Page 38 of Glimmer and Burn (Unity #1)

“Maybe not the secretary position…” The Captain was barely audible, but a silence descended that blanketed the room.

Devin’s fingers curled around Miranda’s elbow and he leaned in close to her ear. “Best step back,” he said, lips lingering a touch longer than they had before, his fingers lightly drawing patterns over her sleeve before retreating.

Rachel’s jaw clenched so tight Miranda feared it would detach.

Captain Blair waved away her palpable anger. “Fine. Fine. I’ll fire her, if you’ll just leave me in peace about it. Go hire that other one. The…married one. That should appease you.”

“It would if I knew that would stop you.”

He shrugged.

“You’re an unscrupulous moron,” she yelled, “And do not fire her, do not go near her. I’ll do it. Divine knows you’ll only find a way to prey on her vulnerability after learning she no longer has a job.”

“I actually hadn’t considered, but the idea isn’t half—” He lifted his hands as she speared him with a look that could have drawn blood. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. Happy now, Emmy?”

Miranda cast a look sideways for clarification.

Devin shrugged. “Hell if I know. Sometimes he calls her that, but he’s never shared why.”

The use of the name, however, seemed to have made Rachel more irate. Her tone was lethal as she leaned in close. “I will be hiring the next secretary.”

“I should get final approval—“

“Like hell you will.”

“It’s my secretary.”

She stomped from the room, slamming the door so hard more papers were dislodged of their place and cascaded toward the floor.

“That’s another two months of organizing you cost me!” The Captain yelled after her.

Miranda watched Rachel’s angry path through the window, hiding a laugh as Rachel held up her middle finger before descending the stairs. Miranda wasn’t sure why, but it felt like she’d just witnessed something private, like a voyeur to an intimate exchange between lovers.

“He must have slept with someone last night,” Devin murmured, dipping so that only she would hear him. “It always sets her off.”

“Why would…” Miranda closed her mouth. It was hard to imagine that any of that was because Rachel harbored romantic feelings for the Captain.

Devin filled her silence with confirmation. “For as long as I’ve known them.”

Miranda had a new appreciation for Rachel Stone. Miranda would not have been strong enough for such restraint. She looked up at Devin, his smile kind and conspiratorial, his hand still casually finding ways to brush against her. No, she would not have been strong enough.

“Oh, right, you’re still here,” Captain Blair said, his tone drawn and defeated. “Well, get on with it. What do you want?”

The back of Devin’s hand skimmed over hers as he moved past. What was this? They clearly weren’t courting, but somehow they were no longer mere acquaintances either.

The casual touch, the shared looks, it reminded her of her parents, the way they always seemed to read each other’s thoughts or how her father would stop and kiss the top of her mother’s head while he was on his way out.

“I thought you’d be happy to hear we’ve uncovered evidence of Graves’s crimes,” Devin started. “Since you came knocking specifically for help with this case, I thought I’d share what we’ve learned.”

Captain Blair eyed him, though he’d slunk into his seat and looked as if a long night and harsh morning was catching up with him. “By all means, pin it with the others. I’m sure it’s nothing but more dead ends.”

“How about a record of experimentation on fae that resulted in at least fifteen deaths? Signed by Graves.” Miranda fished out the documents she’d carefully folded and slipped into an inner pocket of her uniform.

She flashed the page, the Captain’s eyes following it with curiosity, though he stayed slouched in his chair.

“And proof that these experiments involve injecting fae with Divine blood.”

Miranda sensed he was hesitant to believe her.

If the board behind her was any indication of his fruitless diligence over the past few years, she didn’t blame him.

“You can’t just inject the Divine’s blood into fae.

You can’t get Divine blood. It’s not a pill or some witch’s potion you can pick up in the black market. ”

“It could be extracted from the source,” Devin added, stepping behind her. She felt the heat of him through her uniform.

“But…” The Captain balked, looking at the pair of them like they were speaking a different language. He held out a hand. “Can I see this evidence?”

Miranda felt like she was losing to let it go, but it was the reason she came here. With a breath, she released the signed experiment and her copy of the drawing from Graves’s desk.

Captain Blair studied the pages as he rose to his feet.

“This address…” He pushed around the desk to the giant map holding his notes.

His finger hovered over the far east of the city.

The Garrison and the Night Court bracketed a shipping yard where Unity bordered the Great Sea.

A series of commercial warehouses stored various exports to the other cities of the Realm that honored the Accords.

The Captain ran his finger down the row of warehouses before stopping at one that held a red pin. He tapped the building twice.

“That’s it. I’ve had my eye on this for months, certain that Graves was connected, but he’s not on the lease or shipping registry. He must be using a false name or even a dummy investor. But it’s the same address written here.” Captain Blair held up the paper, but his eyes never left the board.

“So this is proof. Can you stop him?” Miranda asked, though she felt more defeated about passing off her mission to the Watchmen than she anticipated.

Captain Blair pinched the bridge of his nose.

“No, you see it doesn’t matter. This isn’t…

I need something more concrete if I’m going to bring this up to the commissioner.

Parliament believes Graves to be one of their peers.

They were already questioning my suspicions and I’ve technically been ordered to ‘stand down.’ There’re ordinances I have to tip-toe around and warrants and—”

“Graves suspects we have this information. He might already be covering his tracks,” Devin said.

The Captain chewed on his tongue, concentrating on the board of clues, all leading to nowhere. “Or…” He turned on his heel, a smile that was both sinister and overjoyed distorted his handsome features. “ You are not bound by red tape.”

“What are you playing at, Blair?” Devin crossed his arms, obviously knowing the Captain well enough to piece together his intentions faster than her.

“If you are telling the truth, then time is of the essence. Even with this, I can hardly organize any sort of retaliation before Graves has ample time to destroy evidence. It could be days if I’m lucky, weeks if I’m not.”

“We don’t have that long—” Miranda started and The Captain’s manic eyes turned on her.

“No. We don’t have long at all. But if I had a reason to storm the building before Graves could bury the evidence, some…

solid, unquestionable catalyst that would force my hand?

Let’s say, two civilians were caught up in this mess, snooping where their noses didn’t belong, and somehow ended up way over their heads.

In fact, they are attacked by the very monster they hoped to uncover.

And what am I to do when they call on the Watchmen for aid? ”

“You’re not using us as bait—”

“We’d be the perfect bait—”

Miranda met Devin’s eyes and she saw his refusal clearly.

‘This was too dangerous, they could get hurt, there was no telling what awaited them if they went inside.’ She could hear the tirade of reasons not to do this, but it didn’t matter if the reasons were valid, it wasn’t what was right. She would go alone if she had to.

“I can give you a moment, if needed,” Captain Blair said, and a glare from Devin had him retreating into the hall, shutting the door behind him.

Devin’s hand hovered near his mouth, worry radiating off him. “I’ll do it alone. There’s no reason for you to be—” He huffed as her chin started to rise, like he knew he already lost. “Fine. Together.”

“You know as well as I do that we need to do this. It’s your chance to get Graves and make it look like an accident or self-defense. You could get your revenge and avoid hanging for it.”

“And what about you? Is your sister still set to marry that leech?” Miranda didn’t respond, but that was answer enough. “Then why continue with the charade?”

Miranda worked her lip between her teeth, suddenly nervous. There was something about his eyes that clutched at her heart, like he was asking because his life hinged on her answer.

“I…I wanted to see this through.”

He looked away, withdrawing. “Ah. That tracks, I suppose.”

She set her hand on his cheek and forced him to turn back, to meet her eyes instead of retreat. “ And , I was hoping you’d come to your senses.”

He said nothing, just breathed and leaned a fraction further into her touch.

“As you said, we work pretty well together.” She kissed him quickly, blushing.

Though, why she would be blushing after all the parts of her he had kissed, she didn’t understand.

Dare she hope that this would all work out?

That she’d be useful, to save the city from whatever Graves was planning and finally have someone who didn’t try to control her?

Who seemed to admire her and delight in her harsher side?

She had not thought a future with Devin was possible, but that was because she hadn’t wanted it. Not before.

Captain Blair opened the door. “Time’s up, we got to move on this.”

Devin shook his head.

“We’ll do it,” Miranda said.

“Thank the Divine.” He shut the door. “It should go without saying that this plan does not leave this office.”

The Captain flagged down a passing officer—since his secretary had the day off—and sent for Rachel.