Chapter 72: The Virgin Announcement, Li Qiang, And Harolin’s Shirt!
The room was not empty.
That was the thing Dominic had either not noticed or had not cared about. Cullen was at the table, eating dinner. The top three guy was near the far end with his own partner seated on his lap. Finn was by the service area. All of them are present, and now all of them are aware of exactly what Dominic had just announced to the VIP cafeteria.
Ruaan pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose, disappointed.
He looked at Dominic. He wished he were strong enough to tightly wrap his fingers around his neck and hold it there for ten minutes.
"You came here to tell me this," Ruaan said. His voice was very even. "What exactly do you gain from doing that?"
"Everything." Dominic grabbed his shoulder. "I’m the one who was supposed to be in that position. Not him. Not some officer you’ve known for three weeks." His voice cracked slightly at the edges. "You’re still my fiancée, Ruaan. Do you understand how much this hurts?"
"I’m still your what? In case you forgot, let me refresh your memory. I cut that tie," Ruaan said. "Oh, wait, you did it yourself. In a visitation room. With me on the other side of the glass."
"Your father didn’t approve of the separation. That’s why I’m here." Dominic straightened. "There’s no way he would let go of a potential in-law like me."
Ruaan looked at him.
Then he burst into laughter. He was definitely not amused. After hearing what Dominic said, he had confirmed what he had already suspected.
"You’ve been after my father’s money this whole time," Ruaan said. "The business. The connections. The in-law title." He shook his head. "Son-in-law, was it? Tsk."
"That’s not—"
"If my father won’t let me cut ties with you," Ruaan said, folding his arms, "then I’ll abandon the Calder name."
Dominic’s eyes went wide. "You can’t do that."
"Watch me," Ruaan said. "I’ll do it over and over and over again if it’s something that’ll let you stay away from you."
He turned and met Cullen’s eyes. Be sighed, as a groan slipped from his lip.
"Cullen," he said. "I’m sorry. My appetite is gone again. I can’t finish dinner with you."
Cullen was already standing. He looked at Dominic the way he looked at things that were in the wrong place.
"Mine too. I lost it the moment an uninvited someone slammed that door open," He straightened his shirt. "I’ll speak to the guards about grey uniforms coming into this section. It’s not allowed, yet some people dared to step in. Seems the boundary needs reinforcing."
"I’m glad it’s mutual, good night then. See you tomorrow."
Ruaan wasted no time and brushed past Dominic as he headed to his room.
Dominic called Ruaan’s name.
But Ruaan kept walking and did not turn around. The sound of his name being called behind him faded as the door closed, and the corridor was quiet, and he kept walking until he reached his own door.
.
.
Ruaan immediately pushed his door open and slammed it closed with an angry expression on his face.
Harolin was on the bed with his glasses on, and documents spread around him like someone who had been working for a while. He looked up when the door opened.
He read Ruaan’s face in approximately one second.
"Who made you angry? Let me guess, Dominic?" he said.
It was not a question.
Ruaan stopped just inside the room and looked at him. "If you can guess that accurately, I’m sure you had a hand in it."
Harolin let out a short laugh as he tilted his head back. He couldn’t believe he was busted. He started gathering the documents he had already reviewed and slid them back into the file, making room on the bed.
Ruaan sat down beside him.
"You won’t believe this jerk grabbed my face and checked the mark on my neck," Ruaan said. "In front of Cullen and Finn and everyone. Then he announced, at a very loud volume, that I was a virgin until I got here."
"Is there anything wrong with that?" Harolin said.
"What?"
Ruaan looked at him.
"With being a virgin," Harolin said. He put his glasses back on and looked at the document in front of him. "Is there anything wrong with it?"
Ruaan opened his mouth and closed it.
"No," he said.
Harolin wore a small smile without looking up.
Ruaan shifted closer to him on the bed and looked at what he was reading.
"What are you looking at with that serious expression? Is this the death investigation?" Ruaan said.
"Yes. I’d have done it in my room, but I wanted to be with you."
Ruaan’s cheeks went warm. He had spent last night with Harolin here, but they had not gone far because of Wednesday training, and Ruaan had been fine with that. He was still fine with that and was absolutely not thinking about going far tonight.
He cleared his throat.
"It must be connected or similar to what happened three years ago at the pool," Ruaan said. "The murder that closed the recreation centre."
"It is." Harolin turned the folder and showed him the photographs.
Ruaan looked at a photograph. A body in the water, blood spreading outward in a slow dark circle. He handed it back and closed his eyes briefly.
"The same person can’t have done both," Ruaan said. "I mean, the timeline is too long. Three years apart."
"I don’t think so either." Harolin opened another file. A list. Two columns. Names from three years ago and names from the current roster. "But there might be a connection if I look closely."
They looked together. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Ruaan ran his finger down the current column and stopped.
"Huh? This name," he said. "Li Qiang."
Harolin looked where he was pointing. He took the file and checked.
The person was charged six months, three years ago. He entered Blackmere, and a week later, three prisoners died. One targeted in a field fight he was not part of. One in the pool. One went missing and was found in the cafeteria cold room three weeks later.
Then nothing happened. After six months, he was released.
The current roster.
Li Qiang entered three days ago. He was the person who had entered with Dominic and Lev.
Harolin put the file down and sat with it for a moment. He thought about the processing room. The three new inmates. The tall, quiet one he had placed in cell 109 without giving much thought to. The one who had not spoken once during the entire procedure. But he was sent out of 109, and he had to stay with Dominic and Lev.
He had long hair covering his eyes. Harolin had not looked closely at him because he didn’t do the search.
"We can’t declare him a suspect yet," Harolin said. "If we move too fast and he’s not the one, the real person could escape."
"But if he is the one," Ruaan said, "what do we do?"
"We watch him." Harolin looked at Ruaan. "Carefully."
Ruaan rubbed his chin. "But how do we confirm it? What if he’s here to kill someone again? Who is he after next?"
"I’m sure he’s a hunter," Harolin rubbed his chin.
"Hunter? What’s that?"
"Hunters are people who kill people in jail after their trials. For example, if the prisoner is charged with murder and is given just a few years in jail, the family of the murdered person can pay hunters to come into the prison to kill the prisoner. They can’t just forgive them, so they send hunters. I’m thinking Li Qiang is a hunter, and hunters usually have tattoos. It’s like a specific mark. Different groups have different ones, but they all carry something on the body."
Ruaan started to stand up. "I’ll go check..."
Harolin caught his hand and pulled him back.
Ruaan looked at him.
"Check?" Harolin asked. "As in you personally go and look at another man’s body?"
"It’s for the investigation."
"I know what it is for," Harolin said. "The answer is still no."
Ruaan blinked. "Are you jealous of a murder suspect?"
"I’m jealous of anyone who gets to have your eyes on them," Harolin said in a completely flat tone. "The answer is no. I’ll ask Oren tomorrow. He searched them at processing."
Ruaan stared at him.
Then he laughed and looked away because Harolin’s face when he said things like that was doing something to him.
Harolin packed the remaining documents into the bag and reached under the bed and produced a designer bag that Ruaan had not noticed was there.
Ruaan looked at it and looked at Harolin.
"It came in a few minutes before you did," Harolin said.
Ruaan took the bag, opened it and found the shampoo. His specific brand. The one he had not had since the arrest. He opened it.
He pressed it to his face and breathed in. He immediately moaned an entirely involuntary sound.
Harolin watched him.
"This is so good. Thank you, Lily," He pressed the bottle to his face. "I can’t wait to wash my hair."
Then he looked at the small sink on the side of the room.
"Let me help you," Harolin said.
He reached up and pulled his shirt over his head.
Ruaan lowered the shampoo and looked at Harolin without his shirt.
He pressed his palm against his face.
"How are we going to do that?" Ruaan said.
Harolin looked at him with a grin.
"You can start," he said, "by taking off yours."
Ruaan bit his lower lip.
He definitely liked where this was going.