“He’s a dick,” Charger replied, lips twitching.
“Truth,” Jinx muttered, then took a step back when Kane straightened, his towering form was a clear warning. “Okay! Okay!” he said quickly, hands raised. “Monica’s sister was found.”
Kane froze. “Where?”
“In the river,” Jinx said quietly, pulling out his phone and scrolling. “That’s why Monica’s in Kentucky. The viewing’s tonight and the funeral’s tomorrow.”
Kane took the phone and read the short obituary. He handed it back, jaw tight. “How’d you find this?”
“Because he’s the fucking best,” Charger said before Jinx could, his grin wide.
“Truth,” Jinx agreed with Charger in that smug Jinx kind of way. “When all that crap was going down with King and his girl, I got curious why Monica bailed on the big and bad scary Dark Guardian. I also wondered why she would lie about how long her sister had been missing. So, I dug. Followed a few rabbit holes. I found out why she bailed, but not why she lied about the timeframe...yet.”
“Can you find anything on anyone?” Charger asked, grinning at Jinx’s characterization of Kane.
“No one can hide anything from the Jinx,” Jinx said, smirking again as he scrolled. Then his face sobered. “I went after the autopsy report next… but it’s sealed.”
“Sealed?” Kane frowned.
“Aren’t those supposed to be public?” King asked, glancing between them.
“Normally, yes. You might find some that have redacted information, but not completely sealed from the public.” Jinx replied, pulling up a file on his phone.
“You need to get this guy on the payroll, Sloan.” Charger nodded toward Jinx.
“The Jinx is a free man and not held down by the normal standards of having a job,” Jinx said, puffing his chest out a little. Then he cut Sloan a nervous glance. “Also, he scares the absolute shit out of me, and I mean that in the most respectful way, Sir Sloan.”
That earned a bark of laughter from Charger and a grin from Kane. Sloan, however, didn’t look amused.
“Damn, that’s got a nice ring to it,” Charger said with a smirk. “Sir Sloan. I like it.”
“I will kill anyone who calls me that,” Sloan growled, eyes narrowing to dangerous slits as he pinned Jinx with a look.
“The Jinx apologizes, Sir… uh… sir,” Jinx stammered, paling as he fumbled with his phone.
“Stop talking in third person before I pay Damon to decapitate you,” Sloan snapped.
“No pay needed, boss,” Damon said from his place against the wall as he stared down Jinx.
Kane decided to save the poor bastard before Sloan followed through with his threat. “Jinx, the autopsy report—what did you find?”
Jinx stared at his phone as he swallowed hard. “The report listed the cause of death as massive blood loss. No external wounds consistent with an animal attack, no weapon marks, no defensive injuries. Just… drained.”
Kane’s jaw clenched as a muscle ticked in his cheek. “Drained?”
“Yeah,” Jinx confirmed. “Her body was found downstream near a shipping yard. Skin pale as paper, organs collapsed from lack of blood volume. The medical examiner noted punctures, but not fang marks. More like medical-grade extractions. Two entry points along the femoral and subclavian veins.”
King’s expression darkened. “That sounds like collection work. Not feeding.”
“Exactly,” Jinx said, eyes still on the screen. “And here’s the kicker...the report mentioned trace amounts of anticoagulants in her blood. Not something random. That’s prep work, professional and clean, so that they can drain the blood without the inconvenience of clotting. The examiner noted there is no medical reason she’d have that in her system.”
Kane stared down at the data on Jinx’s phone, his voice rough when he finally spoke. “Someone bled her out and took it.”
“And then sealed the file,” Charger added grimly. “Which means somebody high up doesn’t want this seen.”
“Yeah,” Jinx said, voice low. “She was definitely harvested.”
The word hit the room like a blow, heavy and wrong. No one spoke for a beat.