Page 67 of Connor's Claim
I yanked the door open. Slipped into the gap and tugged it closed. My breath left me in a hard rush, as on the other side of the glass panel, Riordan crashed to a halt, his hands landingeither side of my head and his gaze connecting with mine, the visor of his helmet up to reveal savage eyes.
Like an idiot, I pressed a kiss to my fingertips and blew it to him, then turned and darted away.
How to Catch a Man by Cassiopeia Archer. Subtitle: A masterclass in getting him to chase you.
Laughing to myself, I took the lift up to the top floor where Genevieve had told me we were meeting, stripped my wet coat because now I was boiling, and knocked on her and Arran’s door. At the same moment, the entrance to Shade’s apartment opened and he and Everly emerged.
I waved a greeting. “You’re back.”
Shade grunted. “Ev lives here now.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Um, congrats? Blink twice if ye need help.”
She laughed, but it was short-lived. “It isn’t Connor I need rescuing from. More on that in a minute.”
Shade, as I couldn’t revise my naming for him to use his real one, scowled. I pulled a face back. How was it that with him, I could act myself, but with the man I actually liked, I turned into a complete freak?
We entered the opposite apartment, and I curled up on the sofa, Genevieve’s fluffy brown cat leaping onto my lap. From my bag, I found my notepad and pen, ready for tonight’s detective work.
Arran gave me a nod in greeting then did the same to Shade and Everly. “Thanks for coming up. We all know another woman was found dead. I’m going to play you the voice message Detective Dickhead left me when I asked for intel.”
Detective Dickhead’s real name was Kenney. None of us used it.
A message played, the voice muffled as if in an attempt to disguise it.
“Yeah, so the basics. Amelia Martin, twenty-three, Canadian, brown hair, small tits, housesitting for the previous two weeks. She’d been picking up work while travelling the UK and Europe and had been here around two months. No known boyfriend or any man she was concerned about, according to her relatives. No history of being a sex worker. From initial analysis, we think she was killed after a break-in on Saturday night but not discovered until the homeowner returned yesterday evening. Her throat was slit, likely where she died based on the blood pattern. Pathologist’s report will come when I get it. Don’t hassle me. Information’s going to be tight on this one. Lot of press interest now there’s three.”
The cop muttered something then came back. “Update me on the list I sent over. The last one is a pain in my ass and I could use the good news.”
The call ended, and Arran set down his phone. His dark eyes roamed over us. “That makes three. Cherry, Natasha, and now Amelia. All within a few weeks, nothing immediately obvious in common between the victims other than being young women.”
Pale, Everly nodded. “Amelia died on Saturday. The night Riordan and Connor came to my house. Riordan told me about the kidnap threat, then Connor brought me here.”
Genevieve watched her. “Oh, right. So that’s the night my brother was there.” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, our brother.”
Everly gave her a soft smile. “He’s yours, even if he’s my relative, too. I don’t know him, and I don’t want to take anything away from you.”
I did. I wanted to handcuff him and stow his huge frame in the back of my car then steal him away to a secret hideout. Mentally, I tapped my hand.Bad Cassie.
Shade cleared his throat. “As much as I’m no fan of his, I don’t think we need to add him to the suspects’ list.”
Genevieve glowered at him, but he continued.
“But the Four Milers who showed up after, they’re a possibility we hadn’t considered.”
I piped up. “We considered Don, but he’s dead, so that’s a no-go. We also had Red on the list, the gang leader, but what if it’s a tactic of some kind that the whole gang is taking part in? Killing women for some purpose.”
Genevieve angled her head. “Like as a distraction or to destabilise the city? They were trying to catch Everly, so that tracks.” She twisted to face her boyfriend. “How can we find that out?”
Arran rubbed his jaw. “Got to say, it doesn’t fit for me. Red already denied Natasha’s murder. I’m going to call him.”
Genevieve blinked. “You can do that?”
He shrugged. “We might be blood rivals, but occasionally we share information.” He swept his gaze across us all. “Nobody says a word.”
He set his phone on loudspeaker. As it rang, Shade took up Arran’s tablet and searched on it, then he turned the screen to face us right as the call connected.
“Daniels, to what do I owe the pleasure?” a slow voice followed.