“Sharpe,” she began. “About what happened in there—”
“What is he?” he asked in a contemplative voice. “And what is Anderson?”
She couldn’t tell him about Lycans, since she promised Frankie Anderson to keep their secret. But she supposed she didn’t say anything about mages. “I know this will be hard to wrap your head around, but magic exists. And Masters, he used dark magic to control you. Like he controlled Bushnell, which is why he was acting weird.”
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “If I didn’t experience it myself, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
“How did you break free of his control?” Even Masters had been surprised.
“I … I don’t know exactly. Even though he controlled me, I could see everything that was happening. It was like a rope was wrapped around me and I just imagined peeling it off me.” He shrugged. “I thought my head was going to burst.”
“We can’t put the truth in our report,” she said. “We already know Masters is guilty. But if we expose what he is—”
“His lawyer could plead insanity or say we were the crazy ones,” he finished. “We’ll keep that part to ourselves. If he does expose himself, then it’s our words against his, and no judge will believe magic exists.”
“I—Oh, shit! The necklace!” She had been so preoccupied that she just tossed it aside. She and Sharpe ran back to the apartment. Crawling to where she last saw it, she searched for the necklace, but didn’t find it. They turned over the entire room, but there was no trace of it. “Motherfucking hell! Where could it have gone?”
“Maybe someone snuck in and got it,” Sharpe guessed. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. It’s not like it’s going to help our case against Masters.”
True, but that evil necklace was out there, somewhere. She had to tell Lucas. Lucas! He would be out any moment, and she wanted to be there to see him. “Let’s go back to the station. We can get our stories in order on the way.”
As they drove back to the precinct, they decided on a modified version of the story. Masters exposed himself by slipping up about Dixon’s head injury and had no choice but to confess. He tried to escape and Sharpe drew his gun, but the shot went wild. Sofia then tackled him, and they subdued him together.
As they approached the station, she saw the familiar town car waiting outside, Reyes already by the door. Sharpe had barely stopped his car when she flew out. Lucas was already out the door, surrounded by two men in suits, Zac, and Astrid. His clothes were rumpled, and his stubble was now thicker and covered half his face.
“Lucas!” she called, her heart bursting with emotion at the sight of him. “Thank God—”
His mismatched eyes went dark, like a sudden storm forming over the ocean. “Did you come here to stop them from releasing me?”
She skidded to a stop, as if an invisible barrier stood between them. “Lucas? What’s the matter?”
“What’s the matter?” he snarled. “Was this your plan all along? Were you building your case, hoping to entice me to confess by sleeping with me?”
His words were like a thousand knives, cutting into her skin. “No,” she croaked. “You can’t believe—”
“I heard every word your captain said.” His mouth pulled back into a tight line. “About how you did a good job gathering the evidence.”
“No! I swear I didn’t do anything!” She managed to grab onto his lapels, but he pulled her hands away, his fingers digging into her wrists so hard she knew they would bruise. “Lucas, you’re hurting me.”
“You deceitful bitch,” he spat. “I never want to see you again.”
“Lucas, please! I didn’t do it, I swear. I love—”
“Don’t you dare!” His voice thundered, and she flinched visibly. “Don’t you even try to say those words.” He pulled her closer and whispered low. “And if you tell anyone about us, I’m going to crush you. I’ll make sure you won’t even find work as a meter maid, then destroy your grandfather’s restaurant.”
His threats had their desired effect, and she nodded meekly. He let go of her wrists, then turned away and marched into the car. Reyes scowled at her as he held the door open. She could feel the tears burning behind her eyes, but she refused to let them form.
Despite the fact that her heart felt like it was being crushed under an eighteen-wheeler, she still wanted to protect him. The mages might still be out there, and they had the necklace. “Astrid!” she called out as the young woman was about to enter the town car after Lucas.
Zac stepped protectively in front of his mate, his blue eyes like shards of ice. A snarl left his lips and she wanted to cower back. “You have to listen to me,” she began, very voice shaky.
She whispered something to Zac. “Go to Lucas,” she said. He looked like he wanted to argue, but when his wife flashed him a meaningful look, he held his tongue.
“Two minutes,” he warned before walking away from them.
When they were alone, the Lycan spoke. “You heard Lucas.” Whiskey brown eyes were flashing with barely contained anger. “I won’t let you hurt him.”
“I’m trying to protect him!” She fisted her hands at her side. “I swear I wasn’t investigating him for Fraser’s murder. I already suspected he was being framed.” But that didn’t matter because Lucas really believed she lied. “It was David Masters. He was trying to frame Lucas. Masters is a mage.”
Astrid’s expression turned from anger to shock. “His assistant?”
She relayed to Astrid what happened with Masters. “He used a necklace to control my partner and my captain.” Hopefully she wouldn’t ask about Sharpe, as she would hate for him to lose his memory.
She looked like
