Page 21 of A Wild Darkness

“I do.”

“So do I,” he says, meeting my gaze from across the table. With an impatient slow blink, I wait for him to continue. “I know you have that drive and curiosity for darker things in you, too. I’ve seen it.”

At the mention of curiosity, my mind jumps to the strange markings on Mr. Branson’s leg and how they could have gotten there. I wonder if Sebastian would have any idea where they could have come from. He deals with nefarious things all the time—maybe this is something more within his expertise.

“Can I show you something?”

“Uh, sure?” he mutters, startled by my sudden change of subject.

I roll up the white sheet on Mr. Branson’s body, enough to show Sebastian the carved X. “Do you see this?”

He bends to get a closer look. “Why is there an X carved into his leg?”

“My question exactly. This is the third body I’ve found with a similar marking on in the last week and a half. Same place, too.” I lean in closer, pointing at the top of each line to show the sharp puncture made as if writing the letter on a piece of paper. But it’s in the skin.

With his eyes narrowed, Sebastian stares intently at the marking. “And you haven’t seen anything like this before?”

“No.”

“And this is the third?”

“In just over a week, yes.”

He straightens, turning away to think. “Christian didn’t find much information on this group, but apparently they choose different cities every couple of years to conduct their business. When I spoke with one of them earlier, he mentioned their masquerade ball on Friday would be the first event of the season…” he trails off, thinking out loud. “If these markings started showing up this week, I wonder if they’re connected somehow?”

Like a waterfall of information cascading through my brain, I take it all in. “Like, these could be their victims?”

Sebastian turns back to face me fully. “Not sure. I’m hoping to find out more at the ball on Friday. I also need to find out why they assumed I have a girlfriend. Maybe they were expecting someone already, but we found the card instead?”

“But if they’re expecting someone else, won’t they realize when they see what you look like?” I’m surprised at how invested I’ve suddenly become. If some of my clients have been their victims, this makes the whole thing personal.

“Everyone will be masked during the event,” he tells me.

My eyes land back on the man on my table who I believed died during unsuccessful heart surgery, but now I think there could be a possibility of foul play.

Would it be so bad to help Sebastian?

I squeeze my eyes shut, giving myself a chance to second-guess what I’m about to consider, but no thoughts come.

“How long do you think you need my help for?” I ask.

Sebastian’s eyes widen. “Are you considering it?”

“How long and how dangerous?”

He leans forward, flattening his hand on the steel table. “Assuming they’ll eventually move on to a new location after this season is over, I’m thinking not too long. But that’s why we need to take them down first, hopefully making Seattle their last stop in their killing spree.”

“All I have to do is pretend to be your girlfriend? Then you can get information on them and your team takes them out?”

“In a perfect world, yes. But I have a feeling this project won’t be anything we’ll be able to plan out to the last detail. Since we’re infiltrating their group, essentially pretending to be one of them, it’ll probably be on a case-by-case basis.”

Nervous energy surrounds the small, sterile room we’re in. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ll pretend to be your fake girlfriend,” I agree apprehensively. “If that group is connected to my clients, I want to know why.”

“Great,” he says with relief. “I’ll text you with more information.”