Glass by Kelsey Gamble

Author:Kelsey Gamble [Gamble, Kelsey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

13

POPPY

I know why Felix is my mate.

I’m not sure I’m ready to admit it to him—I’ve barely admitted it to myself—but the answer is clear in front of me. Rose is hovering over Felix like a mother hen as he answers the last of the officer’s questions about our accident and the ensuing shoot-out. She’s not a shifter, she has no reason to be loyal to him, and yet she’s protected us because of his connection to the family he found amongst The Lost.

Felix and I, we survive because of the people around us. We survive because we know when to lead and when to lean.

It doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to be Lost.

I seem to blend into the background of the crime scene as several men in uniform mull about. Felix told everyone that I’m in shock, so they’ve focused on his answers to their questions for now. It helps that Rose was upfront about being responsible for the shooting. Based on the way everyone is talking, it sounds like the whole thing is being framed as a robbery gone wrong.

It feels like too simple of an answer. It doesn’t feel like the truth.

A dark cargo van turns onto our road, and the officers hovering over the bodies in the middle of the street scatter. One of them heads for me, his face stoic as he stops in front of me with arms crossed over his chest. His body language isn’t friendly, but his eyes soften as I take him in warily.

“Sheriff wants us to make sure you don’t recognize either of these men.” The Officer Rice name tag on his uniform catches the sunlight the same way the gun had, and I startle slightly. The officer’s eyebrows knit, his eyes filling with sympathy as he looks at me like a wounded animal.

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. “Uhm, so I have to look?”

Officer Rice grimaces. “I’m afraid so. But don’t worry, we’ll only show you their faces, and you won’t see anything gruesome.” It’s probably the best I can ask for under the circumstances.

“Okay.”

I follow Officer Rice to the middle of the street where white sheets stretch over both of the men. A man who has to be at least seventy climbs slowly out of the van that stopped nearby. He raises a hand in greeting and heads toward us.

“It’s okay if you don’t recognize either of these two,” Officer Rice says. “We just need to make sure this wasn’t a targeted attack.”

His words give me pause. It almost sounds like he’s leading me to say I don’t recognize anyone before I’ve even seen the men. Before, I couldn’t get a good look at them from this distance and through the post-accident haze. I look over my shoulder to find Felix’s gaze.

He’s talking to a different officer, but he seems to sense my stare and looks up, meeting my eyes. He gives a nearly imperceptible nod.

“I’m ready,” I tell Officer Rice as I turn back. There’s no way Felix would let this happen if he was concerned.

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