“This isn’t your job, Meredith. I thought I explained this all to you last night—”
“Alex Bloodright killed your parents. He killed other members of the Lycanthropic Society too, almost wiped out an entire pack, and came very close to taking your life. I know who he is, and I know why we’re here.” Meredith leaned forward to remove her leather blazer and started unbuttoning her blouse. “I need to show you something.”
A rush of blood flowed due south in Silas’s anatomy, and he shifted uneasily in his seat. His inner wolf paced and whimpered. But Silas knew better than to become involved with a fellow detective. “Stop. Meredith. What are you doing?” He shielded his eyes.
“Relax, this isn’t what you think.”
He lowered his hand. She’d pulled the neck of her blouse halfway down her right shoulder. A tattoo of a crescent moon with a five-pointed star in its hollow was in residence there.
“Crescent Moon pack? I thought you said you were a skinwalker.”
“My mother was a skinwalker. My father was a werewolf. I shift into a fox. When a madman murders three-quarters of your pack, shifting at all is enough to bring you into the ranks. I’m a beta for the pack.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
“How could you? I don’t have to shift if I don’t want to. I don’t use Rivergate, and we barely have representation on the council anymore. There’s too few of us.”
“So, this is personal for you.”
“More than you know.”
“Why didn’t you say anything before?”
She sighed. “When I came to the department, I knew who you were and that you were hunting Alex. I wanted to be part of it. I was afraid if I told you too much, you’d shut me out. Manahan stressed that he hired me to be emotionally uninvolved.” She played with the plastic tab on the lid of her coffee. “And then, last night, I didn’t recognize Alex. I’d only seen a glimpse before you pushed me down and he looked different from what I remembered.”
“He changes his appearance slightly on a regular basis.”
“Anyway, I didn’t mention it then because I was in shock. But you need to understand: I want him dead as much as you do.” She buttoned her blouse. “Alex murdered my father.”
“Turner. Your father was Grayson Turner. Second in command.”
“First to die.”
A sharp breath whistled through his teeth. “And your mother?”
“Shifted into an eagle and flew away. She survived. Physically anyway. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her smile. She never forgave herself for leaving my father behind.” A ghost passed behind Meredith’s pupils—a fleeting shadow of pain temporarily escaped from a well-guarded cage. But it was enough for Silas to recognize its face. That pain had taken up residence in his heart when Alex murderedhisparents. It was a fire that could only be extinguished by blood, Alex’s blood. “I was away when it happened. Working on a case in Merrimack.”
Silas stared at her as if seeing her for the first time. “I stand corrected. You do belong here.” Damn, he had some mad respect for her. She carried the kind of grief Silas had been dealing with for years. And like him, she’d risen above it and was doing something about it.
Abruptly, he shoved his laptop onto her knees and tossed the headphones at her. Reaching across her body, he grabbed a coffee and blueberry scone. He nodded toward the equipment. “Get to work. You don’t want to miss our big break.”
Chapter Five
“Silas! Oh my goddess, Silas, I think it’s him.” Meredith pressed the headphones to her ears and squinted at the screen. Fuck, it was almost midnight. A man she thought was about Alex’s size, in jeans, athletic shoes, and a dark hoodie, looked both ways before entering the Copper Herald stairwell. Was that him? She needed Silas to confirm.
He must have dozed off. Meredith shook his shoulder. “Silas!” He shifted in his seat and blinked at the laptop screen. But if it had been Alex, he was already upstairs.
“I didn’t see his face, but he fit the description,” she said.
“Let’s go.” Silas unsnapped the thin strap that secured his gun inside his shoulder holster and shrugged into a Boston Red Sox jacket. Weapon concealed but with easy access. Smart.
“I loaded silver bullets,” she said, adjusting her gun in the small of her back. It was common knowledge that silver caused the most injury in werewolves, wood in vampires, and iron in anything fae. She had a little of everything in her bag, but she planned to travel light.
“Even silver won’t kill him. Not while he’s wearing the amulet. But they’ll slow him down.” Silas cracked his neck. “That’s what I have loaded.”
Meredith quietly slid the door open and climbed out of the van, tossing on her leather blazer to completely conceal her weapon. With a nod of her head, she confirmed she was ready. He led the way toward Copper Herald’s. This time, she allowed him to go up the stairs first, her hand on her gun, ready to back him up. The door to Copper Herald’s was partially open. Suspicious. She paused, a shiver traveling the length of her spine. She drew her gun. Silas gently pushed the door and slid in sideways through the opening. The office was dark, vacant. The door to the small bedroom was also cracked, a light on inside.
Every hair follicle on Meredith’s body tingled with her unease. “Silas…” she whispered. A dark shadow interrupted the steady glow from within.
