Page 93 of Wounded Soul
Peter’s expression made Ian think he knew exactly what shitty position that put Raph in. But he wisely kept quiet.
“I sent you to watch him,” he gestured to Ian. “To investigate whether or not he knew about us, knew what Jesse was. What the hell happened? How did Jesse do this under your fucking nose?”
Peter didn’t so much as flinch, the lies rolling smoothly off his tongue. “We did watch Ian, and like I said in my report, we determined that he was no threat. When we left him, he was very much alive. Jesse must’ve followed us.”
“Is that so. Care to explain this, then?” Raph picked up his phone and showed them the picture on the screen. “Harper sent it to me along with a request for me to go down there immediately. I thought it’d been Photoshopped.”
Ian caught the barest twitch of Peter’s shoulders before he recovered himself. Maybe he hadn’t expected Harper to do that.
“I can explain,” Peter said smoothly.
Raph raised an eyebrow. “I’m sure you can.” He gestured for Peter to carry on.
“I took that photo.” He paused, but Raph remained silent. “I heard a noise and smelt Jesse’s scent, so I went to investigate.”
“You just happened to be around there.”
“Yes. I’d been following Ian. That alley is a shortcut to the bar he frequents. The one where he met Jesse.”
Ian tried hard not to think of Cate.
Peter carried on. “I rushed back, and this is what I found.” He gestured to Raph’s phone. “I thought he’d drained him, and I took the photo as proof for when he inevitably disposed of the body. I didn’t want you to blame it on me.”
Ian swallowed the burst of hysterical laughter that threatened to come out.
“So you lied, both in your report and to my face just now. Why should I believe anything you say?”
“I was trying to protect the coven.”
“How exactly? Instead of coming straight to me about this, you sent this photo to the VLCD.”
“I didn’t know he’d turned him! I thought either the body would turn up—if Jesse had been careless—or Ian would be reported as missing. I didn’t want to put you in the position of not knowing who to believe when the VLCD inevitably asked for the data on our trackers, which you know they would’ve eventually. Jesse’s would be all over Ian’s flat.”
Ian sat there listening to Peter dig his own grave. The data on the trackers wouldn’t just show that Jesse had been to Ian’s flat or in that alleyway. What would that mean for Cate, though? Either way, for now he was powerless to do anything but sit there and keep quiet.
“Ahh.” Raph steepled his fingers and rested his chin on them. “So you were thinking of me?”
“Of course. I know this is hard to accept. I know how much Jesse means to you. But this way the VLCD know who did it, the evidence is clear to see. There’s no need for them to pry through all our affairs. It’s cleaner.”
No need to check tracking data? Maybe Peter wasn’t as stupid as he’d thought, but Ian had assumed the VLCD would be more thorough than Peter was giving them credit for. Would they really convict Jesse on that photo alone?
“It certainly is.” Raph’s expression gave nothing away. Ian had no idea whether he believed Peter one hundred per cent or not. But either way, as Peter pointed out, the evidence was damning. Especially with Ian to corroborate everything. “I’m surprised you’re so quick to condemn him, I thought you and Jesse were making a fresh start.”
Peter shrugged, nose scrunching up into a grimace as though the thought pained him. “I thought so to, but I can’t stand by and watch him blatantly disregard our agreement with the VLCD. Even if I don’t happen to like our little arrangement,” he added at Raph’s raised eyebrows.
That seemed to change something in Raph, and he stared at his phone screen again, then shook his head. Meeting Ian’s gaze, he offered him a sad smile. “I can’t tell you how deeply sorry I am that this has happened to you, that a member of my coven is responsible. Rest assured I’ll cooperate fully with the officers of the VLCD to see whoever’s responsible is suitably punished.”
Ian didn’t miss the way Raph omitted to use Jesse’s name.
“I’d also like to extend a formal offer for you to join our coven. I realise you may not want to after the way in which you were turned, so I am also more than happy to arrange meetings with other suitable covens and help you choose. But please understand that you need the support of a coven, even if it’s not mine. Life will be difficult and very lonely otherwise.”
Ian couldn’t bring himself to accept Raph’s offer when he’d sat there and lied to his face. “Thank you, I’ll think about it.”
Raph nodded and was about to speak when his phone vibrated in his hand. He glanced at the screen, then quickly swiped at it, expression darkening as he read whatever was on there. Typing out what Ian presumed was a response, Raph bit his lip, brows furrowed in concentration.
“Problem?” Peter asked, obviously dying to know who’d messaged Raph.
“No,” Raph answered without looking up. He typed something else, then shoved his phone into his pocket and stood. “Come on. The sooner we get to the VLCD office, the sooner we can get this mess sorted.
