Page 98 of White Raven (Nevermore Duet #2)

“Damn…everybody wants a piece, don’t they?” Foster smirked. “This is Danny,” she introduced, pointing a thumb over at her partner. “He’s one of the best on my team. He’s been briefed on literally everything, and trust me, you’ll be grateful for his skills…if you catch my meaning.”

Rhaena crossed her arms. “That’s great, but where’s Sykes?”

“We moved her and the girlfriend to separate interrogation rooms,” Danny answered, gesturing for them to follow them down the hallway.

Athan took Sarah’s hand and filed behind Rhaena and Jenkins.

“Uh…we won’t be able to hold her long, as you probably already know…

she’s a person of interest, but there’s a lot lacking where it pertains to the captain’s case.

What other things we have on Ryan Sykes puts her in a whole different jurisdiction. ”

“You mean you have no evidence,” Brent added from behind them. Danny and Foster both nodded. “So, what happens then? You take her back to Seattle?”

“Don’t know just yet,” Foster huffed, sliding a card through the slot to open the door to observation.

“That bitch isn’t going anywhere,” Rhaena promised, taking the first available spot at the window.

It was almost like Sykes could sense them there.

As soon as she turned her face to the glass, Athan’s heart pounded with animosity.

A knowing smirk crawled over her mouth, and her eyes somehow found his.

“ Aaannnd , now I wanna slash her throat,” Sarah growled, staring at her.

“Easy, ‘killa…” Wren snorted. “Where’s Leigh?”

“She’s two rooms over. They came in here of their own accord.

” Foster took a spot in the corner, and addressed them all, but focused her attention on Rhaena.

“I’m assuming we’re all on the same page as far as who and what Ryan Sykes is…

correct?” Everybody nodded. “Good. So…it won’t be a shock to anybody that for the past few weeks, the sole focus of my team’s investigation has been on her, the coven she protects… and that pack .”

“If that pac k…means so much to her, then she should have stayed in fucking Seattle,” Rhaena argued.

Athan eyed his partner, and anger radiated from her in waves. Jenkins did his best to keep her leveled, but it was becoming more clear by the second that everybody in this room could be in some very serious danger if Rhaena lost control. And that possibility seemed very likely.

“Sykes came here for the girl…of that I have no doubt, but …that was not her main reason for coming back to Boston,” Foster continued. “Northwood— Rhaen a…I…think you need to see what’s behind door number three.”

Rhaena’s entire body went still. “No,” she whispered under her breath. “She didn’t.”

Foster only nodded—almost sympathetically.

“A willing bargaining chip, in exchange for letting her go free. And as badly as I’d like to take the gold star…

I really don’t feel like it’s my place. It might be my biggest-ever, promotion-earning case…

but this isn’t my war. It’s yours. It’s your captain’s .

And as much as I hate to side with the Devil here… it’s Ryan’s too.”

Athan bristled, and Rhaena’s teeth ground audibly.

All eyes were glued to her. “Rhaena?” he started, trying to get that lethal focus away from the woman on the other side of that glass.

Rhaena glanced at him, and her once soft brown eyes were a molten amber that threatened to burn the world down.

The kind of stare that usually came with claws.

Brandon looked helpless at her side, knowing that if she boiled over, there might not be any stopping her, and Athan wracked his brain trying to figure out a solution.

His knuckles tightened, and the ring on his thumb bit into his skin…

And then it hit him.

“Here,” he said, all but ripping the silver off his thumb. “I dunno what we’re about to deal with here, but try it.” He held it out to her, and she trembled as she stared down at the glinting circle in his palm. “It used to work for the wolf. Maybe it’ll work for the—hybrid.”

“That’s brilliant,” Sarah said, sending her eyebrows skyrocketing to her hairline. “I mean…it’s…better than my handy dandy solution for everything.”

Foster scoffed at her. “Which I told you not to do.”

“Yeah, well…you never said not to use it in a moment of desperation for someone who clearly isn’t fucking human. I might have messed up this last time, but…balance or no balance, things could have gone really badly that night we found out Athan was missing.”

“I’ll do it,” Rhaena snapped, holding her hand out. “Put it on.”

Athan made to slip the ring on, and Brandon stepped in between them.

“Hold up. The only person putting a ring on that hand is me. I got this.” A tremendous feeling of pride rushed through his bones as he took a long, hard look at his comrade.

Athan genuinely smiled, ignoring the gasps of surprise around him as he handed the ring over.

They could leave. Rhaena Northwood was gonna be just fine.

She’d lead their force as captain, and Brandon Jenkins would lead her .

He’d fight for her. Protect her. Today suddenly seemed like more of a sign from God, than another battle.

It would be the same for whatever was behind ‘door number three’…

as long as she had this man standing next to her.

Completely and utterly human, and ten times the being Athan felt he was.

He nodded at Jenkins, and a flash of deep understanding and belonging bolted through his eyes as he took the ring, smiling back and turning to slip it onto Rhaena’s forefinger.

She flinched, and they all held their breath.

Wren took a hard step forward, Brent protectively backing her, and Rhaena’s body relaxed.

The wolf stopped its howling, and the silver was like a tranquilizer dart, while the vampire in her amped whatever strength she’d need to control herself.

It worked.

She took a deep breath, and when her mouth opened, he saw a set of slightly longer canines, but hardly noticeable—and kind of hot. Especially when she smiled back at him, happy as fuck that it worked, and she wasn’t a weak, drooling, heap of fur on the floor of a tattered closet.

She’d be okay.

Relieved breaths sounded around the tight room, and Foster made a move from her spot in the corner.

“Well,” she sighed. “I’ll add that to the list of shit I should have known.

” She pulled a tiny flashlight from her belt and shined it in Rhaena’s eyes.

“Do we know what kind of side effects this will have?”

“I’ve seen those for myself,” Wren answered, getting nods from both Athan and Sarah. “In her full-out beast mode, it was pretty heart-wrenching. But this? Damn . This is remarkable.”

“How do you feel, Northwood?” Foster asked.

Rhaena’s grateful expression fell, and they all watched her. “I feel like I’ll be a little less likely to ask no questions and rip them all apart. Will that work for you?”

“That’s our girl,” Sarah chuckled.

“No shit,” Athan agreed.

“Who’s in there, Rhae?” Wren asked.

Rhaena focused on Athan then, narrowing her eyes. “Ashina fucking Northwood.”

Whatever poison that silver was to the wolf within, was an invigorating time bomb to the vampire she was still trying to adjust to.

Adrenaline was marrying every bolt of her rage.

Every hungry thrum of her heart, and Rhaena’s skin crawled with excitement and the overwhelming urge of pure dominance.

Brandon watched her, and Athan kept his eyes glued to the bitch sitting smugly in that chair on the other side of the metal table in the interrogation room—just waiting for a chance to gloat.

If she had any reservations about what she’d done to Athan that Sarah had insisted Sykes was remorseful about…

it didn’t show. Not at all, and it only made her want to tear her ass limb from limb. ..for everything .

“Foster, I’m going in there first,” Rhaena trembled, crossing her arms over her chest. Athan glanced over at her, confused most likely, as to why she wouldn’t first address her own mother.

Did she have a lot to say? Yes…but before she wrestled that demon back into hell…

she needed to put this one down first. Find out why the hell she would think to bring Ashina Northwood to Boston at all.

Not to mention how the hell she got her to agree to leave her safe haven to possibly end up locked away—or dead by her own bare hands.

“I won’t ask why. But I will ask for you to please try to keep that animal caged up, Rhaena.

Don’t attack her. I understand everybody’s been through a lot.

Detective Kane, you especially. And your girl.

But you guys have to remind yourselves that whether you asked for my help or not, I’m here, and I’ve offered it to the best of my ability and me, and this team have a lot riding on this case.

It’s rare to see me beg, but here we are.

I’m not above it. Don’t fuck it up for all of us based only on your anger. Okay?”

“I’m good, Foster. Kane comes with.”

Athan and Sarah exchanged looks, but Sarah seemed to understand—likely because of their gift of silent conversation—that she doesn’t have a badge, and can’t go in that room with them, even if it was going to kill her not to.

“I don’t think I have a single good memory in either of these rooms,” he breathed, sighing against the glass. Sykes had averted her eyes to the door, seeming pretty lost in her thoughts, and Brent stepped up behind them with a smirk.

“I do,” he chuckled through his nose.

“Puff that bird chest out anymore, Stratford, and I’ll be happy to show you what I held back last time,” Athan smiled playfully.