"Did you really have to come here?" Ava said as she stared at the empty glass of whiskey in front of her. The sound of the bar wasn't enough to drown the anger in her voice. Slowly, her finger touched the edge of the cup. "Trillium never allowed two officers in the same state," she added.
The man who just sat next to her chuckled. Then he ordered his own whiskey on the rocks and leaned closer.
"Hello V," the man's blue eyes sparkled in mischief, an arrogant smirk hung on his lips. "I missed you too."
She rolled her eyes inwardly. "Jude, why did you want to see me?" She received the call just a few hours after she was informed that Samuel was no longer the branch head of Northern America.
As much as she didn't want to see Jude, she was left with no choice, as the man mentioned Samuel's name.
"You look upset?" Mirth drenched his tone. And she didn't like it.
Jude was someone that was trained together with her. She had fought him countless times. With her at the top of her class and him in the shifter's class, they started to have this invisible rivalry.
Instead of answering, she ordered another whiskey. Ava then downed it without saying anything.
Her temper was flaring. She had been doing her best to calm herself down, but the fact that the organization actually did something to Samuel just days after he told her about a breach was just… getting on her nerves.
Samuel's instincts had always been accurate.
And she hated he was right this time.
She knew that whatever happened was not a coincidence.
"I'm here because of Samuel." Jude interrupted her stupor.
"It's Mr. Sutton," she corrected him. "That's Mr. Sutton to you."
"Not anymore."
She frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, I am the new branch head so…"
"You— "
"I just received the news."
"Where's Samuel?"
"How should I know?" he fired back before he ordered another drink. "Please… V… stop scowling. We are no longer trainees. I am your boss now and you will listen to everything that I say."
Turning towards him, Ava squinted. "And I assume you have something to say to me, Right?" Jude Caro would never come here if he didn't have anything to say to her face.
"I want you to stop this operation. I will take over."
She had the suspicion that this man didn't know about the Lycans. She immediately tried to confirm it.
"Four dead witches and you wanted me to back away?"
"Right."
She snorted.
"I already talked to Mr. Graydon, he is…"
"I know." He finished a glass of his whiskey before he continued. "I saw the report. He wasn't cooperative. Meaning, whatever you did, it didn't work. It is my time now."
"I— "
"I know about your mother, V."
That made her silent. Only Samuel knew about Gabriella's death. Jude, a rival who graduated almost at the same time as she, shouldn't have known about her mother.
"Samuel was wrong. He shouldn't have sent you back here. You are too emotional about the case. It's too personal for you."
She agreed silently. She always knew that the case was personal. But Samuel trusted her. She came here not just because she wanted to solve this case. She came here not just because she wanted to catch Gabriella's killer.
Ava was here because she wanted to prove to Samuel and the whole Trillium that she can be trusted.
But before she could do something about it, they already did something to Samuel and are now trying to stop her from investigating her mother's death.
Honestly, it was confusing and infuriating at the same time.
However, she wasn't planning on staying like this forever. She needed answers. She needed to know the truth.
"I want to know what happened to Samuel."
"And if I tell you, are you going to promise you are going to stop looking into the dead witches?" Dead witches. Just the dead witches. He didn't tell her about Amelia, or about the Lycans.
Was it really possible that Samuel hadn't told Trillium about the Lycans?
"Yes," she nodded.
Hearing this, he gave her a mischievous grin. "Samuel did something. I don't know what. However, I knew the higher-ups were mad. They sent him somewhere for another mission."
"A mission? But Samuel is— "
"Human?" Jude shrugged. "Who cares? He did something… he was going to pay for it. I'd say he was pretty lucky, Trillium didn't kill him."
Kill Samuel?
Just what did Samuel do?
She bit her lower lip and thought about Amelia, Matthew, and Samuel. Then she thought about the four dead witches.
Samuel was right.
Something else is going on here.
"Alright… I will stop," she said. "But I need a break."
"Of course, the organization is willing to give you all the time that you need. I will take over and you can… take your vacation."
"So… you just let me take a vacation?"
"Oh… we know about your brother. His wife just… gave birth, no?"
Almost immediately, her face darkened. She suddenly grabbed Jude's hand that was resting on the counter of the bar.
"You are not going to harm them, Jude."
"Relax… we have a deal. As long as you stay away, then we are good."
"The Trillium that I knew never threatened to hurt kids."
He snorted. "Too bad. That Trillium is no more."
She gnashed her teeth. Now, she was starting to wonder if the reason why Samuel sent her here just after she finished a mission was that he knew something like this was about to happen.
Samuel must have known about it in advance. And as Samuel's prodigy, the man knew that his enemies might target Ava, too.
Now that she thought about it, she realized that it actually made sense.
First, all the information that she had about the killings was superficial. Nothing exciting, all basic evidence that didn't tell them anyone about the murderer. Tom and her team tried their best to find out more, but all access had been barred.
It was as if someone else was hiding that information from her. As if someone didn't want her to solve the cases.
It was Samuel who wanted her to work with the Lycans. And now, she found out that Trillium didn't know about it.
She side-eyed Jude, who was languidly drinking his whiskey.
She could feel the sense of victory emanating from him. And he wasn't even trying to hide it.
"I'm leaving…" She placed a few dollars on the table.
"I'm not done yet."
"What?"
"Trillium… said you will be suspended… indefinitely."
"You— "
"That is effective immediately."
"What the hell are you talking Jude?" She was a top officer. How could they just suspend her?
"Simple… you accepted the case, knowing this is your chance to pin the murder of your mother to the shifters. You knew the rules, V. You cannot work on something that would stir your emotions."
"But I didn't— "
"You haven't acted on it… yet." Jude flashed a smile. "Yet V. Trillium doesn't like that word very much. So… for now, just wait for the call. We will take you back… once you are ready."
"What about Tom and the rest?" She had a team of people working for her. What would happen to them if she was suspended?
"They will be working under another officer. Don't worry, Trillium would always take care of their own."
That hit a nerve.
Does this mean she wasn't one of them?
Right. Unlike them, Ava was just trained for two months. A normal agent would train for years yet, Ava passed everything in two damn months.
She… was different from everyone else.
She glared at him and then walked away without saying anything. Just like that, Samuel, the man who supported her and treated her like his daughter, was punished for doing something. Just like that, she lost the job that was making her sane.
A different glint flashed in her eyes.