Page 72

AT WHAT COST

Pember

The restaurant was almost empty, the low yellow lighting giving the place an artificially warm glow.

The terracotta walls and narrow booths with their brown leather seats should have been cosy, but Pember shivered as he scanned the empty bar and tables.

He needn’t have looked far, because Leo’s boisterous tone cut through the quiet hum of the other diners.

“Pember!” he called, sliding out of the booth and walking over with his arms outstretched. He made no effort to hide his bump this time, his tight leggings and sheer mesh top making his pregnancy obvious.

He jostled Pember’s shoulders and pulled him into a tight embrace, inhaling long and hard near the scent gland under his ear. Pember inwardly screamed, hyper aware of the recording device clipped underneath his collar.

“Hi,” he said, coughing and smoothing down his burgundy shirt. The other omega looked flushed, his neck and ears noticeably pink. There was already a smell of alcohol wafting from his mouth, but Pember just took a breath and made his way towards the table.

Then he saw her. Maya, with her long braid and dark eyes. She had noticeable shadows under her eyes, but had tried to hide it with makeup and bright red lipstick.

She watched him, eyes trailing up his black jeans with every step. She smiled, showing her back teeth. Pember shivered, because no one who’d murdered four people should smile like that.

His gaze snapped to Ru, who was sitting next to the wall with Maya pressed against his side, boxing him in.

“Pem!” she said, not moving to stand. “Good to see you again. Your heat go okay?”

Pember tensed, his body stiff as he tried to act natural. He hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected her to be so… relaxed.

“Um, yeah. All good thanks. You?”

Maya grinned and tipped her head to the side. “Oh, you know. Same, same. Feels like I haven’t seen you in ages.” She tapped the tabletop, the silver rings on her fingers clacking loudly.

Her gaze drifted to his neck. He’d purposely popped open a few extra buttons on his shirt to show that he didn’t have a mating bite.

He gave a tight-lipped smile, which was when Sal rose, her lithe form shifting sideways as she held out an arm, gesturing for him to enter the booth.

She wore a silver sequinned top that clung to her chest and looked remarkably like chain mail.

Well , there was no way in hell he was getting trapped between Sal and the wall, so clearing his throat he grabbed a stool from the next table along. “Thanks,” he said, carefully positioning himself closest to the door. “But I’ll let Leo have the comfy seat.”

Leo smiled and touched the curve of Pember’s ear. “Thanks, honey bunch.” He ran a hand over Pember’s shoulder and slipped into the booth. “My hips are killing me.”

When they were sitting, Maya waved a hand and the bartender appeared with a tray of drinks. “Evening, ladies and gents, will you be ordering food?” the server said, hesitating before giving Leo a drink.

Leo looked like he was about to speak, but Maya held up a hand. “In a bit, yeah? Wanna catch up first, right, Pem?”

Her expression was unreadable, making Pember go cold. “Um, sure,” he said, resting his hands on the table. “Unless any of the others would like to order?”

“Ah, thanks, hon,” Leo said, ordering a round of starters. Maya glared at him, but said nothing as she sipped her drink.

The earpiece crackled to life, and it took all of Pember’s self-restraint not to react.

“ Try and establish their movements over the last three days, ” came Caitlin’s muffled voice. Pember was glad it was her and not Blake. If it had been Blake he’d have already bolted out the door and caught a taxi home.

“So, um, how’s everyone been?” he said, taking a sip of his cocktail. His heart was hammering, his teeth inadvertently clenching around the rim of the glass.

They all glanced at one another, Leo’s and Sal’s eyes lingering on Maya.

“Oh, you know,” Maya said, patting the back of Sal’s hand. “Sal’s been with me, and these two have been… around.” She waved a hand with an exaggerated flourish.

Pember looked at Ru, trying to catch his eye but with no success. When it was evident he was fighting a losing battle, he turned to Leo. “Yeah? Made the most of the warmer weather?”

Leo nodded and patted his bump a little too sharply. “Yep, me and the babe have been catching some rays.”

Pember swallowed, unsure where to take the conversation next. It was obvious they were being careful, but even knowing what he knew didn’t make things easier. “R-right. What about you, Ru? Good weekend?” He reached across the table and squeezed Ru’s hand.

He nodded in reply but didn’t look up. “Library,” he mumbled, eyes glued to the wall.

“Yeah? That’s cool. What do you like to read?”

Ru shrugged, eyes darting to Maya as though he was watching a predator closing in. He looked smaller and even more vacant than the last time they’d met.

“Romance, right, babes?” Maya said, bumping his shoulder. “It’s how we met.”

Ru nodded and looked down at the table.

“R-right, so… been… anywhere… recently…?” Pember said, inwardly cringing at how stilted the words came out.

Maya grinned and stuck out her tongue. “Nope, heard the nick’s in a bit of a tizz though. What’s that all about?”

Well, that caught him off guard. The earpiece crackled to life again. “ Reiterate what was said in the chat. Your swabs are with Falkington and you’re on gardening leave. ”

Pember dropped his eyes and tried to look convincing. “I, um… I’m having some time off. The murders are really getting to me, so I’m a bit out of the loop. They’re continuity checking my work and I… It’s just kind of embarrassing.”

Maya hummed, bottom lip jutting out as she gave an overly sympathetic smile. “Oh yeah? Just your swabs, or everyone’s?”

Pember shrugged. “Just mine.”

She raised her eyebrows, not looking all that convinced. When the next round of drinks arrived, Pember excused himself and made his way to the bathroom. His back was sweaty and his hands were shaking—the pressure was beginning to get to him.

Gripping one of the sinks, he swallowed and exhaled a long breath. The lighting was even dimmer in the bathroom, with the dark floor tiles, black cubicles and deep red walls making it quite difficult to see. He imagined it might be what hell’s waiting room looked like.

He sighed, splashing water across his face before running a damp hand through his hair and looking up into the gold rimmed mirror.

He was a wreck, the last few days of stress well and truly drawing all the colour from his face.

Which was probably a good thing, and really played into his manically anxious facade.

The earpiece sounded again. “ You all good? ” Caitlin said.

“Yeah,” he whispered back, eyes darting towards the door. “Just having a breather.”

“ Fair enough. We’ve got eyes on. One of the party has left the table and is making their way towards your location. Try and get them to engage. Find out how they’re connected to the victims. ”

“Right,” he replied, patting his face with a paper towel. He hoped to God it wasn’t Maya, because he wasn’t sure he could cope with her cocksureness without slipping up.

The door creaked open, and time seemed to stand still as he waited to see who was on the other side. Pember let out a long breath when Ru shuffled into the room.

“H-hey,” Pember said, taking a few steps towards him. “Sorry, just having a breather. You okay?”

Ru nodded, slumping against the sinks. Pember caught him, bracing both hands around his upper arms. It was then that he noticed white powder around his nose.

“Ru? Is everything alright?”

Ru grimaced, his jaw clenching over and over as a strained sound escaped his mouth. “I didn’t… I didn’t meet her at the library,” he said, screwing his eyes shut.

Pember wet his fingers under the tap and wiped them beneath Ru’s nose to get rid of the powder. He didn’t strike him as a drug user, but then, Maya didn’t strike him as a murderer.

“You didn’t?” he said, trying to appear nonchalant.

Gaze dropping, Ru shook his head. A pained expression crossed his pale features, and his chin started to tremble. “I don’t… I don’t know what to do, Pember. She… I can’t get out. She just keeps telling me I’ll go to prison if I don’t do what she says.”

Shaking the water off his hands, Pember took a breath and gripped Ru’s shoulders. He looked so small hunched against the sink, and his cropped black hair was even more patchy than before, probably from stress. Pember wanted to rub his back and tell him it was all going to be alright.

Tears gathered in the other omega’s eyes as he gripped the chipped sink. Pember cupped his face with both hands.

“Ru, please, what is it?”

Ru sniffed, his voice thick with tears. “I met her after… after I was—in the car. She was at the clinic collecting some other swabs. She… she took me home. Said she’d take care of me and?—”

Ru started crying, fat, wet tears streaming down his face and dripping onto Pember’s sleeves. He was shaking, the despair in his eyes making something crack in Pember’s chest. Gathering him into his arms, he held him in a tight embrace. “It’s okay,” he said, stroking the back of his head.

It wasn’t okay. It was never going to be okay.

Pember wanted to rip the recording device from underneath his collar and just hold him. To be there for him as a genuine friend as his world crumbled.

“She said… she said they would all be quick, clean. Like with—” He swallowed and rubbed his face across Pember’s shirt. “Like with Felix. But then… then she introduced me to Leo and…”

The words fell away as he collapsed against Pember’s chest, a loud wail tearing from his throat. Pember swallowed over and over again, struggling to hold back his own tears. He could do nothing but hold him, rub his back, try to make him feel safe for what could possibly be the last time.