Page 59 of An Unending Claim
I twisted the ring on my thumb and thought about what it said.
Tu es ton propre destin.
I’d always assumed it meant to live my life in freedom, to break out of the constraints of settling down. I thought my dad had been reminding me that I was a panther and we roamed, making our own future, not living that way society dictated we should.
But lately, I’d begun to hear the phrase in a different way. However it was intended, wasn’t necessarily what it meant to me. Maybe genetics had nothing to do with my destiny. If I truly made my own, then couldn’t I choose?
“You need to eat, baby,” Nathan urged, interrupting my thoughts. He scooped me up against his chest and carried me to the kitchen, despite my repeated demands that he let me walk. Although my panther just lazed about, content to be in Nathan’s arms. “You’re tiny, and I like carrying you around.”
“I’m tall for a female and you know it,” I countered with a scowl. “You’re just a giant.”
We frequently bickered about this, and the more it happened, the more it made me smile.
“Idon’t care what the rules are in the fucking Underworld, Azreal. I’m not going to punish someone for owning land where the crime was staged.” Nathan’s tone was calm and steady, but the expression on his face showed just how frustrated he was. Whatever the King of Sin said in response had Nathan’s eyes narrowing and his voice was dangerous when he replied. “Don’t threaten me, Azreal. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want me as an enemy.”
Ice trickled down my spine. I’d never felt any fear of Nathan, and while I knew he would never, ever hurt me, it was hard not to shrink back from the deadly creature that sat before me.
I’d come to his office with information I’d just discovered, but waited at the door when I heard Azreal’s voice coming from Nathan’s phone. Azreal had called to demand again that Sam take the blame for Hamna’s murder. I cringed when I thought about the email I’d received a few minutes ago. I’d already been intending to talk with Nathan about other things, so the timing worked out anyway.
“I’m working on it,” Nathan intoned. “You’ll know when I know.”
I could tell it took considerable effort for Nathan not to slam the phone onto his desk, but his fist was gripping it so tightly, it would inevitably crack soon.
“You might want to avoid crushing your phone because we have some calls to make,” I said as I walked fully into the room.
Nathan’s whole demeanor softened when he heard my voice and warmth bloomed in my chest when he looked at me and his shoulders lost their stiffness. I loved that I could do that for him. Bring him peace. It was only fair since he’d been keeping my nightmares at bay since we began sleeping in the same bed.
He held out his hand as he scooted his chair back and I dutifully made my way around the desk and let him wrap his arms round me and pull me into his lap.
“How are you, baby?” His question was muffled because he’d immediately buried his face in the crook of my neck. I shivered in a whole different way when his tongue darted out and licked his mark. “Still feeling sick?” His silver eyes were concerned when he raised his head and met my gaze.
My morning sickness had been a little worse lately and it worried him. “I’m perfectly fine. It’s natural,” I told him again with exasperation. “Not fun, but there’s nothing wrong with me.”
His expression was dubious, but I wasn’t about to get into that argument again. “The reports came in. We were right. I assume they are also in your email.”
Nathan’s brow furrowed as he used his free hand to type a few commands on his keyboard. His email popped up and he found the message I’d referred to. After he read just the first few sentences, his mouth tightened and his muscles bunched, the tension returning. “There’s no way Xavier could have known these details of your attack in the alley, or the attempt to kidnap you, without B telling him.”
Hamna had been shot with the exact same type of bullets, from the exact same type of gun, and left in the spot where the woman I’d witnessed B killing had been found. The shell casings around her had the same etching as the ones that had killed Geoff, as well as my fingerprints, and they’d found strands of my hair on her. The hair they could have taken from the shirt B had been wearing when he tried to kidnap me, but I really wanted to know how the fuck they had my prints. They weren’t in any system and I’d barely been anywhere besides our cabin and KBO since I arrived.
“I’ve also been considering the idea that Xavier might have pushed B into trying to snatch you. It would explain why B was so disorganized and frantic over it.”
I hadn’t thought of that angle. It made sense, and would confirm what I’d come to realize. “I knew Xavier hated me, but to let B stay after finding out what he’s been doing… to encourage it, and risk his new mate just to get to me… he’s as sick as B.”
Nathan was quiet, but he vibrated with the force of his anger. Before he could speak, his phone rang again. After a quick glance at the caller ID, he growled and stabbed the answer button, then put it on speaker. “I literally just opened the report, and I know they sent it to me first. How the fuck do you know?”
“Nothing happens in this city without my knowledge,loup,” Lucien De La Coeur answered in his suave but masculine voice. “I learned of Hamna’s murder the next morning, but you were informed about the incident before I had an opportunity to contact you. However, I received the ME and police reports a few minutes ago and thought to reach out in case you did not yet have them in your possession.”
I tilted my head and bumped Nathan’s arm with my elbow. When he looked at me, I whispered, “Our emails arrived nearly an hour ago, I just didn’t see them because I was researching.”
Nathan looked marginally relieved and I couldn’t help feeling a little smug, even if it was petty. There were so many reasons no one fucked with Nathan King—except my lunatic grandfather.
“Am I to assume you already have them?” Lucien queried.
“Yes.” Nathan paused for a moment and ran a hand over his beard. “That’s not why you are calling, De La Coeur.”
There was silence on the other end of the line and if I hadn’t heard the subtle background noises, I would have thought he’d hung up.
Finally, Lucien spoke again. “Another body was discovered inLa Chambre Rouge.”