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I peeked out. The two were already half-dressed.
Scolding myself was the least I could do. Distraction should never rise as intensely and to the point where I’d stopped paying attention to something so important. Their noises had given us audio cover, and I hadn’t even registered that they’d gone quiet.
“Come on,” Cole said. “Let’s get back to the party. I need a fucking hit.”
Whatever he’s hitting, I could probably use some.
He straightened the desk and glanced around, likely making sure things were in place. And then the door clicked shut, the lock turning into place. Despite their drunken attempts to stay quiet, their footsteps echoed down the hall.
It was only until they faded completely that I reached for the closet doorknob.
The moment I left this cramped space, I’d leave behind the warped behavior that had overtaken me.
I strode straight to the window and unlocked the latch. No strange gut feeling jumped out at me, but I couldn’t afford ignoring basic caution.
Again.
“What’s this?” Razai picked something up from the floor. “Looks like our friend dropped something interesting.”
I stared at it, confused. “No,” I countered. “I dropped that. That’s what I pulled out from Clave’s desk…” I searched in my pocket and then pulled out the identical plastic baggie. It had a circular dragon logo with the initials J.J. in the middle.
The same exact thing that Razai held.
I said, “That wasn’t on the ground before.”
“I know!” he chirped. “That’s why I said Cole dropped it.”
“How do you know it’s Cole’s?”
“Because a woman, generationally cursed with small pockets, would have put this in her bag or inside her phone case. Only men shove things this significant in their fucking pocket.”
“You have a point. And you also seem to know what it is.” I didn’t miss the complete lack of confusion or intrigue.
He tucked the second baggie into my palm and curled my fingers over it, holding my fist in his huge hand. “Patience, dear Detective. Let’s get out of here first.”
I’d insisted on walking back to my room on my own two feet. The day I accepted Razai’s offer of flight would be the day that I was three seconds from dying, and he was two seconds away from the cure.
Until then, I’d be walking.
As I opened my door, safe and blessedly alone, I got a text.
Unknown: Let’s have a meeting Sunday evening. I’ll have some info on our clue then. Sleep well, Detective.
I’d have to wait? All that time? “Thanks for the investigative blue balls, asshole,” I muttered.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Saturday was stupid. Whatever my magic could tell me was shit I already knew. I tracked both the baggies, and one went to Cole, while the other went to Clave. Even worse, Razai was off campus for some faculty meeting with city officials, and I couldn’t get ahold of him at all.
But at least my first payment from Castile came through. Well, both of them. One for my cover job, and another for my undercover work.
I never thought I’d see an eight-thousand-dollar deposit in my bank account all at once. Did part of me want to vomit? Yes. A very, very large part of me. Especially since these babies were scheduled every two weeks.
After nearly fainting over my bank account, I called Azra.
“Hey,” she clipped. Voices rose in the background.
“Busy?”
