.

“By the way,” Detective Kohler continued. “Julian, how do you know this young woman?”

Julian tensed at the sound of his name, fingers pausing their examination over my lightly scraped shins, and looked over his shoulder. “She’s my… um…” He glanced at me, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. “Friend,” he finished.

I tilted my head. Yes, we were friends regardless of our mythical connection. So why was he acting so strange?

“I see,” the older man replied.

“Julian…” I touched his wrist, and my pulse skipped when he looked back at me, meeting my eyes. I probably should be patient, but my curiosity was becoming harder to ignore. I pulled at the neck of his shirt, trying to move him closer, and he obliged.

“Are you two related?” I whispered in his ear.

“Oh!” He pulled back, blinking fast as his cheeks darkened. “I didn’t realize…” He shot Damen an annoyed look and turned his attention back to me .

“Bianca, this is my grandfather, Joseph Kohler.” Julian vaguely gestured over his shoulder in the general direction of the other man. “He’s my Elder Er Bashou and is renowned in his field.”

I glanced between him and Dr. Stephens. Did that mean they were in the same quintet?

“Is that so?” Detective Kohler had braced his chin over his fist and watched Julian in mild interest. “It’s a rare treat to see you acting so respectfully.”

Julian turned and looked at him, and—while I didn’t see his face—it was enough to make the detective raise an eyebrow.

“Regardless,” Damen interrupted. “I don’t want Bianca to go anywhere by herself. I won’t risk the chance of anything else happening,” he said, looking at me.

My breath caught at the reminder. “I—” I looked at Julian’s hands comfortingly pressed over my knees. “I don’t want to be a-alone right now anyway,” I admitted.

It was shameful for me to act like such a baby, but I was sure to have nightmares tonight.

Julian released my legs and offered me his hand. “I’ll take you back while Damen finishes some things here.”

“Didn’t…” I looked between him and his grandfather, who was watching in mild curiosity. “Didn’t you have plans?”

“Nothing that can’t wait,” he said, reaching down and grasping my hand. “I know how to prioritize.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but I followed his lead and stood anyway.

Damen came to stand on my other side. “I’ll be back soon,” he told Julian. “In the meantime, let’s prepare for the worst-case scenario tomorrow night.”

Julian nodded and responded with something I couldn’t grasp, but it didn’t matter. My focus had wandered past them to where Detective Kohler sat conversing with Dr. Stephens. In between them, on the corner of the desk, was the pitiful plant I’d noticed upon my arrival.

The boys hardly noticed as I meandered away.

Now that I could see it more closely, it appeared to be half-neglected. If I was right, it was a rare species I’d only read about in my botany books. I touched one of the glossy leaves—not completely brittle.

Maybe there was hope for it yet.

“Miss Bianca?” Dr. Stephens’s questioning tone pulled me out of my musings. The two older men had paused in their conversation and were watching me. “Are you all right?”

“Oh, sorry.” I dropped my hand back to my side. “I’m fine.” I looked at Detective Kohler and chewed on the inside of my cheek before continuing. “You might want to remove some of the dying leaves,” I told him. “And add more water. It should bloom soon.”

When the two didn’t reply and glanced at each other instead, my face burned.

“Sorry,” I said again. I knew it wasn’t my place to say, but I couldn’t hold my tongue in such an instance. I returned to Damen and Julian before they could think of lecturing me.

“Bianca?” Julian paused as I grasped his hand, but I kept my eyes trained on the ground, unable to meet his eyes. I’d totally messed up the chance to make a good impression on his family. When I didn’t reply, he squeezed my hand.

“Ah, okay, we’re leaving now,” he said instead of questioning me. “I’ll talk to you later,” he told Damen, then led me out of the room.