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WORK DIDN’T GET EASIER for Ciara. The following weeks were unbelievably busy. Still, the team found no witch hunters. They were always a little too late to catch them, and she had no idea how that could be.
The team adjusted to working without Owen. After all, he was probably safer on his sick leave than he would have been at work.
He ended up having to stay at the hospital for weeks before the doctors allowed him to go home. He lived alone, which was common in their line of work, so he had to be recovered enough to take care of himself.
Liam suspected something, because Ciara spent hardly any time at home. Mostly she was working, but sometimes she went out for drinks with her team—especially after tough cases.
Liam didn’t believe her, and he didn’t have to say it out loud for Ciara to know. He knew she wasn’t seeing her other friends, either. She didn’t have the time.
She had to find the witch hunters, and that mattered the most to her.
***
THE COLD AIR BIT AT Ciara’s cheeks, and the wind blew her hair all over the place. A regular November evening.
Ciara hurried to the right building and walked in. She sighed, welcoming the warmth, and headed for the stairs.
Walking up the last set of stairs, she spotted something on her door. She hurried to see what it was.
It was a note saying, Someone who’s alone and unaware might get hurt unless you stop.
Ciara’s eyes grew wide. She grabbed her phone and took a photo of the note before tearing it off and shoving it in her pocket.
She didn’t realise her hands were shaking until she reached for the doorknob. She feared what she would find inside.
Not Liam. She was used to people getting hurt at work, but her personal life was different. She wasn’t used to losing people outside work, not even after Theo.
She yanked the door open. “Liam!”
“Yes?” Ciara heard Liam ask from the living room. She could tell just by the tone of his voice he had been reading a book.
Ciara sighed in relief, unable to contain her smile. She closed the flat door, shrugged off her coat and hung it up. She walked to the living room, and her eyes settled on Liam. Warmth and relief filled her, and she wanted to hug him—but she didn’t. “You don’t mind if I invite a colleague over for a little while, right?”
“O-of course not,” Liam said. “It’s your flat.”
“Even so, I thought it was polite to ask. I will, uh, call him. He...he had to stop by at home and, you know,” Ciara rambled before she hurried into her room.
She dialled Bill’s number the second she had her room’s door locked. She had worked with him the most and, therefore, trusted him the most. The entire team had gained her trust, but this time she simply preferred Bill.
“Ciara?” he said when he picked up.
“Bill,” Ciara said, her voice unusually shaky. She couldn’t get a picture of dead Liam out of her mind, despite knowing he was okay. “I know you’re not at work and this will sort of be work. But can you please come over?”
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Of course. What happened?” Bill asked, worried. Ciara could hear him shuffling around, getting ready.
“Someone left a note on my flat door, threatening to kill my flatmate,” Ciara whispered. “He doesn’t know and he can’t know. So, how quickly can you get here?”
“Just give me the address.”
She did, and soon she heard Bill’s footsteps, running up the stairs. Then he rang the doorbell.
“I’m here.”
“Great. Just a second,” Ciara said and hurried to the door to open it for Bill. “Hey! You made it!” she said, pretending to be happy to hang out with a colleague.
Bill smiled. “Of course.” He shrugged off his coat and hung it on the coatrack.
“I have the files and my laptop in my room,” Ciara said, still smiling.
“Show the way.”
Ciara and Bill stopped at the living room. Liam was still reading his book, sitting on the sofa, but he looked up when he sensed two pairs of eyes on him.
“Bill, this is Liam,” Ciara said, gesturing to her flatmate. “And Liam, this is Bill.”
Bill smiled. “Nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too.” A brief smile crossed Liam’s face, then his eyes fell on Ciara.
“Uh, we’ll be in my room. We need to get some paperwork done.”
“I’ll try to be quiet.” Liam nodded. “But, uh, have you eaten yet?”
“Actually no.”
“I think I’ll order Chinese. Is that good for both of you?”
“Sounds great,” Bill said and grinned.
“What he said.” Ciara gestured to Bill. “Um, thanks.”
Liam smiled and nodded. “No problem.”
Ciara pulled Bill to her bedroom, closing the door behind. She pulled the note from her back pocket and handed it to Bill.
He read it over twice to make sure he hadn’t missed a word. “I don’t think he’s safe.”
“I know.” Ciara gritted her teeth. “What the hell am I supposed to do?”
It was new for her, not knowing what to do.
“Well, you should scatter around your laptop and files to make it look like we’re not doing anything suspicious.”
“Good thinking,” Ciara said and spread paperwork over her bed. She also opened her laptop on the desk.
“And then you need to take a deep breath,” Bill instructed.
Ciara took a deep breath, doing her best to calm down.
“So is he your boyfriend?” Bill asked, gesturing in the living room’s direction.
“My ex from over three years ago.”
Bill crossed his arms. “He looked rather jealous to be an ex.”
“You’re gay. Why would he be jealous even if he was interested in me?”
“How would he know I’m gay?”
“Good point,” Ciara said. “Anyhow, he’s just a friend. And his life is in danger because of my job.”
Bill held up the note. “You took a picture of this?
“Yes. Before I tore it off the door.”
“Send it to the rest of the team and tell them we need to have a meeting bright and early. Send it to Kellan, too.”
Ciara nodded and grabbed her phone. She did as Bill instructed.
“Liam would start suspecting something if you left the flat for no reason,” Bill thought out loud.
“He would.”
“So, when I leave, I’ll stick around to make sure no one suspicious enters the building.”
“You can’t stay up all night.”
“I’ll call someone else to switch with me when I get tired,” Bill said. “They want to kill your flatmate. I’ve seen them do worse.”
“Well, they did kill my fiancé and mentor, so—”
Bill snapped his fingers in front of Ciara’s face. “You’re rambling. Stop that and start focusing.”
“This is just a little too...”
“Personal?” Bill nodded. “Well, you and your flatmate were just threatened in your own home. I would be freaking out, too, if I were you.”
***
CIARA AND BILL PRETENDED to have finished working when the Chinese takeaway arrived. That way Ciara could go to the door instead of Liam. She was prepared for the worse while he was still oblivious to what was going on.
But it wasn’t a witch hunter, just a delivery girl.
The three of them ate together. Liam and Bill seemed to get along when they finally got the chance to talk.
Bill left after eating, but he was going to stay on watch outside the building.
“He seems nice,” Liam said.
“He’s great,” she agreed. “And he’s gay, if you’re interested.”
Liam rolled his eyes. “So is he on the same team or what?”
“He’s in my team.”
“In your team?” Liam asked, raising his eyebrow.
“Um...I might have forgotten to mention that I got a promotion,” Ciara said sheepishly. “I got...well, I got Doherty’s job.”
The name was still painful to say out loud.
“So, you’re Bill’s boss?”
Ciara nodded. “Yes, but I hate that term.”
Liam chuckled. “You’re honestly one position below the head of the department and you hate being called a boss?”
“Yes.”
“You’re one of a kind.”
Ciara smiled.
She and Liam ended up watching a movie together. It had been Ciara’s idea, because she wanted to keep an eye on Liam in case someone sneaked into the flat.
With Bill on watch, it was unlikely, but she didn’t want to risk it. She was sick with worry, even though she trusted Bill with her life.
“So when does your work start tomorrow, boss?” Liam asked, teasing.
Ciara rolled her eyes. “At seven.”
“I thought you were the boss.”
“We have an early meeting. Bad guys get to sleep, but we don’t.”
“Even I get to sleep more than you do.”
“Maybe I should have become a curse breaker after all,” Ciara said, shrugging.
“It’s not too late to switch.” There was a hint of seriousness in Liam’s voice.
“I think I’ll stick to being the boss.”
“Your choice.”