Page 87 of Grave Beginnings

Ezra stared above our heads; arms crossed over his chest as if annoyed. The manager texted someone, and Wade and Bobby left the apartment, thanking the man for his time. Angel huffed at Wade and led me down to the elevator. I was more than ready to get out of there, and maybe check myself into a mental institution.

29

Angel changedin the back of the SED van, and emerged to chat with Ezra, Wade, and Bobby for a few minutes. I wondered if I should join them, but my stomach grumbled and it was already after three in the afternoon.

To say that I was frazzled was an understatement. The overwhelm of the new job and new power really added to my depression. My nature as a people pleaser meant I had to have some sort of kickback from the job. Usually, the satisfaction of solving a case or uncovering new clues was enough to keep me going. But the constant slew of unknowns in this job made me feel worthless. Maybe I needed to up my meds? I hadn’t in a while, as until this whole transition to variant thing, I’d been doing okay. Now, I had a new job, some creepy power over the supernatural, a little brother who needed me, and I still had to take care of my grandpa and myself. It was a lot.

I swallowed and tried to focus on something grounding. Was Ivan okay? He hadn’t messaged me. I fired off a quick text to both Ivan and Grandpa, checking in. Grandpa replied fast. All was well. But nothing came from Ivan. Was he angry because I hadn’t contacted him all day?

Angel headed my way, his gaze flicking over me. “Let’s get you some food.”

“Day is almost over. Maybe we should just go back to the office? Enter notes?”

“Can you log in and input while I drive? I want you to record everything you saw, in detail, before the memory fades.”

“My bodycam was on the whole time.”

His jaw tightened.

“It caught nothing?”

“Just your interaction with the kid.”

What did that mean? I stared up at him, unmoving, needing an answer. “Angel.”

He leaned in close enough for his warm breath to tickle my earlobe. “Ezra’s trying to get permission to scan you close to the kid, like we did in the hallway upstairs.”

I sucked in a breath. “He thinks I made the kid do that?”

“It’s not a normal SV ability, but you have DV magic too, which could be anything.”

“I didn’t… I wouldn’t…”

“Shh,” Angel whispered as he slipped his hand around to cup the back of my neck, easing me against him in an embrace that soothed the rising anxiety and a panic attack I didn’t know had been pending. “Your scent was changing,” he said. “Breathe. We don’t think you did anything to the kid.”

“How do you know? I don’t know how this power works. How can any of you?”

“That’s why I want you to put in detailed notes. Everything you saw and felt, even when we were scanning in the hallway upstairs. I think it will help us clarify things.”

I caught Ezra’s disapproving gaze over Angel’s shoulder and flinched, trying to pull away.

“It’s fine,” Angel said, holding tight. “Calm first. Let me worry about him.”

“Can you take me to my place to pick up my car?” I asked,thinking maybe it was best to create some distance. While I may not understand the connection between Angel and me, I knew the team saw something, and didn’t approve. Was it because I wasn’t a shifter, or because I couldn’t control my power? “If you’re willing to show me how to get back to the community center to pick up Ivan later… I need to get comfortable driving on the other side.”

Angel let out a small huff that sounded a bit like his cat, but he nodded. “Food first, then car. You put in notes while I drive.”

I gave him a tight smile and motioned to the car. “Ready, or do we need something else here?”

He held me a minute longer, breathing in my scent maybe, but then he stepped back, shook himself, and headed to the driver’s side. Angel pointed at Wade, as if saying something without words. Wade nodded. Bobby had already vanished into the SED van with his equipment, and I avoided looking at Ezra as I got in the passenger side of the car and opened my computer.

Angel steered us to a small park downtown, walked to a food truck, and retrieved the best fucking tacos I’d ever had in my life. I ate, typing in notes, trying to recall everything and wondering just how much was safe to add. Hunches and feelings had never had a place in my former police work, but with so much unknown, I had to use them here.

I paused over the notation about how my power overtook Bobby’s, hesitant to add an admission like that to the records.

“What?” Angel asked, watching me as he demolished his tacos.

I sighed. “All of this is feelings, not fact.”