Page 26 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

I began to wring my hands together. They could never know everything, but “He—He’s Mr. Richards’s son.”

The room shifted.

Titus frowned. “He has a son?”

I pressed my fingertips to my lips.

“You said you fought him like you did it often,” Damen said.

“Um…” My heart was racing. “It—it’s not like I can beat him. But…” I looked at my hands.

“That—that doesn’t matter,” I said. “I—I still tried. We were together all the time.”

I flexed my fingers. I could see his stupid, smug face. “I—I don’t like him.”

“Why were you together?” Damen asked.

The question made me feel hollow inside, and my hands dropped to my sides. My ears buzzed as I answered, “He needed to t-train and—and stuff. To—to run the business.”

Detective Kohler was writing as he asked, “Jason Richards?”

“His last name wasn’t the same.” I looked between the two of them. “I can’t…” I touched my head. I couldn’t say it. That’d make it real again.

Their expressions grew grim.

“W-what?” I asked again.

At first, no one answered. But then Damen stepped forward and grabbed my hand.

“There’s a case we’ve been working on for a while,” he said, his voice somber. “He owns one of the largest organizations on this side of the coast. But every time we come close to catching him, he disappears. His network is huge, and his reach seems to be everywhere.”

I pressed my lips together.

That sure sounded like something he was depraved enough to be capable of… But it couldn’t be.

Damen watched me evenly. “His name is Jason Patterson.”

It felt like something inside me snapped, and memories I’d been holding back flooded through my thoughts.

I stepped back, feeling gutted, and grabbed my head. I didn’t want to be afraid. I’d promised myself.

But… but…

He was still around. Still free.

He would find me. There was no way he wouldn’t. At least Mr. Richards had been able to control him before, but now he was in charge.

He was worse.

My stomach lurched as I stumbled against a doorway, and I fell to my knees and threw up.

The world tilted. Voices rose above me—heated, sharp—but distant. People were surrounding me. They were saying something, but I couldn’t make out the words. The ringing in my ears wouldn’t stop.

There was a tug at my hair, and cold air rushed down my neck as my scarf was pulled away.

Too close.

I jerked back, my pulse soaring as I pressed against the hard surface at my back.

Something was blocking me on my left. They were on the right.

I was trapped.

“Bianca?”

The voice was unfamiliar. The figures in front of me were blurry and shifting, and my mind struggled to place them.

One moved forward, kneeling despite the protests behind him.

My chest clenched. I pressed back harder and closed my eyes.

“Get away from her.”

“Bianca,” he repeated my name, and I forced my eyes to focus.

Bright green eyes peered through the shadows, a loose curl falling from behind his ear. He leaned forward—cautious, unthreatening.

I froze.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze gentle but focused.

“Focus on me,” he said. “Relax.”

My heartbeat began to slow, and the suffocating weight lifted slightly.

But could I relax? This was another predator—someone who could hurt me; I could sense his strength just in the way he held himself. My instincts screamed, warning me away, but an illogical side nagged at me, telling me to trust him.

I couldn’t tear my eyes from his. He hadn’t moved again. If he were going to hurt me, wouldn’t it have already happened?

“Come here.” He slowly raised his hand in my direction. “You did well.”

My gaze traveled down the line of his arms to his hand. Those fingers could cause a lot of pain.

“You can stop. We’ll take you home now.” His voice was deceptively smooth despite his appearance.

It was close—too close—and I’d almost let him trick me. He would have won, except I glanced back at his face at the very last second.

The warmth in his eyes had vanished, replaced by a furious crimson.

My body tensed as I sucked in a breath. He stopped moving as doubt flashed across his expression.

“No,” he breathed, reaching for me. “Bianca, wait—”

But I didn’t hear anymore because, for the first time in my life, I was able to get away.

Damen POV

She was gone.

The space where she’d been only moments ago was empty, and all that remained was the sharp chill of her absence. The energy of her panic still clung to the air, thick and suffocating, and in the center of it all, Titus knelt on the floor, unmoving, clutching her scarf.

He hadn’t moved since she’d vanished, and he hadn’t looked away from the space where she’d been.

I knew how he felt. I’d seen expressions like that before—the terror, the sheer panic—but never from her, not like that. And never directed at one of us.

She hadn’t recognized us at all.

A part of me had prepared for this moment the second she’d agreed to return. I knew there was a risk of triggering her. But she’d wanted to do this, so I’d let her.

I should have said no.

I forced myself to focus. “Where did she go?” I asked, glancing up at the ceiling. She had used her abilities to escape—even if she hadn’t consciously meant to. She could be anywhere.

“It’s hard to say.” Gregory’s voice was even, but I didn’t miss the sharp edge underneath. He removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead, and he seemed calm. I knew him well enough to see the signs.

He was furious.

“We need to find her,” Bryce cut in. He was tense, his stance stiff as he glared at Titus. “Don’t just sit there,” he snapped. “Track her.”

Titus’s head lifted slightly, but he still didn’t move.

“Bryce,” Gloria warned.

Bryce turned on her, jaw clenched. “She disappeared in a full-blown panic attack. She didn’t even recognize him.” He gestured sharply at Titus. “And now we have no idea where she is. I have every right to be pissed.”

Gloria folded her arms. “You’re not wrong. But anger won’t help us.”

Bryce exhaled sharply, shaking his head before running a hand down his face.

Joe exhaled sharply. “Gregory, do you know where the limits of her abilities lie?”

Gregory’s expression was unreadable, but he didn’t respond right away. However, when he did, it wasn’t encouraging.

“No,” he said, slipping his glasses back on.

“She’s going to be stronger than we are.

” He gestured at Bryce. “We can blink slightly over a hundred feet in distress. Besides, there’s always the possibility of certain traits—ones that had been locked away for many lives—resurfacing. She’s… different.”

“Than Mu?” I waved my hand in the air dismissively. “I know. We’re not exactly the same, after all. We—”

“No, her power is different than expected,” Gregory replied. “Can’t you feel it?”

“Feel… what?” I drew my brows together, trying to root through everything I felt—and knew—about Bianca.

“It’s not relevant to this moment,” Gregory was saying. “But she feels a bit like all of you.”

“Regardless, that isn’t our concern right now,” Joe replied, shooting Gregory a look. “We need to narrow down—”

Joe’s statement was cut off when Titus suddenly stood, squared his shoulders, and started down the hallway without a word to the rest of us.

“Where are you going?” Bryce demanded, stepping in front of him.

Titus still didn’t look at him. “She’s upstairs.”

Bryce stilled. “You’re sure?”

Titus finally met his eyes. “Yes.”

“Wait, she’s afraid of you,” Bryce continued, stepping closer to Titus. “Do you think…”

Bryce’s statement trailed off as Titus growled, and even my senses turned on full alert. He was ready to kill anyone who tried to stop him.

Bryce took an instinctive step back, but it didn’t matter. Titus stepped past him anyway.

I glanced between the others, gesturing for them to stay, before I followed.

Titus moved quickly, taking the back stairs two at a time before he stormed through the second-floor hallway. He walked with a singular purpose, as if he knew exactly where to go.

It was impossible to ignore this growing sense of foreboding.

Titus turned left, passing multiple darkened doorways, before stepping into a room at the very end of the hallway.

I knew this room. We’d been here multiple times over the last few weeks.

My heart pounded when he opened the door, and I followed him, expecting this to be the end. That, once we crossed into the room, Bianca would be there.

I hadn’t wanted to think about what condition she’d be in, and my stomach twisted in preparation for the very worst.

But… it was empty.

It was darker than the rest of the house here—the only light was from a window half-covered by a piece of plywood—and no carpets or rugs covered the pockmarked wood floors. The bare walls showed the remains of a once-blue and white wallpaper that had long been neglected.

A small, thin, yellow mattress was centered in a white bed frame under the window. There were no sheets or blankets—not even a pillow. And on the other side of the space, a chair lay broken.

“She’s not here,” I said, my voice sounding loud in the space.

“She is,” Titus replied, spine straightening as he shut his eyes and raised his face to the ceiling. The corner of his jaw twitched as his nostrils flared.

“She’s…” he began, but his statement ended abruptly as he jerked his head to the right, crimson eyes cutting through the shadows as he focused on the opposite end of the room.

“There?” But there was nothing. “Where—”

Titus pushed past me, crossing the space in four long strides. He then knelt on the floor as he faced the corner.

Before I could question him, his arm shot out, hand grasping at the air.

“It’s over,” he said, voice lowering.

I held my breath as the light shimmered, and he wrapped his hand around something solid. The air seemed to move outwards, and then, a second later, Bianca appeared.

She was curled into a ball, knees drawn to her chest, and hands folded between her legs and stomach. She didn’t move and might as well have been carved out of stone, except that her large eyes shone with confused wariness.

Her makeup had smudged, accentuating the dampness of lingering tears.

It didn’t look like she recognized him. Still, Titus seemed determined.

Her small form tensed as she stared at him. Her russet-colored floppy hat was lopsided on her head, hanging over one ear, as strands of flyaway hair framed her red-streaked face. When we’d arrived, she’d been well-put together and poised, and I thought perhaps I’d underestimated her.

But now she looked lost.

That’s what always threw me off.

“No more running.” Titus didn’t even allow her to cower. “I’ve got you.”

Titus pulled her to him, and her hat fell to the floor. She whimpered as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and her final method of escape was closed off.

The floor hummed—Titus was now actively using his abilities to block hers.

My breathing picked up and my skin grew clammy. I watched the two of them with a growing sense of apprehension.

I didn’t know how Titus had planned on handling this, but I was a bit surprised that he wasn’t fucking around.

Julian was wrong. Bianca needed a more direct approach—sometimes. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be aiding in her recovery at all.

And it looked like Titus was on the same page.

She buried her forehead against his chest and pushed her fists against him, but the dragon didn’t let up.

“I’m here,” he said, tucking her into his lap. “Nothing can get to you now.”

Bianca’s breath hitched before she suddenly relaxed, and her shoulders rounded as her head fell forward. Yet, even though she’d seemed to have surrendered, there was still underlying tension in the room that caused my stomach to tighten and my fingernails to bite into my palms.

It was quiet—and right now, Bianca needed that. But still, all I wanted was to kick something.

“She came here,” I pointed out, my blood chilling. I looked around the space, and all the small details began to take on a new meaning.

I’d known, of course, that this was the place she’d called ‘her room.’ And even without knowing the details, we’d known that this was a place where she’d been repeatedly assaulted.

Yet, she’d hidden in this place, looking for safety.

There was a part of her that still considered this space hers.

My hands shook, and I reached for my necklace, squeezing the charm as the ground at my feet grew warm.

“Damen…” Titus’s low warning cut through my thoughts. He’d moved to his feet, still cradling Bianca.

“I’m not.” My hand fell to my side as my attention drifted across the broken chair.

It was times like these that made me glad not to be fully human. Demons were so much more direct.

I’d spent lifetimes trying to understand why Mu cared. I thought I’d gotten a pretty good grasp on human nature. I even thought I might have been starting to believe.

But maybe most people were inherently evil.

I glared at the chair. “Not yet.”

I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of it in the future, though.