Page 124 of Risky Passion
“Well, you probably don’t know this either, Jaxson found a freshbody at Angelsong Orphanage. A woman probably in her fifties or sixties.”
“Holy shit. Do you know who it is?”
“No.” Whitney looked like he was going to vomit. “Unfortunately, Beatrice stole the body before she burned down Angelsong Orphanage.”
“She what?” Shock registered in Aria’s tone. “Fucking hell. I don’t have time for this. I have to go.” Aria’s tone could crack bricks. “I’ll call you later.” She ended the call.
Cobra turned to us. “Maybe the Watts surname is just a coincidence. It might not be our captain.”
“I agree,” Parker said, striding back to us. “We can’t jump to conclusions about Captain Watts. Maybe he had a brother or an uncle.” Despite his words, doubt was written all over his face.
“Still, the fact that our investigations keep getting sabotaged is hard to ignore,” Whitney said.
No one spoke as the tension in the room thickened.
“Let’s keep going with these files,” Cobra said, reaching into the box in front of him.
I forced myself to focus, though every part of me felt weighed down—whether by the sheer exhaustion creeping in or the crushing weight of everything we’d uncovered so far, I couldn’t tell. My chest felt tight, and my hands trembled as I reached for the next stack of documents. I couldn’t stop now. Ihadto keep going.
I wanted to be awake when Jaxson called. I wanted to hear his voice, to know for certain that he was okay. To hug him.
Billie walked into the room pushing a pram with little Jack inside.
“Oh, thank God,” Whisper said, practically leaping up from her chair. “I need a distraction.”
I followed her to the pram, grateful for the break from the endless, grim files.
“Look at him,” Whisper cooed, crouching next to the pram. “He’s getting so big.”
I leaned over, unable to resist smiling as baby Jack kicked his tiny feet. “He’s adorable.”
Billie’s face lit up. “We just thought we’d stop by. We heard the good news.”
“Thank God, huh? I bet Levi was going bonkers,” Whisper said, straightening up.
Billie let out a long, weary sigh. “You’ve got that right. You know how he is.”
“Oh, I do.” Whisper smirked. “That man wears his emotions for the whole world to see.”
Billie chuckled and scooped her long ponytail off her shoulder. “It’s one of the things I love about him.”
“Speaking of love,” Whisper said, her tone teasing as she raised an eyebrow, “when are you two getting married?”
Billie shrugged, though the corners of her mouth twitched with a smile. “Don’t know. I’m still waiting for the big lug to propose.”
“Maybe Maya’s wedding will light a fire under him.” Whisper wriggled her brows.
“Maybe,” Billie said with a soft laugh. “But I’m not too worried. We’re already a family.”
As Billie’s gaze lowered to her baby and a look of absolute joy swept across her face, it hit home just how right Yasmin was. Despite all the hell that had descended on our towns, so many of them had found their partners through the chaos they endured. And amidst all the darkness, there were still moments of magic that reminded us of how special life was.
Maybe Jaxson and I can make our own kind of magic when he gets back.
The thought warmed me, and I had to stifle a giggle before forcing myself back to the files. Reluctantly, I reached into the box again.
The documents seemed to blur together, each one worse than the last. Photo after photo of bruised and battered children stared back at me, their hollow eyes burning into my mind. Some photos had names and dates scrawled on the back, which I handed off to Cobra. Most of them had nothing, and I kept wondering who took the photos and, more importantly . . . why?
I couldn’t look at them anymore. I justcouldn’t.
