Something To Hide: A Lynley Novel Novels & Stories

“Running away in the middle of the night, Kael? Like a thief? Like a coward?” The R8 froze in unison, each man instinctively reaching for the concealed weapons strapped under their coats. Queen Serena stepped out of the shadows. The Queen of Lycans looked ethereal in her midnight gown, her golden crown catching stray beams of light. Her beauty was sharp, almost weaponized, but her eyes were colder than the steel around the airstrip. Guards lingered far behind her, wisely keeping their distance. “Mother.” Kael’s voice was steady, but his hand tightened into a fist at his side. “Don’t stand in my way.”

Her legal training screamed at her to analyze, to react, but her personal history, her deep, old fears, just froze her. He turned. Their eyes met. Ethan. The well-known billionaire. Four years of hiding, building, pretending. It all shattered in that one moment. The simple, peaceful life she had painstakingly carved out for herself was suddenly fragile, exposed. His eyes, tired but sharp, widened. Then they looked at Clyde, who was holding up his own carved bird, just like the one in Ethan’s hand. Clyde, innocent and smiling, had a mischievous glint in his dark eyes.

Like right now. Daniel looks up from his phone screen, worry creasing his brows. “It’s the police.” He thinks for a while then turns to his wife. “Honey, get Irina upstairs to the safe room right now. I’ll handle this,” he orders. He handles it so well and now I see why Alden chose to work with him. He knows exactly what he is doing. We go straight upstairs and Jenny takes me to a room that only opens with handprint identification. “Here, you can hide till they’re gone. Don’t worry. Daniel will handle this.” She says in my language. She has been learning since I started learning human language and has gotten really fluent.

"He didn't put you in the ledger as someone who did something wrong, Lyra. He put you there as the key. You're not a name on a list of corrupt men. You're the location of the ledger itself, once he was gone. He made you the person who'd know where to find it, without ever telling you that's what you'd become." Lyra sat back slowly, the full weight of it landing in pieces, one after another. The storage unit registered in her name that she'd never opened. The matchbook is hidden in the lining of a coat. A phone with one saved contact and a message that read it's done, tell him it's finished, tell him I'm out.

“Evidence is the problem. We don’t have it. Because you moved the witness. Because you sealed the bunker. Because you’re acting like there’s something to hide.” The pouch under my jacket felt heavier. So did the burner message waiting in my pocket like a countdown. Silas lowered his voice just enough to sound reasonable. “If there’s nothing to hide, bring her out. Let council verify the claim. Let the pack see your control.” “No,” I said. His brows lifted. “Then you admit you can’t.” My wolf snapped up inside me, furious at the implication. I kept my face empty. “You want to see her,” I said. “You want to put your scent on her and call it concern and then use her like a pawn.”

"I can tell you anything you want! P-please!" I lowered my claws, staring down at him. "All right. You kidnapped a black-haired witch a few days ago. Tell me where she is." Lycan looked at me in silence for a few seconds. Then he sucked in a trembling breath. "There's a secret hideout on the eastern side of this hill, two miles up from the river. You will find her there." I inwardly smirked. "I appreciate the gesture," I said before waving my claws across his throat, killing him within a heartbeat. Did he really think that this piece of information was going to save his life? Well, if he did, he thought wrong.

The table between them felt intentional; a necessary barrier. Adrian slid a file toward her. “Financial routing through Sinclair’s remaining network.” Lydia opened it, her eyes scanning the data with an efficiency that surprised him. “Three layers,” she murmured. “Minimum.” “The fourth is hidden.” Lydia tapped a section of the ledger lightly. “Here. Someone inside is still feeding him clean access.” Adrian leaned back, watching her. “You’re catching up fast.” Lydia didn’t look up. “I’m not catching up,” she said. “I’m correcting.”

After dinner, I sneak back to the library. This time, not to read but to hide. I move the oldest texts I’ve been using deeper into the shelves, behind dustier books. I wedge them sideways so they’re harder to see from the front. If Theron comes back, I don’t want him finding anything easily. I pull out my worn satchel and hide my small notebook inside, wrapping it in cloth. Then I tuck the bundle beneath a loose floorboard under the second shelf, one I found weeks ago when I dropped a tray of ink.

Secrets that involve me. And now that Lycan is missing, I know exactly who had a hand in it. Her. She’s clever, I’ll give her that. But she’s not clever enough. Soon, I’ll uncover everything she’s hiding—and when I do, the entire world will know. I’ll make sure every single dirty secret she’s tried to bury is dug up and displayed for all to see. Even if I have to fabricate a few details along the way. Who cares if it’s true?

Nichole gave me an apologetic look even though she was hurt as well. Dumpp!! In the middle of our heated argument, we heard a loud sound which made us shriek extremely. "What the heck is this?" Natasha asked dramatically but her guts shut down when she saw Blake who threw the book on the table. "Read the book and find the details. Don't bother her again." He threw a murderous look to everyone particularly towards Natasha before made his way God knows where. "Rude much." I heard her mutter under her breath before she took the book "The Hidden Secrets" from the table and flipped the first page.