“Yes,” Max said as he tipped his head back, breathed, and placed his hands on the desk. Even though the move looked calm, it wasn’t. The way his hands were clutched might have looked easy, but I could tell there was underlying tension playing up into his wrists and into his elbows and arms. A tension that played specifically around his jaw as he parted his lips once more. “She’s gone missing.”
“She’s an informant for Internal Affairs?” Josh frowned hard. “I thought she’d been so determined never to help them?”
“She became one nonetheless,” Max said. He was now supremely controlled. Maybe he knew how to hide his emotions from an emotion reader, or maybe Max had simply shut down, and the emotional side of him had been buried underneath his reason.
“Why do you want us to look into this? I mean, why won’t Internal Affairs look for her?” I asked.
Max looked as if he wanted to ignore me – and Josh switched his gaze to the table.
I could deal with a lot of things, but the silent treatment was not one of them.
“I’m not sure where her last whereabouts were—” Max began.
Screw this. I’d been through way too much over the past two months to put up with this kind of crap. I stood abruptly and walked out.
“Where are you going? Do you need to—” Josh began.
“No, Josh, I don’t need to use the bathroom. This is me storming out. And this is me storming out because you’re doing it again. You’re telling me half-truths, playing with me, and deciding how much I need to know even though keeping secrets will invariably get me in trouble down the line. I’m not a toy, and neither am I a tool.”
“No one—” Josh began.
I opened the door, walked out, and shut it.
A part of me realized I was being completely irrational. I was being a bit of a bitch, too. I knew that Josh was processing the murder of his sister, and he was emotionally fragile.
But there was no reason for Max to be treating me like this.
I lingered behind the door, not knowing if I should actually storm off and leave the building, or hang around considering I was technically under a protection order.
I couldn’t decide, so I went with my gut instinct and veered to the left. Though the elevators were back to the right, something told me to walk this way.
I turned around a corner before I heard Max’s door open.
I walked for a few more meters and then saw a door. Judging by the sign, it led out onto the roof.
I didn’t even hesitate.
I walked out.
There was a quaint courtyard. It was built right into the side of the tower, and from the street below, you wouldn’t have been able to see it.
As soon as I walked out, the wind met me, buffeting my hair over my shoulders as I tilted my head up and looked at a few clouds being chased across the sky.
I felt exactly like those clouds. The wind was confused and was pushing the clouds in every which direction as if they didn’t have any say in the matter.
I shoved my hands into my pockets, closed my eyes, and walked over to the railing that led around the side of the courtyard. I sat down, pushed my feet through, and pressed my face against the metal palings.
“You’re an idiot. Go back and find Josh before you create an incident,” I spat to myself. “Stop being so emotional, too,” I added through clenched teeth.
All of it was sound advice, but the only problem was I couldn’t follow it.
My emotions were warring in my stomach, climbing up my chest, pounding into the back of my head. They were making me feel justified and completely irrational at the same time.
I squeezed my eyes closed.
What was the point of me if I could only find what other people wanted me to find?
Sure, maybe I could only find opportunities for myself, and maybe those opportunities didn’t always benefit other people. But Max was forgetting something, wasn’t he?
I’d been contracted to the government. I didn’t have a say in where I worked. He, on the other hand, got to work for himself.
Me? I had to track down bounties with Josh McIntosh. Even if I didn’t want to track down Max’s ex-fiancé, as long as Josh agreed, I had to.
As for finding who’d murdered Josh’s sister? Why wouldn’t that benefit other people? And even if it did hurt Josh in some way, presumably there was a murderer out there still at large, and I had a duty as a frigging bounty hunter to track him down.
That last part really got to me, so I opened my eyes.
I took a hard breath as I stared at the city, letting my gaze flick this way and that.
Out there was someone who’d torn Josh apart. Out there was someone who’d committed murder.
And I was going to find them.
I latched my hands around the railing and stood, the wind now grabbing my hair and sending it slapping around my face and arms.
I leaned forward as I closed my eyes. I wasn’t about to jump or anything – I was just concentrating on the city, centering my breath, and more than anything, trying to find what I was looking for.
I heard the faintest sound of shoes from behind me, and the next thing I knew, there was a hand on my shoulder as someone pulled me back.
I spluttered in surprise, turned, and almost slipped. Before I could fall back against the railing and jam my hip hard into it, somebody grabbed my arm, their grip firm.
Firm enough, in fact, that it reminded me of my vision of the past.
I blinked in surprise as I looked up into Max’s face.
Though he had short hair, it too was being whipped around by the wind, as were the tails of his jacket.
I expected him to ask something – demand why I’d run from the room and hidden out here in his courtyard. He didn’t. He just looked at me, his grip never shifting.
I swallowed. “I was just looking at the view,” I managed. “I wasn’t going to jump or anything,” I added.
“I know. But sometimes accidents happen. Sometimes when we have the best intentions, it doesn’t lead to the best outcome for everyone.”
Really? He was back on this?
I yanked my arm back from him, stood on my own two feet, and shook my head. “Is there something you actually want to say to me, Max?” My voice was as hard and sharp as a sword.
He ticked his gaze over to the view briefly, then locked it back on me. “There’s no reason to be like this.”
“I guess I’m an irrational idiot, then. Glad we got that sorted. Goodbye, Max.” I turned to walk away.
“Is there some reason you’re being like this today? You’re usually more controlled than this.”
I took another step then came to a skidding stop. I pressed my lips hard into my teeth. It was either to stop myself from crying or screaming at him. “Why am I not being more controlled, Max? Why should I have to? Me being controlled only benefits other people,” I emphasized that. “And then you can get to do whatever the hell you want with me without telling me a thing, because I’m nice and compliant and never react. Don’t worry, I’ll help Josh track down your ex-girlfriend, because I won’t have any option but to. Funny thing about being a contracted witch, that.”
“Is that what this is about?” He emphasized the word that.
Though Max had been controlling his emotion up until now, I sensed a surge of something. It felt twisted and reminded me of jealousy. That couldn’t be right, because what on earth did Max have to be jealous of?
Though I wanted to keep my back to him, I couldn’t. Not at that comment. I turned to him. “Yeah, sure, Max – you found the truth. It’s about me tracking down your ex-girlfriend. I’m jealous,” I said as I patted my chest. “Well done – you’ve become a truth finder as well.” I turned to walk out once more.
“There are paths you don’t want to go down, okay? People are trying to protect you, even if you can’t see that,” he said, his words bitter now.
I took another step then stopped. I stared dead-eyed at the closed door. �
�Firstly, does Josh know I’m out here? Or is he running around trying to find his protection order?”
“He’s aware you’re here. I told him I knew where you were going.”
“Congratulations – did you use your opportunity magic to find me?”
Max remained silent.
“Tell me, was finding me an opportunity for you, or me?”
“You don’t need to be like this,” he repeated once more, voice becoming even quieter.
“Then you tell me how I should be instead? Put yourself in my shoes, Max. If you can imagine that. Someone who found out they were one of the rarest breeds of witches two months ago, only to realize that they are now turning into a sorcerer. Put yourself in my shoes, Max,” I repeated. “Imagine you don’t have any control over your life anymore, because, despite your powers, you’ve been promised to somebody else through some prophecy. Put yourself in my shoes, Max,” I repeated once more, tears starting to pick up in the corners of my eyes, “imagine you can’t control your life anymore, because it’s being pulled back into some stupid vision. Put yourself—”
“What? What do you mean vision?” He took a snapped step toward me.
I stiffened as I realized I’d mentioned that. I hadn’t meant to – it had just slipped out.
“Never mind,” I said as I tried to shrug the comment off.
“Beth,” his entire demeanor changed as he strode around me and put himself between the door and me, “it’s important you tell me.”
“For who?” I demanded.
That statement settled between us like a wall.
“Tell me, Max, how is it an opportunity for me to find the person who murdered Josh’s sister, but it’s not an opportunity for him? Tell me, how exactly can you put that kind of moral shit on me when I have an obligation as a bounty hunter to uphold justice? Presumably there is a murderer out there still at large, maybe even murdering other people, and you want to pretend I’m being selfish if I want to track him down?” Once the tidal wave started, it could not be brought back. Words spilled from my mouth like shots from a machine gun.
Max paled. “There’s more—”
“To this situation?” I threw my hands up wide. “There always is. But I don’t know it. All I know is the plain, cold, hard facts of this case. For you to tell me I’m being selfish for wanting to track down a murderer isn’t fair.”
This comment finally struck Max, and I could feel his fine control of his emotions starting to erode. He looked sharply to the side and took a hard breath. “I… understand that,” he conceded.
I didn’t expect him to concede – I thought he’d keep fighting. It threw me off my game. “… You do?”
“You have a natural sense of justice, Beth, and I… like that about you. But,” he emphasized that word with a harsh breath of air, “there are still people trying to protect you here. Some things… some things shouldn’t be found.”
“Tell me,” I said as I swallowed. “Tell me what you’re trying to protect me from. Help me understand.” It was an olive leaf of sorts.
Though it would’ve been easy to keep shouting at Max, from his expression and his body language, I… wanted to give him another chance.
He shook his head and shoved that olive leaf back at me. “I’ve told you as much as I’m going to tell you. You… can believe that people are trying to protect you, or you can choose not to.”
I nodded. It was a slow move. It had the kind of shaky control someone uses when they’re just on the edge of cracking. “How convenient. I get to pick what I want to believe? Wow, I’m so free. If you’re done here, I better go track down your ex-girlfriend. I guess I’m allowed to track her down, right? I don’t need to be protected from her? She’s a case we can solve?”
“Beth, please,” Max said, and again he lost more of his control as his words whipped out of his lips.
“Please? You want me to be reasonable, then tell me why I should be reasonable. Give me something.” My voice was high. “If you can’t tell me why I can’t track down Josh’s sister’s murderer – even though he wanted me to do that only two weeks ago – then tell me this. Why are you suspicious of Internal Affairs? Is this something I need to know?”
Max straightened, looking uncomfortable as he pressed his tongue hard against his teeth.
I took a stiff step toward him. “You’re the one who told me to track down my future husband,” I spat. “You’re the one who didn’t tell me about the prophecy. You do know who your brother works for, right? Internal Affairs. Now, if you’ve got some reason to suspect him of something, don’t you think I deserve to know?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Gosh, really? More complicated than my life? Well then, I guess you’d better just give up. You can stand there, holding onto your secrets, and I can wait around in the dark, making mistakes and almost getting killed. Thanks for protecting me, Max,” I said as I whirled around and headed back to the view. He may be blocking off the door with the bulk of his form, but that didn’t mean I had to face him.
I heard Max take a breath. I imagined it would be pushing against his chest almost as if it were trying to break it.
Seconds passed, almost crossing into a minute until he took several steps toward me. “Internal Affairs have been gathering power for years. They have a number of Hidden Grimoires. They… there’s no reason for them to stockpile them like that. Unless they have some kind of plan.”
I turned, the wind chasing my hair over my shoulders, framing my face as I looked at Max. I let my anger drop. Not all of it, but enough that I no longer looked like I wanted to throw him off the roof. “They now have six sets of Hidden Grimoires,” I said.
Max looked taken aback. “What?” His voice became fragile. “How do you know that?”
“Because I obviously know more about this situation than you think I do. If you were just open, I could share. We could both share,” I said, voice becoming so constricted on the word both. “But to answer your question, Jeopardy told me. He knew for a fact that Internal Affairs had five, and it makes it six considering the set Jason found in the infinity tunnels.”
“Then it’s all over – they have—”
“There’s a seventh,” I said plainly.
“What?” Max’s voice became so twisted now, I could barely make it out.
“There’s a seventh. That’s what Hayden said. He said his family had been researching the Hidden Grimoires for years, and he was convinced that when the six were brought together, you could find the seventh.”
“… Why didn’t I—”
“Know? Because sometimes you have to volunteer information to get it.”
“Beth—”
At the disappointed quality of his tone, I could have given into my anger again, but you know what? There was something much bigger going on here. The end of the frigging world, to be exact. “You’re not the only person who thought Internal Affairs has some kind of plan,” I volunteered.
Max stopped. “What do you mean?”
“Jeopardy thought that, too. That was the reason he attacked the police force – to find out their plan. And it was the reason he wanted me,” I added, back chilling. “He wanted me to figure out what their plan was. So what do you think their plan is?” I asked point-blank.
It was a test.
And I waited to see if Max would pass or fail.
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “All we know is that they’ve been holding onto power in Madison City for years.”
“Why? And how exactly are they doing that? I mean, all Internal Affairs are meant to do is watch the police force. Who exactly has allowed them to become this way?”
Max shrugged. “Think about it. Madison City is one of the most magic rich places in the country, if not the world. A lot of powerful witches and warlocks come here because of its location on the shipping routes down the coast. The city also has a very rich magical history,” he emphasized. “For that reason, gangs have always been prolific here. There�
�s always been a lot of magical crime. So that means that not only does Madison City Police Force have one of the most powerful Warlock Divisions in the country to keep up with all that crime, but they come across a lot of banned goods. Even though you just broke apart the Cruze Gang, gangs just like it have been operating in Madison City for years. They’ve been bringing in countless illegal weapons and spells,” he emphasized. “The police force weren’t always capable of shutting these gangs down, but they still fought them, and they still stockpiled what they found.”
“And what they found was given to Internal Affairs?” I frowned.
“I think the correct word there is taken. The old director of Internal Affairs had the attitude that it was unsafe for the police to hold onto that much force. The Army agreed. So Internal Affairs became the force that not just investigated the police for corruption, but also stockpiled the most powerful goods they found.”
I swallowed. “I don’t get it – why weren’t these magical weapons and spell books just destroyed?”
“Some were. Others couldn’t be destroyed.”
“You’re talking about the Hidden Grimoires, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am. Due to the prolific activities of the gangs of Madison City, two were found about a decade ago. It was then that Internal Affairs began to change.”
“But why didn’t the government step in? I mean, why does the Internal Affairs unit that looks after Madison City have so much frigging power?”
“Because they consolidated it. Because politicians always looked favorably on them, changing the laws to accommodate their newfound power.”
“That still doesn’t explain anything. Presumably Internal Affairs is still answerable to the Federal Justice Department. And if they have six freaking sets of Hidden Grimoires, then the federal government should be pretty keen to take them off them.”
“You’re forgetting one thing,” Max said.
Was it just me, or was there a defeated edge in his tone?
I frowned at him. “What am I forgetting?”
“You,” he said plainly.
Forgotten Destiny 4 Page 3