Page 83 of Whispers of Wisteria

When he didn’t answer, I turned from them. “I’m going to go see Bianca.”

If they wouldn’t tell me, she would. Unless, of course,they’ddone something to her. It wasn’t likely on purpose, but they’d been ignoring my warnings.

“No!” Damen called after me, and I glanced back at him. “No,” he repeated, much more calmly, as his eyes met mine. “You can’t see her until you talk to us first.”

For some reason, I had a gut feeling that I was going to end up killing someone.

“Then talk.” I crossed my arms. “Don’t just stand there, brooding in silence. Tell me what happened.”

Damen clenched his jaw, stood up straighter, and said, “Bianca started helping us with the Eric Richards investigation.”

Right.

I breathed in and forced myself to smile, then stuck my finger in my right ear to clear it. I just wanted to be certain before any blood was spilled.

Miles glanced between us, ready to step in. But he wasn’t important right now.

Damen alone held my attention.

“I must not have heard you correctly. Itsoundedlike you said that Bianca is helping you investigate Eric Richards. But of course, that couldn’t be, because none of you would be that stupid.”

They would. They’d totally be that stupid.

“She is.” Damen gave me a look that dared me to protest. “In fact, Titus and I took her to the orphanage yesterday afternoon. She gave a tour.”

“I see…” I could feel the calm serenity I’d been holding drifting further away. “Well, then. I take it that everything went well?”

It obviously hadn’t. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be so afraid of my reaction.

Miles and Titus looked at each other.

But Damen didn’t appear to notice.

“Actually, no.” His gaze stayed on the fire, voice even. “The mention of Jason Patterson set her off—it seems the cases are related and she’s familiar with him. She stopped talking, got sick, and went somewhere else in her head. Sheblinkedand Titus and I found her hiding in her old bedroom. She didn’t know who we were.”

Was that so? I remembered the place. I didn’t want to think of her anywhere near there.

“So you lost her.” On top of taking her there, they’d left her alone where she’d been tortured. I was amazed my last thread of calm hadn’t already snapped, but it was inevitable. “How did that happen?”

“She lost control of her abilities,” Damen said after a moment. “Titus had to intervene.”

Right. I had to get out of here before I killed them.

“Julian, no!” Miles was pulling at my sleeve, and I resisted the urge to punch him. After all, he’d not been named in this betrayal. “She’s never seen you like this. You can’t go—”

“Don’t tell me you care.” My throat ached from holding back, and the edges of the accent I fought so hard to hide were slipping through. It just made me angrier, becausehewas the one who had the temper. “You’re a hypocrite.”

“Hypocrite?” Miles let me go. “How—”

“I’m not about to start in on you two.” I jerked my chin toward Damen and Titus. “You were both there for this mess. But you—” My gaze locked on Miles. My voice had already slipped. “How in the hell could you back something like this?”

Miles was frowning at me. “Because I trust her to be able to handle it.”

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” My thoughts went red, and I swung at the door frame, slamming my fist into the dark wood beam.

I wanted to hurt them, to tear them apart. How could they not see that Bianca needed to be treated gently?

“Julian.” Miles’s cajoling prodded through my defenses. “I know you’re upset, but it was her decision to—”