Raen

  Raen was on his third cup of tea, barely listening to Diana's endless monologue about her latest accomplishments, when his commulet pulsed against his wrist. He'd never been so grateful for an emergency.

  "Raen. Where are you?" Albert's voice cut through his thoughts, sharp with tension.

  "What happened?" Ice spread through Raen's chest. Albert never used the work channel unless something had gone catastrophically wrong.

  "Armon Eider just contacted the Enclave. Says our investigator broke into his archive demanding unauthorized documents, then physically attacked him when she couldn't get them."

  The world tilted. "What?"

  "That's what I want to know!" Noland's voice cracked like a whip. "Get to Goldspire. Now. Collect Alice and contain this disaster. Then both of you report to my office."

  The connection severed.

  "Raenie?" Diana's perfectly manicured hand touched his arm. "Is everything—"

  "I have to go." Raen threw bills on the table and was moving before she could respond, her wounded protest fading behind him.

  He broke every traffic law getting to Goldspire, his mind racing through possibilities. Alice wouldn't. She was reckless, yes, but not stupid. Except she was desperate. And desperate people made catastrophic choices.

  A security guard intercepted him at the entrance, expression wary. "Arcanis Thorne?"

  "Where is she?"

  "Master Eider left this for you." The guard handed him a memory crystal, then hesitated. "Sir, I have to ask. Is your investigator... stable? She was screaming, trying to—"

  "Where. Is. She."

  The guard's professional mask cracked. "Security holding. This way."

  They wound through Goldspire's elegant corridors. Crystal spheres mounted throughout displayed feeds from security cameras. Nothing was unwatched here. Nothing was private. The guard unlocked a nondescript door, revealing a sparse break room.

  Alice sat on a cheap sofa, knees drawn up, face buried in her hands. When she heard the door, she looked up, and Raen's carefully maintained composure shattered.

  Eight years ago, she'd looked at him with those impossible sea-colored eyes full of desperate hope. Now they held only defeat. Tears tracked down her face, smudging the ridiculous makeup she'd worn. He could see it now—the ill-fitting seductress costume. The amateur attempt at manipulation. Gods, what had she done?

  "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go home."

  She rose mechanically, following him like a ghost. The guard started to speak, but Raen's look cut him short.

  They drove in suffocating silence. Raen's hands gripped the steering wheel too hard. Questions churned through his mind, but he couldn't voice them. Not yet. Not when she looked so fragile.

  At her apartment, Alice kicked off her heels and stumbled to the couch. Raen forced himself to sit in the nearby chair rather than pace. He turned to face her.

  "Tell me what happened."

  "I attacked him." Her voice was colorless. Empty. "Tried to scratch his face."

  "Why?"

  "He said he should have dealt with me along with my father and Torian. That I was always underfoot."

  Raen's jaw tightened. "And no one else heard this?"

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  "We were alone. He used a silence ward."

  Of course he had. Raen exhaled slowly, working through the scenario. "You went to the archive asking for documents about the company's financial status eight years ago."

  It wasn't a question. Alice nodded anyway.

  "What were you thinking?" The words came out harsher than he'd intended, frustration and fear tangling together. "You threw away your career for—" He stopped, looking at her defeated expression, those eyes the same color as eight years ago when her world had fallen apart. "For documents you'll never see now."

  "I know." She buried her face in her hands. "I know, I'm an idiot. Lilly was right, Armon was right. I can't do anything right."

  "Stop." Raen leaned forward. "Listen to me. Eider planned this. The moment he knew you'd have archive access, he knew you'd come looking. He had security watching for you. The instant you arrived, they called him. He went to the archive, activated a silence ward, and said exactly what would make you lose control."

  Alice's hands slowly lowered, eyes widening.

  "The recording he gave security? I guarantee there's no sound. He probably stood with his back to the camera so no one could read his lips. All anyone will see is you attacking him unprovoked. Perfect grounds to ban you from Goldspire and demand your dismissal."

  "He set a trap," she whispered. "And I walked right into it."

  "Yes." Raen didn't soften it. She needed to understand. "You acted on emotion. Exactly what he wanted."

  "Then I really did ruin everything." Alice's voice cracked. "My career, the investigation, any chance of proving—"

  "No." Raen interrupted firmly. "You made a mistake. A serious one. But not an unfixable one."

  She looked at him with raw disbelief. "How can you say that? I assaulted a civilian. Misused my authority. Compromised the entire case."

  "You were provoked by a murder suspect using calculated psychological manipulation." Raen held her gaze. "Yes, you'll be suspended. Yes, this complicates things. But Alice—" He paused, making sure she was listening. "I wanted to help you with this. I was going to offer this morning. If you'd just talked to me first—"

  "You would have helped me?" The question came out small, confused. "Even though it has nothing to do with our case?"

  "It has everything to do with you." The admission slipped out before he could stop it. Raen cleared his throat. "Going forward, we plan these things together. Understand? My experience, your instincts. We work smarter."

  Something flickered in Alice's eyes. Not quite hope, but not complete despair either.

  Raen's commulet pulsed again. Albert. Of course.

  "I need to report to Noland." He stood, hesitated. "Get some rest. We'll figure this out."

  "I'm sorry." Alice's voice was barely audible. "I behaved like a child."

  "You behaved like someone who's been carrying this weight alone for eight years." Raen moved toward the door, then stopped. "That changes now."

  He left before she could respond, before he could say anything else that crossed the line from professional to personal. The line he'd been dancing around since the moment she'd walked back into his life.

  Fifteen minutes later, Raen stood in Noland's office. His superior was clearly trying to maintain composure, but his jaw was tight.

  "You didn't bring her."

  "She's been through enough tonight."

  "Has she?" Albert's voice was dangerously quiet. "Because from where I'm sitting, your 'brilliant' investigator just handed Armon Eider the perfect ammunition to destroy any future case we might build against him."

  "He provoked her deliberately—"

  "Of course he did!" Noland exploded. "And she fell for it like a first-year cadet! She went there alone, without backup, to seduce an employee for unauthorized documents. Then when caught, she assaulted the company owner. Do you understand what this looks like?"

  "A young investigator trying to solve her father's murder—"

  "A vigilante with a badge!" Albert slammed his hand on the desk. "Exactly what Eider's lawyers will argue if we ever get enough evidence to charge him."

  Raen forced his voice to stay level. "Show me the recording."

  They watched in tense silence. As Raen had predicted: no sound, Armon's back to the camera, Alice's face twisted with rage as she lunged. It looked damning. It was meant to.

  "He baited her," Raen said when it finished. "Deliberately. He knew exactly what to say."

  "I know." Albert's anger deflated slightly. "I know, Raen. But knowing doesn't change the situation. Eider is demanding her dismissal. If I don't suspend her, he threatens a lawsuit that will drag the entire Enclave through public scrutiny."

  "How long?"

  "Indefinitely. Until this blows over. Maybe months." Noland rubbed his face. "And she doesn't go near Goldspire. Not within a mile of it. Understood?"

  "Understood."

  "As for you—" Albert fixed him with a hard stare. "Don't think I haven't noticed. The way you look at her. The way you're protecting her. I get it. But don't let it cloud your judgment."

  Raen met his gaze steadily. "It won't."

  "See that it doesn't." Noland leaned back. "Because despite this disaster, I think you're right about Eider. And I want the bastard."

  "You'll help?"

  "Eventually. But first, we let him think he won. Let him get comfortable. Sloppy." Albert's expression turned calculating. "Then the three of us—you, me, and your Alice—we take him down properly. With evidence he can't manipulate."

  "Thank you."

  "Don't thank me yet. We've got a long road ahead." Noland waved him toward the door. "Now get out of here. And Raen? Keep her away from anything connected to this case. The last thing we need is her making another impulsive move."

  Raen nodded and left. But as he walked through the empty Enclave corridors, he wondered if keeping Alice away from the investigation would be possible.

  She'd waited eight years for justice. Tonight she'd learned that waiting wasn't enough.

  The question was: what would she do next?