“I still won’t have anything of Alex’s to use to find him, but yeah, I’ll pursue other options.”Silas rubbed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted.“Hey, speaking of Polina, considering what happened today to Laina, do you think she could refresh the protective wards around this place?Gerty and Grateful are busy with Four Paws and Rivergate.”
Logan nodded.“Yeah.I’ll ask her tonight.”Without warning, he pulled Silas into a one-armed hug.“We’re going to catch him, Silas.You’re not alone in this.”
“Yeah.”People kept telling him that, but no one else would be heading to Copper Herald’s tonight.
“I should be going.”Logan glanced at the darkening window.“Almost time for Polina and me to get to work slaying the bad guys.Stay safe, my friend.”
As he watched Logan dematerialize from his kitchen, Silas desperately hoped that he wouldnotbe safe tonight.He hoped he’d come face-to-face with Alex.And there was nothing safe about that.
ChapterSix
Every stakeout was a game of hide-and-seek.The goal was to be close enough to see without being seen, to hear without being heard.Tonight Silas had picked out a Ford Transit in prisoner-of-suburbia blue from the department’s fleet of unmarked cars.He parked on the street outside Starbucks and moved into the windowless back, relying on surveillance equipment connected to his laptop for a visual.The tiny but high-powered microphone and camera were expertly hidden in the grill of the van.Donning his headphones, he leaned back and adjusted the camera to zoom in on Copper Herald Health & Wellness.
A sudden knock on the passenger’s side door made him jump.He whipped his headphones off and drew his gun, training it on the door.
“Silas!”came a loud, female whisper.“Let me in.”
Rolling his eyes toward the roof of the van, Silas cursed.“By the goddess.”He leaned across the seat and unlocked the door for Meredith.
“I brought coffee and blueberry scones.”She ducked inside, pulling the door shut behind her and locking it.“I prefer maple walnut, but the blueberry is healthier because of the fruit.”She climbed into the back and plunked down on the seat beside him.“I’m trying to eat healthier, you know, because I drink like six cups of coffee a day.And it’s not only the caffeine but the cream and sugar.Plus, oh my goddess, I do noteverwant to see a healer again, I’ll tell you that.”
“What the hell are you doing here?”Fuck.There went his wolf again.He gave his head a hard shake.Not gonna happen.
“Waiting for Alex.”She looked at him in confusion.“The stakeout.Staking.Out.Copper Herald.The muddy boots?Alex?”
“I don’t need your help tonight, Meredith.Honestly, you’ll just be in the way.”Definitely a distraction he didn’t need tonight.
“You think you’re on your own in this because it’s personal for you.Alex Bloodright killed your parents and came very close to taking your life.But he killed other members of the Lycanthropic Society too, almost wiped out an entire pack in fact.”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 pacing and whimpering as his attention hyperfocused on the skin quickly being revealed.His mouth went dry and his tongue felt thick as he said, “Stop, Meredith.What are you doing?”
“Relax, this isn’t what you think.”
He tried not to be disappointed at that revelation.She pulled the neck of her blouse aside.A tattoo of a crescent moon with a five-pointed star in its hollow was in residence on her right shoulder.
“Crescent Moon Pack?”He’d known she was half werewolf but considering she didn’t shift with the moon, he figured she’d eschewed pack membership.
“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 too.”
“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 only saw a glimpse before you pushed me down, and I’ve never seen him in real life.”
“He changes his appearance slightly on a regular basis.”
“Anyway, I didn’t mention it then because I was in shock, and then in the hospital it didn’t seem like the right time to bring it up.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.”
