Page 65 of Grave Beginnings

Angel squeezed by Wade, his gaze falling to me, filled with worry. He set the bottles of water on my desk and raced around the side to pull me up, even while I could barely breathe.

“I left for like five minutes…” Angel grumbled.

“What creepy kid?” Wade asked.

“You okay?” Angel asked. “Creepy kid?”

I pressed my hand to my chest, feeling as if my heart wanted to beat free from my ribs and run for the hills. Angel righted my chair, keeping one arm around my waist, then rubbed my back, which went a long way toward easing my racing heart.

“A warning would have been nice,” I told Angel, a little perturbed by the jump scare. Had there been a note I missed?

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Angel said.

Wade reached under the desk to put the plug back in and the monitor turned back on, the screen frozen on the kids looking toward the lobby. The creepy kid in the corner, frozen while coloring, staring down at their page.

“That kid.” I pointed at the one in the corner. “They looked up at the camera and their face changed. Morphed into something monstrous.”

Wade rounded the desk and moved the video back a few frames, watching, though the kid did nothing but color, face down. No movement until the frame went out with the tear.

“What the fuck?” I asked, reaching for the mouse to try again. I paused it, zooming in and back out as if I could trigger the event again. Nothing.

Wade stared at me; his expression neutral. Angel stood at my back like a silent wall. I wanted to demand they say something, tell me the truth, or call me a liar. Anything beyond the silence. Maybe I was overtired and seeing things? Was there another explanation? That had never happened to me before.

“Maybe call it a day and get some rest?” Wade suggested.

“I’m not crazy,” I whispered.

“No one thinks you are,” he added as he left our office.

Angel remained at my back; side pressed into me as his arm wrapped around my middle kept me close. “No one thinks you’re crazy,” he said.

“I do,” I said. “That kid?” Was possession a thing? Like, real, demonic possession? Why would only I see it?

“Has autism. They are non-verbal. Ezra’s got a full interview with their parents in the file.”

“Why would I see their face distort like that? And if you saytoo much coffeeI’ll punch you.”

“I wasn’t in here when you did. Maybe your variance kicked in?”

“Fuck. I hate this whole ‘I don’t know’ game.”

Angel sighed as he leaned against me, his weight and scent oddly comforting, but at least my heartbeat began to slow. Our power swirling together soothed that lingering sense of unease I’d had since I opened the file.

“I asked Xavier. He knows a lot, but nothing specific to SVs.”

“Maybe we should reschedule tonight. Ivan’s only been with me a day, and I’m a mess from all this new job stuff.” It was all too fast. He was my partner. How could any of this work out? And why did I want it so badly?

His arms stiffened, but he slowly released me, grip easing as he took a half step back.

“I’m sorry,” I said instinctively.

“No reason to be. We have time.” He turned me toward him and away from the screen. “Will you be okay going home by yourself? You’ll eat dinner and get sleep? Not stay up all night searching for answers no one knows exist or not?”

“Yeah. I have my brother to look after, and books to read,” I said, stuffing the books into my bag. “I’m not running away from you, if that’s what you think. Attraction is there. It’s just fast. I’m sorry if that’s not…”

“That’s the least of my worries,” Angel said. “Promise you’ll sit down, eat a real meal, and not log into the files for the night.”

Busted. How did he know I planned to go home and pore over every video from the daycare now?