Burn Me Once Burn With Me (Ruby Grayson) novel Chapter 129

Ruby didn't bother waiting. She dialed the number, getting straight to the point as soon as the call connected. "What do you mean by ‘the trail's gone cold'? Any leads on the retriever? Did you find anything at all?"

Sylas blinked, suddenly at a loss for words.

Even through the screen, his expression was impossible to hide—grim and unsettled.

He had arranged for the golden retriever to be checked out as his backup plan, even going so far as to select a trusted veterinarian. But barely had he left the hotel where Ruby had been staying when he got the first update: the dog was dead.

How could it have died?

Sure, he'd kicked it pretty hard back there, but when he sent it off, the animal was still hanging on, barely breathing but alive.

Yet the hospital told him there was nothing they could do. The retriever had been put down.

Sylas swallowed the metallic taste in his mouth, his voice heavy as he laid out everything he knew for Ruby, not sparing a single detail.

Ruby gripped her phone, brow deeply furrowed.

She murmured, "The dog's dead?"

Sylas's tone was more severe than ever, all traces of levity gone. "Yeah. The hospital said the injuries were too severe. They said according to the Animal Welfare Act, they had to euthanize it."

Ruby's gaze sharpened, a shadow flickering in her eyes.

How could this be a coincidence? With so many vets on staff, how did the hospital manage to euthanize the retriever before anyone else could intervene? She refused to believe there wasn't some hidden hand behind this.

Ruby bit down on her lip, her face tense.

Still, she voiced her suspicion. "As far as I know, even if it violates the regulations, they still need the owner's consent, right? The retriever's owner wasn't even at the hospital. How were the vets allowed to put it down just like that?"

Sylas paused, turning her question over in his mind.

Then realization dawned; his jaw tightened.

"I'll have someone pull the surveillance footage. There must have been some tests run before the euthanasia. I'll get my people to extract all the data."

Sylas narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning cold and predatory, like a panther in the dark.

Someone had the nerve to make a move right under his nose?

His knuckles cracked, the sound sharp in the quiet.

In Quinborough, who else would dare?

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