Liam followed the detective out of the room, wondering just what he wanted. The silence continued until they reached the front room. Aiden was waiting there too. “The professor has been relocated to an API safehouse,” Aiden’s words cut through the tension.

“Will he stay there?” Detective Hale asked.

“He should,” Aiden said, looking confused.

“You said that he offered himself to be used as bait. How do you know he will listen?” the detective asked.

“Oh,” Aiden looked a little startled at the suggestion. “Well, being bait only works if you have someone watching to ensure that there is a hook waiting.”

“True, but he might go out looking for trouble if he thinks that it would stop the killing.”

“It won’t,” Liam interrupted, “If the professor died it would just get worse. Enchanters have a lot of power and the shard would feed on that power and be stronger for it.”

The detective frowned, “Right, so what is the plan.”

“Excuse me?” Liam asked.

“The plan. You can’t just be expecting to stop the monster by just staying here,” the detective said harshly.

“Of course not, but I’m not leaving Stephanie right now,” Liam snapped.

“All right,” Aiden stepped between them. “Calm down both of you.”

“You’re telling met to calm down when that monster just about killed Stephanie because of him?” the detective’s face contorted in rage.

Liam frowned at his argument. He couldn’t defend himself from it, but he couldn’t stay silent either. “I wasn’t happy with her actions either, but I could hardly stop her.”

“Then take care of the monster now,” the detective growled.

“I can’t,” Liam admitted. “I’m not strong enough. This shard had killed too many irregulars and absorbed their abilities. I was barely a distraction for that monster.”

“We also have to consider the issue of the Order,” Aiden added.

“Shut up,” Liam growled, not wanting to think about the torture Stephanie had suffered at their hands. If only he had been smarter then he would have searched for her sooner.

“What is the Order?” the detective asked.

Aiden explained what the Order was. “It seems likely that they were involved in her disappearance considering the state she was found in.”

“Doesn’t that mean that they are somewhere around here?” the detective looked equal parts horrified and enraged.

“It is possible but the enchantment she had back then might have found a way to aid in her escape,” Liam managed. Where was it now? It was much stronger than the one he had given her. “Listen, detective, I will do whatever it takes to protect Stephanie even if it costs me my life.”

Liam could tell that Detective Simmons wasn’t pleased with his response. “And where would she be then? I’ve seen that monster’s work. Don’t tell me she would be safe if you died,” his voice was short.

“I agreed to help her learn how to control her abilities,” he didn’t like it. The risks of doing so almost went beyond any of the possible benefits to her safety, but he couldn’t just let her get hurt without having a way to protect herself.

“If you hurt Stephanie, I’ll kill you myself,” the detective growled.

“I won’t,” Liam answered without a second thought. Liam would give the human the weapon to do just that if he ever did something so barbaric as to hurt his own soul mate.