“Hello?” he said gruffly, his voice as rough as he felt inside.
“Hello, sir.” Nysa Catheen’s warm voice filtered through the phone. Even though it was ridiculous, Nikhail’s stomach sankwhen he realized River wasn’t on the other end of the call. “Is this a bad time?”
Nikhail blinked, then groaned.
The fact that he’d forgotten about this call was a testament to his gods-damned distraction. In this day and age, most people would just email, but his assistant was particular and had always preferred doing things a certain way.
Nikhail had never forgotten about an appointment before. That in itself was out of character for him. But he supposed this entire day was out of the ordinary, what with the way he’d been daydreaming about River.
But that felt like a lot to say, and while he liked Nysa, this was outside her realm of expertise, so he kept those thoughts to himself. Clearing his throat and adjusting his tie, even though this wasn’t a video call, Nikhail shook his head.
“No, Nysa, it’s a good time,” he said, answering her previous question.
As good as it would get, anyway.
There was a pause, and Nikhail envisioned Nysa’s brow raising. “If you say so, sir.”
Her tone made it clear she didn’t believe him.
“I do.” Nikhail leaned back, the chair creaking as he did so. “What updates do you have for me?”
“Well, there are quite a few.” Papers shuffled, and in his mind’s eye, Nikhail imagined Nysa getting out her blue ballpoint pen and checking things off her list.
Nikhail opened a new document on his computer. Maybe that would help him pay attention. “Start at the beginning, please. The attack in the Western Region.”
It had been the first one to hit after the bomb went off at Hydrangea House, and three others had swiftly followed.
“Of course, sir.”
“Has surveillance been pulled from the surrounding buildings?”
A pause, then, “Yes, sir. But there’s a note here from Gonzalez. Apparently, the footage has been wiped. Twelve hours are missing—six leading up to the attack, and six after.”
Nikhail sighed and rubbed his temples. This wasn’t exactly surprising, but it would make things more difficult. Chancellor Rose was already putting pressure on them to find the Black Night and dismantle the rebel organization. Each day that passed without an arrest was one too many.
Usually, the police would deal with matters like these, but since the rebels had targeted the Chancellor, this had become a military problem.
“You’ll have him send me the files?” Nikhail asked.
“Of course, sir. I’ll send everything you need via vampire courier as soon as the sun sets.”
“Good. What else do you have?”
More papers shuffled, then Nysa continued. Unsurprisingly,allthe cameras had been wiped. Nysa was in the middle of telling Nikhail about the evidence that had been gathered from the scene in the Northern Region when a shadow darkened the door of Nikhail’s office.
Arlo Night, former soldier and current military liaison to Representative Waterborn, stood in the doorway. Wearing a tailored purple dress shirt and black slacks, they looked more like a model than a soldier as they leaned against the doorframe. Their brows creased as they met Nikhail’s gaze.
Arlo’s presence here, along with the concerned look on their face, had Nikhail’s stomach sinking. He held up a finger to let them know he’d be a minute while he wrapped things up with Nysa.
It was unlikely, Nikhail realized as he finished his phone call, that he’d get out of here any time soon.
Nikhail hung up and met his old friend’s gaze.
“Arlo.” Warmth filled his voice, despite the unease in his soul. “It’s good to see you.”
The water fae inclined their head, their expression remaining unnervingly serious. “It’s good to see you, too.”
Nikhail sensed there was more. “But…” he prodded.