“He did, didn’t he?” A harsh laugh scrapes my throat before cutting off. “It was Jonathan who told you to arrest Silas, Erik, and Mavros. Wasn’t it?”
The last sentence is all fury, and I relish the way Father Michael recoils.
“Those filthy heathens deserve to be punished, just like them,” he spits, lifting a bony finger past my shoulder. He tsks. “And as much as it pains me to say it, you too, Evie. You’ve strayed from heaven’s light and plunged into darkness. What will your father say when he sees what you’ve become?”
“You can’t keep them in prison,” I say, chest heaving. And despite knowing Silasdidkill Mark, the words don’t feel like a lie when I say, “They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Actually, we can,” says the officer with the bad combover. “They don’t have alibis, and the victim is still missing.”
“That’s circumstantial evidence at best,” Noctis states, his words clipped but controlled.
“We have a witness who claims the victim and one of the suspects were involved with the same woman,” another officer adds. “We believe it may have been a lover’s quarrel.”
The blood drains from my face. They’re talking about me. Me and Silas—but also me and Mark.
Anyone could’ve seen us at the nightclub that first night. Dozens of people could’ve watched me leave with Mark, then seen him turn up the next day with a black eye. And me grinding on Silas.
As if called by thought, my gaze lifts to the camera monitors. One of the previously empty cells now holds three men. One of them cocks his head, almost like he can sense me watching. He stands, dark hair and thick lashes coming into view as he stares straight into the lens. Silas.
“Don’t blame yourself, Evie,” the first officer says, his tone growing more patronizing as he looks me over. Nausea threatens to upend my stomach as he finally drags his eyes away from my body and gestures for me to go with Father Michael. “These devils could bewitch anyone, but I sometimes join Jonathan when he’s out saving lost souls. We’ll set you right. Tell your father I said hello when you get home.”
Father Michael extends his hand, expecting me to take it. I could. I could let him take me back and accept whatever horrible punishment Jonathan comes up with, falling back in line with the future they’ve written for me. That’s what I’m expected to do. And in some ways, it would be easier.
I’ve been raised in this life. Told time and time again that being a wife, serving my husband, and becoming a mother was the path to find meaning.
It’s hard to recognize the grave when you’re already buried in it.
But somewhere along the way, I started digging myself out. Silas, Tempest, the Seven—they’ve helped me through the last of it, lifting me above the rot clinging to my body, the lies weighing on my soul. But it’s always been up to me to continue to fight. To choose to live.
“They were with me all night,” I say, ignoring Father Michael and focusing on the officer. I’m proud of the steeled tone to my words, even if I’m trembling inside.
“Don’t do this.” Father Michael shakes his head. “Your father will have no choice but to punish you.”
The combover is a lost cause, so I turn to the three officers who don’t seem to know who I am and lift my chin.
“Silas, Erik, and Mavros are innocent. And I can prove it.”
33
SILAS
“How do the police know about Mark?” Erik asks. His head is cradled between his hands, elbows resting on his knees.
We were stuck in some shitty hole-in-the-wall cell with no camera for hours. I kept expecting some fucker to show up and beat the shit out of us, but maybe Noctis is making progress. We’ve now been transferred to a holding cell with an overhead panel light and a camera with a small, blinking red dot. Practically a five-star hotel.
It’s been years since I’ve been locked up, since they’ve had anything solid enough to land an inquiry. I’m curious what they even think we’ve done. We’ve been here for hours and no one’s asked a single question. Almost like the cops picked us up as a favor.
Considering how the arrest went down and Noctis’s legal prowess, I expected to be home within the hour, preferably with Evie’s thighs wrapped around my face. But we’re still here. That, coupled with the fact that I was denied a phone call, is a problem.
“This isn’t a typical arrest,” Mavros says, echoingmy thoughts. “Those involved in the southern circuit must be onto us. We did take out six of their men in the last two weeks.”
I grunt my agreement, combing through all the pieces in my mind. “Evie is the only person outside of us who knew about Mark,” Erik says, trying to sound casual, but the implication pricks nonetheless.
“She wouldn’t betray me,” I snap, not bothering to hide my irritation.
“We’re closer than we’ve ever been to finding Morana and shutting the ring down,” Mavros grunts, heedless of the warning look I shoot him. “Evie could’ve been a plant all along.”
“Enough,” I hiss. “Evie may have been leashed by her self-entitled family in the beginning, but she’s different. Kinder. Darker. You fuckers might not get it, but every second she’s spent with me has been her choice.”
