Page 91 of My Unhinged Alphas
Something else does.
I look at Vale. “The Veiled Order.”
He meets my eyes. “That’s my guess.”
Havoc frowns. “Why would they care about her?”
Vale gives a small shake of his head. “Could be anything. Family. Old association. Somebody she knew once without realizing what they were.”
Havoc is quiet for a second. “You’re saying she may not even know why she’s in there.”
“She probably doesn’t,” Vale says.
That settles badly in my chest. Because now this isn’t just about a girl who was in the wrong place with the wrong man. If Vale’s right, she was marked before any of us touched this. Last night didn’t create the problem. It just shoved her straight into the middle of it.
Havoc looks at me. “How the hell does a girl like that end up in a file like that?”
I know what he means. Quiet apartment. ordinary life. No sign she belongs anywhere near this world. But that means nothing.
“That’s exactly the kind of person they like to keep an eye on,” I say.
Vale nods. “The Veiled Order plays long games. That’s what the Apostles tell us.” He folds his arms. “We need someone who knows more about them than we do.”
I nod once. “A Shepherd.”
Havoc looks at me. “Which one?”
“The oldest one we can get to. Someone who’s been around long enough to remember how these files are built and why certain names get buried in them.”
Vale already knows who I mean. I can see it in his face.
Havoc says, “You want us to go.”
“Yes. Both of you,” I say. “Talk to him. Don’t guess. Don’t fill in blanks. And don’t tell them about Lena.”
“They might have already found out if they saw her leaving,” Havoc says.
“And who’s to be blamed for that?” I scowl.
That shuts Havoc up for a second. Then he says, “And what are you doing?”
“I’m staying here,” I lie. “See if I can find more about her on our local database.”
I already did. There’s no digital trace.
Vale pushes off the wall at last, and for the first time since Havoc walked back in, it feels like the room has a direction again.
Not a good one.
But a direction.
Because whatever Lena is tangled in, it started before last night. And something tells me we haven’t heard the end of it. Which is why, after they leave, I’m going to go talk to her myself.
Chapter 15
Lena
The next day,I feel half-dead.
