“How’d you know?”
Peter rested his chin on top of my head and the rest of the world seemed to disappear. “Edna sensed something weird was up. She knew these two were no good, and I’d confided some of my suspicions to her about Davies’s death. She contacted me at home after you left with Taylor and told me what happened.”
I nodded against him. I owed Edna a big thank-you.
“I got in contact with Bon and Russo, and Edna roped in a few other officers she knew were good ones, willing to stick their necks out.”
So there were other gems like Peter on the force? That was slightly reassuring, though after my experience I doubted I’d be a big fan of cops in general anytime soon.
He gripped my shoulders and suddenly held me out at arm’s length. I blinked up at his concerned face.
“Why didn’t you use your magic to send up a signal?” He glanced down at me, then around the room, and raised his voice. “Did anyone find Jolene’s wand?”
Daisy trotted over to Peter’s side, her dark eyes fixed on me.
I took advantage of Peter being distracted to give her a quiet “woof!” Hey, Daisy. Thanks for having my back.
She growled. I have Peter’s back.
I rolled my eyes, but grinned. Sure. Still… thanks.
The very tip of her tail wagged just the tiniest amount. I grinned. I’d take it.
Peter turned back to me, his brows pulled together and lips quirked to the side. “No one’s found it yet, sorry. Did one of those guys take it?”
It took me a moment to remember we were talking about my wand. Which of course I didn’t have, because why bother when you didn’t have magic? I glanced down at the canine lie detector and carefully considered my next words so as to avoid lying.
“I, uh, didn’t have my wand on me.”
Doubt flashed across Peter’s face as he searched mine. “But… why? This has happened before, why wouldn’t you carry your wand?”
I opened my mouth to say I forgot, but Daisy’s dark eyes bored into me. I licked my lips. “I, uh—didn’t think of bringing it.”
Daisy whined. Truth.
Whew.
Peter bit his lip and looked down at his shiny black shoes, then glanced around the room. The other cops were busy escorting the buzzcuts and Chief Taylor and collecting evidence. Finding them distracted, he turned back to me. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew Emerson? And… how do you know him?”
I gritted my teeth and half turned away. What could I say? I scratched the back of my neck. “I, uh, knew him a long time ago. I didn’t think it was relevant.”
Daisy growled. Lie.
I shot her a look. Come on, dog. I looked up at Peter, pleading with him to not be upset with me. I couldn’t tell him the truth. He’d probably never speak to me again. Which, yeah, was pretty selfish of me. My stomach sunk.
Peter looked pained. He shifted on his feet and crossed his arms. “Look, Jolene… I thought we had a good thing going, but how can this work if you won’t tell me the truth?”
“I mostly tell you the truth.” I raised my brows, but Daisy growled, and I huffed at her.
Peter pressed his lips tight together and looked away, his eyes glassy. I racked my brain for some way to make this right. Finally, he turned back to me. “Partners have to trust each other.”
I bit my cheek to keep from crying, though my eyes stung. Stupid tears. “You can trust me, Peter.”
He shook his head. “No. I meant, you don’t trust me enough to tell me the truth.”
I felt like all the air had been knocked out of me. My legs nearly buckled. That Bruma Eve night when I’d been exposed as a shifter, Zale had said practically the exact same thing.
Peter spun on his heel and without another word stalked off, his shoulders slumped.
36
ZALE
Sometime between leaving the restored pirate ship and dragging myself back up to one of the tops tiers of the island, it’d started to rain. Which meant I was soaked and looked like something the tide washed up.
I lifted my fist and pounded on the paneled door again. I hugged close to it, trying to huddle under the ridiculously small overhang. I glared up at it and a raindrop pelted me right in the eye. Ow. Why even make a stone overhang if it wasn’t functional? I channeled my nerves into anger at the architecture.
Footsteps sounded close to the door, and I hoped Zale still lived here. It’d been years, and he easily could’ve moved. If so, some poor sucker was about to be scared by a wet street rat of a lady showing up on their stoop in the middle of the night.
I braced myself, and the door swung open. My stomach clenched. Zale stood there in a maroon robe and slippers, rubbing at his eyes.
He froze when he recognized me. “Jolene?”
He stepped slightly back as if to invite me in out of the rain, but seemed to catch himself and think better of it. He glanced behind him into the dark townhouse, where Eve probably slept, then spun to face me, fully taking up the doorway. “Jolene. What are you doing here?”
I took a deep breath. Peter’s words had struck a nerve, and after running into Zale—twice—it felt like time to finally get some answers. I launched right into it, without any preface.
“When you dumped me—”
He flinched.
“—you said it was because I’d lied to you. I need closure—I need to understand. Was that it?” I raised my brows as water trickled down my face from my hairline. “Was that the only reason? If I’d been truthful, could you really have accepted me for who—and what—I was?”
I shivered, chilled despite
