Souls Read online

  I sat down and folded my hands together, staring him down.

  He pressed his lips together and nodded in my direction, waiting for me to speak.

  “First of all, don’t call me May. You know I hate that nickname. It sounds like the old aunt that everyone hates,” I started.

  He chuckled and rolled his eyes.

  “Second, I’m here because you never gave me the autopsy reports for the four other ghost murders.”

  “Ghost murders, May?” He shook his head. “You came up with a name for it already? A silly name at that.” He wagged his pen at me and laughed again.

  I folded my arms across my chest, not amused with his mockery. “What’s so funny, Cas? That’s a perfect name for the case. Plus, I dug through some cold cases with the same name, that’s where I got it from, and—”

  “Wait, you went through the cold cases?” Caspian raised his hand. “You know that’s against the rules until we get concrete evidence to compare.” He was judging me. Of course.

  “Look, I needed something, anything, okay? You were supposed to get the reports for me. Where are they? I need them now,” I demanded. I hated wasting time. Plus, I had something else important planned that could help with our case. I waited for him to make a move for the reports, but he just sat there staring at me. He reached out his hand and placed it on top of mine, smiling.

  “Do you know how gorgeous you look when you’re frustrated?” He asked softly, giving me a cute little puppy-dog stare, trying to trap me with his beautiful irises.

  I yanked my hand back from under his. “Caspian! This is serious. Stop trying to sweet talk me out of this!” I growled.

  “I’m kidding! Christ, I didn’t get the paper copies yet, okay? But I did see them.” He studied a document on his desk. “There was nothing we didn’t already know on it.”

  No way. I sank back in my chair. “Are you sure? Not even anything about a cross on the wrist?”

  Caspian’s head snapped up with narrowed eyes. “Where did you get that detail from?” His fingers drummed quickly against his desk, brows scrunched in suspicion.

  “Do you know anything about that? Because if you do, you need to tell me.” I stood up and towered over him, trying to intimidate him just a little.

  “There wasn’t anything like that in the report. You need to calm down and move on.” He turned back to his computer dismissively.

  “Then what was the cause of death?” He was hiding something, and I didn’t like that. Partners should tell each other everything…well, mostly everything.

  He groaned softly and looked up at me again. His office door opened. Duke poked his head in and spoke.

  “Agent Galanis.” Caspian nodded, and Duke turned to me. “Agent Saar, I have to show you both something regarding your case. I think it will be very beneficial.”

  Caspian grabbed his suit jacket, following Duke. “Let’s go, Meadow.”

  He didn’t have to tell me twice.

  Duke led us straight to the building’s morgue. We were finally going to get some answers—from the medical examiner himself I assumed, which was even better than a report.

  Inside the room, the M.E., Harold, stood over a body with his back toward us.

  “Harold, my agents are here to see you about the fifth body in their case,” Duke said.

  I stopped and stood on the opposite side of the body on the table, facing Harold.

  He smiled at me, took his gloves off, threw them away, and then put on new ones.

  “Hello there, agents. I’m Harold.” He reached out his hand, and I shook it. Caspian shook his hand also, and then discreetly wiped his hand over his pants. I nudged him with my foot and gave him a look. Harold had literally just changed his gloves, so his hands weren’t even dirty. Yet.

  Caspian shrugged.

  I turned my attention to Harold. “We know who you are, Harold. We’ve met plenty of times before on other cases.”

  He hesitated and chuckled awkwardly. “Oh yes, of course, I remember.”

  An awkward silence filled the room.

  “Harold here made a discovery, a connection of sorts that could help your case. I’ll be in my office if you need anything,” Duke told us as he headed toward the exit.

  Harold shifted his weight from one leg to the other. He ran a gloved hand through his hair and cleared his throat. “There’s something peculiar about these five corpses. This one, for example.” He pointed to the body on the table.

  “I don’t see anything out of place or weird. Except for the fact that it’s basically the color of a fresh white sheet of paper,” I said. Male and pale.

  Caspian looked bored.

  I sighed inwardly. He wasn’t going to be any help here, obviously.

  “Precisely. Now look over here when I move the arm.” He lifted the arm up slightly, then turned it so that the wrist faced our direction.

  A small cross was carved in the middle of the wrist.

  I gasped. “Oh my god! That’s what I found in the cold case files. The bodies all had crosses engraved in their wrists. See, Cas, this is what I was talking about!” I jumped a little with glee. I was right.

  Caspian didn’t look excited. He looked displeased.

  “Caspian, what’s wrong? This is the break we’ve been looking for. We’re this much closer to the solving point. You should be excited.” I frowned.

  He sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. “I am thrilled about the discovery, but I’d like more evidence than a cross on a wrist before getting excited.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you serious right now?”

  He nodded.

  I scoffed, turning to Harold. “So, what about the other reports about the other bodies? Is there a reason why we haven’t gotten the paper copies yet? I always need paper copies.” I looked at my watch, impatient because I needed to leave for my meeting. I didn’t want to miss it because there was a chance I wouldn’t have that opportunity again. Ever. I looked back at Harold, and he looked confused.

  “What do you mean? I gave it to Agent Galanis a few days ago. He told me he’d share the information with you.”

  I slowly turned to Caspian and his eyes widened. If looks could kill, Caspian would’ve literally disintegrated from the look I was giving him.

  “Care to explain this, Agent Galanis?” I growled through my teeth.

  He glared at Harold.

  I moved to block his view and snapped my fingers in front of his face.

  “Helloooo, I’m speaking to you! Explain why you have had the reports for days and didn’t share them with me and then lied to me. Now.”

  He huffed and locked eyes with me, his mouth forming a thin line. “I was trying to protect you,” he growled back at me, crossing his arms over his chest.

  I chuckled in disbelief and started pacing. “Protect me from what, Caspian? No one is after me. I’m not in any danger!” I threw my hands up in the air.

  He grabbed my shoulders, stopping me in my place. “It’s my job to protect you, Meadow. I have to, no matter what.”

  I shrugged his hands off and took a step back. “Stop trying to protect me all the time!” I stormed toward the door. I didn’t have time for this when I should be preparing for my meeting.

  “Dmitri!”

  I stopped in my tracks.

  Caspian took in a deep breath and sighed. “I’m protecting you from Dmitri Makris.”

  4

  “Dmitri?” I whispered, squinting at Caspian in disbelief.

  He nodded, eyes focused on the ceiling instead of me.

  I stared at him for a few more seconds and busted out laughing. “So, you really expect me to be afraid of a person you literally just made up? Just so I can forgive you for lying to me?” I scoffed and shook my head.

  “Meadow, please listen to me. You have to believe—”

  I held up my hand. “Don’t even, Caspian. When I get back, those reports better be on my desk, or else.” I gave him a pointed look and walked out of the morgue. I
couldn’t believe he would lie to me. I’m his partner, for goodness sake, I grumbled to myself as I grabbed my jacket and purse from my office. I didn’t have time for Caspian and his lies. Though he wasn’t the only one withholding information. He didn’t know anything about my meeting.

  He liked to play by the rules, but me, not so much. Especially if it meant I was helping the victims of my cases. I’d break almost every rule for that.

  As I made my way over to the location my mystery person gave me, I tried to prepare myself. I didn’t know who I was meeting, and that made me anxious.

  They controlled everything. The meetup spot, the person I was to meet, the plan they had outlined, everything. The only power I had was what I did with the information they gave me. I let out a deep breath and nodded. I got this. I reached my destination, according to my GPS. It was a small café on a busy corner of the street.

  A cute café like the kind where you would expect to see a grandma behind the counter, baking for everyone. I’d expected to meet up in a sketchy abandoned building or an alleyway. Not this. I parked my car and grabbed my files.

  Showtime.

  A bell chimed when I opened the door and the fresh smell of coffee and pastries hit my nose. Those two smells combined let my tastebuds know it was breakfast time, but I’d have to miss out at the moment.

  I scoped the area. It was a little crowded, and I wasn’t a fan of crowds. I headed to a booth in the back that offered a great view of the front door.

  I was about ten minutes early, which was on time for me. Being first gave me enough time to get my thoughts in order.

  I reviewed my files.

  Fifteen minutes later, the mysterious person hadn’t shown. I pinched the bridge of my nose, squeezing my eyes tight. Five more minutes and I was out of here. The time ticked past, and still, no one showed up.

  As I got up and started grabbing my files, shoes appeared by the table. I looked up at the owner of the shoes and came face-to-face with a woman. An unnaturally blonde woman with dark contrasting eyebrows and striking green eyes. Her outfit, a baby-pink tracksuit with spearmint-green tennis shoes, went well with her hairstyle, a short-cropped bob. She looked like a soccer mom, and she was in the way.

  “Excuse me, I just need to get past you.” I fake smiled, inching forward into her space.

  “I don’t think so.” A gleaming fake smile crossed her face as she sat and gestured to the empty space in front of her.

  I hesitated, and she pulled out a folder from her purse and placed it on the table. The folder read ‘Confidential.’

  “Sit,” she commanded. Her nice soccer mom facade crumbled.

  When I was seated, she slid the folder toward me and tapped it twice with her freshly manicured nail. All of her nails were almond-shaped and painted baby blue. Not that any of that mattered at this moment.

  “I’m Donatella Stiles. I’ll be in charge of making sure you complete the task given to you.”

  “Why would I need someone to make sure I complete the task? I gave you my word. I plan to keep that.”

  Donatella smirked and folded her hands together. “Open the folder, sweetie, and you’ll see why I’m needed.”

  My hand hovered over the folder, not sure if I really trusted the information inside. I was told that it was a small task and nothing illegal. But then again, I was already in too deep and I did give them my word, so it wouldn’t really matter what was in the folder. I would have to complete any task that was in it. I read over the papers inside and closed it quickly.

  “There is no way I’m helping you do this. You guys said no killing and nothing illegal. This is both.” I stabbed my finger on the folder. “I’m an agent. I cannot be caught in the middle of this shit storm. I could lose my job. I’m out.” I stood.

  “Agent Saar, you don’t have a choice if you want to solve this case of yours. You can’t solve this case without us. You will continue to go in circles unless you help us complete this one task.” She tapped the folder again. “Look at the picture behind the instructions and then let me know what you really want to do.” She smirked as I slowly sat back down.

  I opened the folder again, lifted the instructions, and froze when I saw the picture. It was obviously taken at night, but I could clearly see the silhouette of a figure crouching over a body on the ground. The body was an unnatural color, and I couldn’t see the wrist, but this was enough for me to sigh in defeat.

  Donatella grabbed her purse and stood, smoothing out her unwrinkled jumpsuit. “I’ll be texting you specific instructions and I expect you to follow through. Have a great day, agent.” She flashed me an innocent smile and strutted away from the booth.

  I groaned, losing my appetite for breakfast. In fact, it was starting to smell a little nauseating. Why did I put myself in this situation? Stealing firearms from the department’s closed off facility and putting down anyone that got in the way…I wanted to help the victims of my case, but this price, stealing and possible murder, could cost me everything I’d worked so hard for. Maybe I should’ve listened to Caspian.

  5

  The secret facility did not look like a gun storage facility like us agents were told. It looked like a building where secret science experiments happened. It was a tall glass building with a fantastic structure surrounded by a heavily wooded area. A vast building, yet I didn’t see any armed guards walking around inside or outside.

  Weird.

  Donatella stepped out of one of the SUVs, in head-to-toe black like me.

  I approached her. “I thought you said we were only taking guns, nothing else.”

  She smiled with no teeth and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Of course, darling, we are. Then you’ll leave, so we can get what we actually came here for.” She patted my shoulder and turned her attention to the two men standing silently behind her.

  “Slate, Shar. Help the agent with her comms, please. Then get in position.”

  They were both over six feet tall and obviously super into working out. They kind of looked alike, but not in a twin way. Maybe siblings. One had short, cropped black hair, and the other had long black hair slicked back in a ponytail. Both of them were masters at frowning. No hint of a smile on either of them. Great.

  The one with the ponytail approached me. “Slate. Follow me,” he commanded.

  I nodded and followed him to one of the SUVs. He opened the trunk, which held a variety of comms and tons of weapons that they definitely should not have. Still, I couldn’t tell them anything, no matter how badly the agent in me wanted to.

  Slate handed me something small and black. “Here. It goes in your ear,” he gruffed, placing the earpiece in my hand.

  I inspected it before putting it in my ear. It fit perfectly.

  “Can you hear this?” Slate turned the dial on the device in his hand.

  There was suddenly a loud ringing in my right ear, making me wince. I covered my ears instinctively and gave him a thumbs up. “Yep, definitely works.”

  He nodded and put the device back in the trunk.

  Donatella came into view from the side of the vehicle and clapped her hands twice.

  “All right everyone, listen up. We’re here for the guns they keep hidden away in this facility. The agent”—she pointed to me—“will help us retrieve those guns.” She grabbed three pistols and tossed one to each of us. “That’s all you should need. Your skills should help with the rest.” She closed the trunk and moved closer to me, whispering in my ear, “Agent, you’re coming with me on the inside while these two will be on the lookout outside.” She patted me on the back, and smiled.

  I shook my head. “No, that wasn’t part of the—”

  “Too bad.” Donatella cut me off. “It is now.”

  I groaned quietly as she brushed past me and spoke to Slate and Shar, low enough for me not to hear anything she said. Of course. I walked around the vehicle, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants. This wasn’t right. There had to be another way to get this information. I glanced up at t
hem, taking in their stances as they spoke to each other. I could easily make a run for my car and drive out of here.

  No! I couldn’t do that. All of those unsolved murders, current open cases, they all needed me. This was for them.

  Alarms pierced the air, red lights flashing from the building. Around five armed guards came running from the side of the building to our direction.

  “Here we go, guys. Showtime.” Donatella clapped her hands, holstering her gun. “Everybody, fan out! Slate get to the left, Shar get to the right. Agent, stay in the back and make sure no one gets past you.” Donatella turned and looked me in the eyes. “If anyone gets in your vicinity, you know what to do.”

  I tightened my lips and nodded. I was on the same team as the guards, but in their eyes, I was the enemy. The thought didn’t sit well. Surely those of us on the right side of the law could take down these criminals. But if I was wrong, and we lost, Donatella would destroy the evidence I wanted. For now, I’d have to play along.

  “Move forward.” Donatella’s voice came through the earpiece.

  We advanced.

  One of the brothers stepped on a twig of some sort, alerting the guards to our location.

  “Slate, go!” Shar yelled.

  Slate took off running, and yelled as he charged after one of the guards in front of him. Time seemed to slow down. Grass flew from Slate’s feet as he ran, floating slowly in the air, then back down quickly. The guard lifted his gun to shoot. Slate bulldozed him. A hard grunt came from the guard as their bodies collided.

  I was so focused on what Slate was doing, I forgot the other fight happening to the left of me until I heard a scream. Donatella fought with not one, but two guards. Watching her was like watching a madwoman from the wild. She jumped up and kicked her legs into the guards’ chests, causing them to stagger backward, clutching their chests. Before I could see what else she was going to do, something whizzed by my right ear.

  Ducking quickly, I whipped out my gun and pointed it, frantically searching for the culprit.