“I wasn’t exactly with Astrid then,” he reminded him. “And I was playing the part of the owner, remember?”
“Hold on.” Astrid held up a hand. “Can someone please explain to me what’s going on? You’ve met this detective before?” she asked her husband.
“Remember Deedee’s party, when the mages attacked The Lounge?” he said, referring to the private area in the back of Blood Moon. “We had to clear the main club and some cops came. Detective Selinofoto was there, and she got a little too nosy.” He gestured toward Lucas. “She saw Lucas after he shifted.”
In bloodlust. He could almost hear the unspoken words. That’s why he couldn’t recall much. His jaw tensed. They’d met before—even before the night on the roof deck—but he didn’t remember. But why didn’t she say anything? “I thought we took care of all the witnesses?”
“Me too.” He looked at Astrid. “Your father gave her the forgetting potion.”
“Huh.” She tapped a finger on her chin. “Maybe it didn’t work on her or he didn’t use a strong enough batch.”
“But what was she doing here today then?” Zac asked.
“A security officer called up here and told us that a detective wanted to talk to Lucas.”
“And you let her up?” he asked Lucas. “What did she want?”
When he saw her in the security cameras, he had been so shocked that he immediately told them to let her upstairs. That, and his curiosity was piqued. What was she doing here?
“She seems to think Lucas was involved in a murder,” Astrid said.
Zac looked at them incredulously. “Okay, you both are going to have to explain this one to me.”
This time, it was Astrid who brought Zac up to date, starting from when the detective asked Lucas about Thomas Dixon. “… and then you walked in,” she finished. “Frankly, it was ballsy of her to just come in here and accuse him of murder.”
“Ridiculous,” Zac said. “Why don’t you ask your father to pay the detective a visit? Surely he can formulate a potion that will work on her? That way, she won’t remember any of this ever happened and she’ll forget about Lucas.”
His wolf made its displeasure known with an angry growl, the deep rumble vibrating in his chest. He didn’t have to guess that the wolf didn’t like Zac’s words.
“Magic doesn’t work that way,” Astrid said. “At least, not the forgetting potion. It can only erase recent memories. She might forget she ever came here today, but she won’t forget that night. Though, I have heard it’s possible …” She drifted off, her brows wrinkling. “Magic like that, something that would strip the memory of an entire event or person, it’s extremely difficult.”
Relief poured through him, knowing her memory couldn’t be totally erased. “Making her forget seems a bit drastic,” he said, his voice controlled.
“That’s why we have the police commissioner in the know,” Zac said.
The New York Lycans had connections everywhere, including the highest law enforcement offices in the city. It was necessary to keep their existence a secret.
“We can always ask him to put pressure on the detective,” Astrid continued. “Then she’ll back off Lucas.”
“Let’s not use our connections yet,” Lucas said. “Besides, we won’t know what she knows.”
“What do you mean?” Zac asked.
“You heard what she said. She seems to know that we do something to make sure no human ever remembers us.” She practically egged him on, telling him that she knew about witnesses conveniently forgetting anything that had to do with them. His gut was telling him she was hiding more.
“I wonder if this so-called murder is just the tip of the iceberg,” Astrid said. “She knew about when you and Adrianna were kidnapped. I’m sure my dad had to give the potion to people who saw you get kidnapped outside your school.”
“I bet she’s been digging into other cases involving us.” And him. What else could she have found out? Did she uncover what happened when he was a teenager? With Caroline? Anger surged through him at the thought. When he glanced at Zac, the worried look on his face told him he was thinking of that night, too. After all, he and Adrianna had been there.
What was Selinofoto’s end game, anyway? Did she think she could bring him down? She was a human, despite what his nose was telling him, and no match for him. If she was getting her kicks trying to dig up the past, he’d show her exactly what it was like to go up against a Lycan.
“I have to agree with Lucas,” Astrid said. “I think she was hoping to gauge your reaction, Lucas. Maybe she knows more but needed to confirm something else. Something bigger.”
Zac frowned. “Don’t you have someone who could alibi you for that night?”
“Of course,” Lucas admitted. “The security team saw me go into the house, and I didn’t leave until morning.”
“Then why didn’t you tell her that?” Zac asked in an exasperated voice. “You could have gotten rid of her right away.”
“She said I wasn’t under arrest. I don’t owe human authorities an explanation for my whereabouts.” He was going to be Alpha of New York, the most powerful Lycan clan in the world. “And my connection to her murder victim is thin.” True, while he wasn’t sad that one of his kidnappers was dead, that didn’t mean he had a motive. Any good lawyer would have shredded the detective’s circumstantial evidence, and Fenrir kept the best on retainer. He decided he would actually enjoy watching his lawyers tear into her investigation.
“So, what are you going to do now?”
“If she knows something, we can’t let her keep digging. She already knows too much and connected too many dots.” He turned to Astrid. “I want to know everything about this detective. Have Mika pull up everything we can about her. Then, make sure someone keeps an eye on her.”
“Are you sure that’s smart?” Zac asked. “If she finds out we’re watching her, she might not take it well. And
