[Spirit of Lust] Chapter 143: Impromptu strategy meeting. (Patreon)

The moment William was through the door to his apartment, Reina was already on him, giving him a powerful hug and checking his face with both hands on his cheeks.

“What happened? Are you hurt?” Reina asked him.

“I should be asking that.” Will pressed his forehead against Reina’s and held one of her hands. “I’m fine. Did he hurt either of you?”

“I pushed him really hard and he fell on his ass,” Reina said, smirking. Will could tell that smirk was mainly to cover her fear, both from him and from herself.

“Atta girl.” Will chuckled and pecked her lips.

He turned to Anna, who was looking at them with… jealousy? No. A bit of envy.

“I’m sorry, Anna. This is…”

“I remember him,” Anna said, nodding to herself. She started even before Will could begin to think of how to explain. “That guy. I remember him now. He’s gone to the office to talk to Mrs. Evans a few times. I don’t know why. His visits were always quick. Now that I think about it, they could be errands for her husband.”

Will blinked and did a quick, snappy shake of his head. He turned to Reina with a questioning look, and his girlfriend answered sheepishly.

“...I told her everything.”

“Everything?”

“From Ishtar to what’s happening with Mrs. Evans.”

“And now I have confirmation that there’s weird stuff happening.” Anna shuddered and held her arms. Will worried that the sudden encounter had frightened her, but before he could say anything, he saw Anna swallowing and turning to him with steel in her eyes. “What happened to him? To the guy that attacked us?”

Will was… a little taken aback momentarily. He noticed Anna still held her arms, hands shaking, yet her eyes told another story. She was all business. Will didn’t want to cheapen her resolve, so he answered in kind.

“That was Jeremy. He’s a classmate. I found out recently that he’s under the… magical influence of Mrs. Evans’ husband.” He gave Anna a moment. When he saw she was following along, he started to get a feeling how much Reina had told her. And how much of it she believed, too. “A police detective took him. A police detective aware of the particular details of the situation. He’ll be interrogated.”

“You think we can learn something useful?” Reina asked, stepping into the conversation. Her hands shook as well, her eyes a little less focused than Anna’s. Still, Reina wasn’t backing down. “Will he even say anything?”

“I asked him a few questions myself. It worries me that he answered every single one.”

“You think he’s lying?” Anna asked.

“That’s the thing. I have… an ability that lets me know people’s true feelings. It works better on women than it does on men, but…” Will began to rub the back of his neck, uncomfortable. Anna knew about Ishtar, and if she knew and had come here with Reina, then Will had to believe she wanted an explanation. It didn’t look like the secretary wanted that conversation right now, though, giving preference to more urgent matters. “Ishtar and I have a strong feeling he was telling the truth. He said he followed you under Jack’s orders, that he was doing it because you were asking questions to his wife, and that this spray can,” Will took the small bottle out of his pocket, “would have put you under his control, too.”

The girls shared a look, and it was Reina who spoke next. “Mrs. Evans isn’t well,” she said carefully. “She looks tired, and her memory seems all over the place. She remembers hiring a photographer, but she doesn’t remember what happens in the special shoots… or your name.”

Will’s heart was wrung out by those words. Cynthia didn’t even remember his name? Of course she didn’t. Her husband would’ve taken care of that. His chest burned and he bit hard on his lower lip.

“She was even talking about firing you and Reina,” Anna added. “But she can’t give a good reason, even though there technically would be. The company would be at risk if the story of the special shoots leaked, so if she regretted starting them in the first place, it would be one thing. But she doesn’t even know what the shoots were about.”

‘Have you pieced it together?’

‘I have a theory.’

‘Let’s hear it.’

“He’s forcing thoughts into her, leaving holes in her memory. He’s making her want to get rid of me, but hasn’t given her a coherent reason. He doesn’t know what happens in the shoots, or that they exist at all. I’m a problem, and apparently so are you two. His control over her is weaning, which is why he wants to get rid of us.”

Will clicked his tongue and did his best to keep the venom out of his voice. He needed to keep a cool head. As much as he’d like to walk up to the guy and end things quickly, there was still more they needed to know before acting. However, they were getting closer.

“Sorry you had to get involved, Anna,” Will told her.

The secretary shook her head. “No. I’m glad Reina told me. I knew things were strange between Mrs. Evans and her husband, but I didn’t understand how. I thought it inappropriate to meddle in their relationship, but if this is how it really is, then I can’t just stand by and do nothing. Tell me how I can help.”

Will grimaced. If it were up to him, none of them would get involved at all. He’d rather they just stay hidden until he took care of everything. But that just wasn’t a realistic scenario. Will couldn’t do everything himself. He simply wasn’t competent enough.

It hurt. It was frustrating. Maybe if he was stronger, smarter, more skilled, he could simply walk up to Jack, beat him up and get it over with. But he wasn’t. Training with Aoi had shown him that. He didn’t know how a direct confrontation would end, and taking the risk when there were safer alternatives was foolish.

“I’m not entirely sure,” he had to admit to her. “Even now we’re still figuring out our course of action.”

“What do you think Jack will do when he finds out Jeremy was taken into custody?” Reina asked carefully.

That made Will pause. He hadn’t considered that yet. If Jack didn’t hear from Jeremy by tomorrow, he would start investigating what happened. He would know that Jeremy had failed, and that Reina and Anna were still free.

He hesitated for a moment, fingers twitching, but he reached for his phone again and called Aoi again. She was capable and more aware of the situation than anyone else. He found himself relying on her, perhaps overly so, but Will was starting to feel lost.

As he waited for her to answer, he watched the short exchange between the two girls.

“Sorry, Anna,” Reina said. “I didn’t expect this mood whiplash.”

“Not your fault,” Anna said, chuckling tiredly. “Maybe it’s for the best?”

Reina sighed. “This can’t be over soon enough…”

Will agreed.