Xavier's POV
My office smelled like coffee, frustration, and unfinished thoughts, which honestly summed up my entire damn morning.
I stood in front of the suspect board mounted on the wall, staring at the pathetic excuse of an investigation spread out before me or more accurately... The lack of one.
The file on Lucifer sat open on my desk behind me, practically mocking me at this point because it was fucking empty, worthless and frustrating as hell.
I dragged a hand through my hair and kept pacing slowly across my office, trying to piece together something... anything, that made sense but sadly, there was nothing.
No face, no confirmed identity, no location, no known associates, no right-hand man, no seized shipment connected directly to him, no witnesses willing to talk, no fingerprints and definitely no photos of any kind.
Hell, they didn't even know if Lucifer was his real name or just an alias... He was practically a fucking ghost hiding behind fear and blood.
I stopped pacing briefly and stared harder at the blank board like what I had on it will suddenly make sense if I stared harder.
"Oh, he's good," I muttered. "Damn."
And the annoyingly part was that I meant it... It's crazy how he was able to keep himself hidden for so long without any traces and nothing to hold on to.
Most criminals got arrogant eventually, they slipped, left trails and trusted the wrong people but Lucifer?
Whoever the hell he was had covered every track perfectly, almost professionally or like he had had years of learning experience or something.
At this rate, the bastard might actually get away with it all because nobody had anything solid to hold onto.
I narrowed my eyes slightly at the board. "Who the hell are you?"
Silence filled the room... Of course it did.
I continued pacing.
"It doesn't even matter," I muttered darkly. "I will find you."
I always did.
No matter how long it took, no matter how messy it got. "I will find you."
Suddenly there was a knock at the door.
I turned around immediately. "Come in."
The office door opened and Sylvester walked in grinning slightly.
"I got his number."
I frowned. "What number?"
My brain was so overloaded between the Lucifer case and Sebastián's engagement disaster that I genuinely forgot what the hell he was talking about.
Sylvester blinked. "The private investigator's number."
"Oh." Right. "That's right."
He walked over and handed me a folded piece of paper with a phone number scribbled across it.
"There you go."
I took it. "Thanks."
He nodded and turned toward the door, then something hit me again.
"Hold on."
Sylvester paused instantly and looked back.
I leaned against the desk slightly. "Are you sure this is all you have on Lucifer?"
His expression shifted for half a second... It was tiny, almost invisible but I caught it.
I always caught things.
I gestured toward the file on my desk. "This file is practically empty."
Sylvester stayed quiet for a moment, then his eyes drifted toward the suspect board before returning to me.
"Yeah," he finally said. "That's all we have."
I studied him carefully.
"That's crazy," I muttered. "All I have got in this file is an alias and a list of crimes."
"Yeah," he repeated quietly. "That's all we have."
But something about him felt… off.
He looked kind of nervous but not normal nervous either. It was the kind of tension people carried when they knew more than they were willing to say.
Because tell me why he kept repeating yeah, that's all we have like that's all he was allowed to say or like he had rehearsed it or maybe the mere mention of Lucifer just genuinely scared him.
"I see."
Interesting, very interesting... A part of me wanted to push harder but another part of me was too distracted to care right now.
So instead, I nodded once. "Okay. You can go. Thanks for this."
I lifted the paper with the PI's number slightly.
Sylvester nodded quickly. "You are welcome."
Then he practically hurried out of the office like he was scared I was going to stop him again and ask more questions.
The second the door closed, I frowned toward it. "Weird."
It's either I was imagining things… Or Officer Sylvester Hale knew something important.
I walked slowly back toward my desk, staring down at the phone number in my hand.
Should I even call?
I mean, a part of me knew I should focus on Lucifer... That's what I came to New York for, that's the assignment and that's the only thing that should matter right now but then...
The TV behind me switched to another entertainment segment and suddenly Sebastián and Sabrina filled the screen again.
I froze.
The anchorwoman smiled brightly as pictures from their engagement dinner flashed behind her.
"SOCIAL MEDIA IS OFFICIALLY OBSESSED WITH BILLIONAIRE CEO SEBASTIÁN MONTGOMERY AND HIS STUNNING FIANCEE SABRINA RODRIGUEZ!"
The screen showed clips of them laughing together on the rooftop and then Sebastián slipping the ring onto her finger.
God... The anger that rushed through me felt almost physical.
"FANS ARE ALREADY SPECULATING ABOUT WHAT COULD BECOME THE WEDDING OF THE YEAR," the anchor continued excitedly. "SOURCES CLOSE TO MONTGOMERY INDUSTRIES SAY THE CEREMONY COULD BE EXTRAVAGANT, ELEGANT, AND FILLED WITH SOME OF THE COUNTRY'S BIGGEST NAMES."
More photos flashed.
Sebastián holding her waist and Sabrina smiling up at him as they made their way to the car after the engagement... Perfect and happy like they belonged together.
"THEY HONESTLY LOOK LIKE A POWER COUPLE STRAIGHT OUT OF A MOVIE," the second host added dramatically. "AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE CHEMISTRY? THE INTERNET IS ALREADY CALLING THEM SOULMATES."
That did it... The moment they went on about power couple, chemistry and soulmate, I turned the fucking tv off.
"Fuck," I snapped. "I can't take this."
I grabbed my phone immediately.
"She's supposed to be mine."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them and the scary part was that I meant every single one.
I dialed the number quickly.
The phone rang twice, then a rough male voice answered.
"Gavin P.I. here."
"Hi," I said immediately. "I am Detective Montgomery."
A pause briefly, waiting for him to say something, then he cleared his throat...
"Okay, Detective. How can I help?"
I leaned back slowly into my chair. "I am looking for some people. I was hoping you could help."
"Of course I can," Gavin replied easily. "But you do know my fees are on the high side?"
Money, always money... He didn't even understand the assignment yet and he was already talking about money but luckily for me, I had plenty.
"Money isn't a problem," I said flatly. "I will pay whatever you want as long as I get the information I need."
That seemed to please him. "Say less. Give me the details."
The picture of Sebastián and Sabrina getting engaged on the rooftop stayed frozen in my head.
"Sebastián Montgomery," I said slowly. "And Sabrina Rodriguez."
Gavin hummed thoughtfully. "And who are they to you?"
I hesitated only briefly. "Sebastián is my twin."
The word tasted bitter already. "And Sabrina is his fiancée."
Fiancée... Jesus Christ.
Even saying it irritated the hell out of me because she shouldn't be his fiancée, she should have been mine.
I pushed the thought aside before it consumed me completely.
"What else?" Gavin asked.
"The last time I saw either of them was four years ago," I admitted. "So I have nothing current on them."
"I see," Gavin replied. "So you need me to locate them?"
"Yes." I leaned forward slightly. "And I want to know everything they have been doing for the last four years. Every detail."
"Okay," Gavin said calmly. "That I can do. Anything else?"
"I need the information fast."
"That'll cost extra." he pointed out.
"I don't care."
He was quiet for a while then he chuckled.
"I like straightforward clients," Gavin admitted. "Fine. I will text you my fee and payment details."
"Good."
"And Detective?" he called.
"Yeah?"
"You sound personally invested."
I smirked coldly. "You have no idea."
Then I hung up.
Finally, one problem handled.
Relief settled slightly into my chest knowing someone was already digging into Sebastián and Sabrina's lives because if there was one thing I wanted more than catching Lucifer?
It was finding them, finding her and putting an end to whatever fantasy relationship they thought they had.
Because Sebastián could play house all he wanted... But Sabrina Rodriguez would always belong to me, even if she didn't know it yet.
My phone suddenly buzzed... It was a text message from Gavin, it appeared almost immediately.
I opened it immediately
From: Gavin P.I.
Pleasure doing business with you, Detective... Rush Investigation Package — $8,500
What you will get after my investigation includes: Current addresses, Work/business activity, Relationship timeline, Daily routines, Financial/public records, Known associates and Surveillance if necessary
Wire Transfer Details:
Bank: Hudson Federal Credit Union
Account Name: Gavin Mercer Investigations LLC
Account Number: 774092183
Routing Number: 112903745
...
I stared at the amount briefly and honestly? I expected more after all his dramatic "expensive" talk.
This was cheap, especially if it got me what I wanted.
So, without hesitation, I transferred the money immediately. Then sent one short reply.
To: Gavin P.I.
Sent.
I dropped the phone onto the desk slowly afterward and leaned back into my chair, feeling satisfied because now?
Things were moving in the direction I like and one way or another… I was getting Sabrina back.
No matter what Sebastián tried, no matter how happy they looked because in my mind? There were only two acceptable outcomes.
I had her... Or nobody did.