Sure enough, as we drew closer, Jess backed out, almost bumping into our legs.
“Crap,” she yelped, startled, and slapped a hand over her heart. “You scared me.”
The reason for her surprise became clear when I noticed she had been wearing earbuds, which meant she hadn’t heard us approaching.
“Sorry about that.” I offered her a hand up, noticing hers were cold. “You’ve been hard at work.”
“It’s work I made for myself,” she said sheepishly, “but yeah.”
“Sloane and I are heading in to finish cleaning so we’ll be ready to receive Clary.” I waved goodbye. “Let us know if you need a hand.”
“I will.” She blushed, loading her arms with boxes and trash bags. “Thanks.”
Hand in my pocket, I fished around for my keys, amazed they had survived yesterday’s drama without falling out. About to tackle the lock, I paused when the knob turned with ease. “Do you think Jess left it unlocked?”
“Probably.” Sloane stepped forward then rocked back on her heels. “Do you smell that?”
Old habits had struck yet again, and I had tuned out my heightened senses. I really had to get a handle on how quick I was to switch off the abilities that could one day save my life. I could only hope that, if I did successfully fledge, my dragon would help in that department.
Dialing in to that sense, I breathed deep and caught a whiff. “Smells like a wolf but not like a Sartori.”
Aside from Sloane and me, and less often Rochele and Mindy, and Jess, of course, no one else should be touching this door. The front of the business was clearly marked, so customers had no reason to attempt entering from this side.
“A plumber came out to fix the sink leak,” Sloane muttered. “Maybe the scent was his?”
“Maybe,” I allowed, wishing I could text Rían to find out for certain, even as I dreaded how our ability to communicate easier would grant our enemies the same advantage.
With so much drama, I couldn’t pin down the last time I had used this door, and I doubted Sloane would remember either. We had fallen into our new routine, the days blurring together, and neither of us had been present during the repairs.
The foreign scent paired with the unlocked door had me backing away. Better safe than sorry. Jess would return in a minute. I wasn’t sure where she lived, so I also wasn’t certain if she was walking her things back to her place or to a car. I didn’t even know if she owned one. Yet another area where I was falling down in the friendship department.
Though now that she had revealed the nature of her inner beast, and earned a fangirl for life in Sloane, I got the feeling we would be learning awholelot more about her in short order. Which was a good thing. I could let Sloane take the lead while I made mental notes on how to handle the wholegetting to knowyouthing without the specter of doom hanging over my shoulder that I would screw it up somehow.
With my hearing dialed in, I registered the footsteps even before Sloane reacted to them.
“Someone’s inside.” I gripped her forearm. “Get ready.”
The battered girl in me who had been deemed useless, defenseless, expected her to ask me to sit on the sidelines. To wait until she could return with backup. Those old patterns had beaten a well-worn trail in my mind that my thoughts barreled down without bothering to check with me first.
“You shove the door open and use it for cover. No reason to advertise there are two of us. I’ll go in first, draw their attention. I’ll give you a signal if it’s a friendly. No signal means you’re in charge of sneaking off for backup while I keep them busy until Jess arrives.”
The sneaking-off part bugged me, but it was a better deal than I expected, so I nodded once.
“Quit pouting.” She rolled her eyes. “Pack your claws next time, and you too can be on the strike team.”
The silver claws I wore to level the playing field with my Sartori packmates were hanging from a window, back in windchime mode, in my room at Rían’s house where they wouldn’t do me any good. Until I could shift and protect myself, I had to begin considering them as vital as wearing clean underwear whenever I left the house.
Relief so sharp it stung gave me confidence to crouch and take position. She wasn’t doubting me, but she was being smart. Without my claws, I was dependent on whatever was in easy reach. If we had an intruder, I doubt a bottle of shampoo or hand-cut bandana was going to do the trick.
Once I was in place, Sloane stepped to the opposite side of the doorframe, and I threw it open wide.
Her posture relaxed in seconds, and I waited for her to give the signal.
“Mindy.” She broke into a smile but made no move to enter. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.”
“I heard you guys were cleaning, so I thought I would pitch in.” She exhaled dramatically, like she was beyond exhausted. “I’ve only got a few hours to spare today, so I decided to come early then leave it as a surprise.”
“That’s kind of you.” Sloane kept her tone light. “Ana will appreciate it.”
