For her to conceal my presence from Mindy, she must have detected cause for concern.
“She’s not with you?” Her footsteps edged closer. “Did she send you ahead for something?”
“I forgot a notebook.” Sloane smacked her forehead with her palm. “I need to update the website to reflect our new temporary hours, and the salon upgrades we discussed are in there too. We’ve only got a day or so until the wards come down, right? I need to hop to it if I want to hit publish on the changes the second we get internet.”
“Can I grab it for you?” Mindy stopped close enough to Sloane for me to see the toe of one shoe. “I just mopped, so I wouldn’t want you to slip on the wet floors.”
“Oh sure.” She reached in her pocket. “My locker is the top one on the end. Here’s the key. The notebook has sunflowers on the front. You can’t miss it.”
“Got it.” Her hand flashed out as she gripped the key. “Be right back.”
As soon as her steps faded, Sloane allowed the door to shut but not latch.
“I smell blood,” she whispered, barely an exhale. “Not a lot, but enough it’s making me twitchy.”
“I’ll get help.” Though it went against my every instinct, I backed away slowly. “Be safe.”
On silent feet, I edged around the side of the old Victorian, giving myself a shield to conceal my movements. I could climb the neighbor’s fence and exit through the front of their yard onto the sidewalk. I might bump into Jess there, which would be ideal, but it was a gamble. Otherwise, I would be out in the open, easy for Mindy to spot through a window.
As close as I had been, even with Sloane carrying traces of my scent on her person from our frequent close proximity, there was still a chance Mindy had known I was nearby. But it was hard for people not used to the chemical smells that came with sterilizing grooming supplies and stations to parse out more than the overwhelming stink of cleaners. So, I might still be in the clear.
The best-case scenario was Mindy not finding the made-up notebook, Sloane laughing off her forgetfulness, and walking away. The worst case involved Mindy realizing she hadn’t duped Sloane and inviting her inside, where the blood originated. Or glimpsing me and understanding we hadn’t bought her story.
No time for second-guessing. Sloane was my friend. I wasn’t going to risk losing her.
Maybe Mindy had a perfectly good explanation for what was going on, but I wasn’t giving her an opportunity to explain herself without Rían or Liam present. We had to be more cautious now than ever, with Carmichael and his followers MIA.
No sooner had I skidded around the corner of the post office than I slammed into Jess, who hit the pavement on her butt with a grunt.
“Thank God.” I yanked her to her feet. “Did you know Mindy was at GSG?”
“No.” She tapped the side of her face. “I had my earbuds in all morning, and I didn’t go inside.”
That confirmed Mindy, who shouldn’t have had a key, let herself into the building. But, I had to admit, that wasn’t saying much. Everyone and their momma seemed to have one courtesy of Liam. She could have borrowed one, stolen one, or had her own cut. As often as she helped out, no one would have thought twice about it.
“Walk and talk.” I gripped her by the wrist and dragged her after me. “She’s there now and claims she’s been cleaning all morning. Sloane smelled blood when she opened the door, so she’s distracting Mindy. I came to find help, and it looks like that’s you. Are you okay with playing backup?”
“Yes,” she growled softly, startling me with her ferocity. “No one hurts my friends.”
Cold violet light filled her eyes, canines popped down, and her complexion paled to powder white.
Holy hell. Jess had gone bye-bye. I was talking to her bear.
Sloane would be so jelly.
That was the panic talking. Now was not the time for frivolous thoughts. I couldn’t afford the distraction. Eager to get back to Sloane, I was sick we might have misjudged someone else. We had been wrong about Jess. What if this was yet another mistake? Up to this point, Mindy and Rochele…
Rochele.
Now that I thought about it, I wasn’t sure I had ever seen one without the other. They did everything together as near as I could tell. Yet Rochele hadn’t been there today. Mindy hadn’t mentioned her, but that was hardly damning. They might work together and be in the same clan, but that didn’t make them physically joined at the hip.
But the more I thought about the scent of blood and how eager Mindy had been to bar Sloane from GSG, the more my stomach cramped with ugly possibilities.
“It will be okay,” Jess rumbled, black claws piercing through her fingertips. “I will protect you.”
With any luck, if we were wrong about this, then Mindy would be as forgiving as Jess. “Thank you.”
Locked on reaching GSG, we ran to the front entrance to avoid the area where Mindy had been when I left. We kept low, listening for movement, but I heard none. The front door was locked, and it sounded like a bomb detonating when I slotted the key and twisted it. The tumblers banged like war drums, and I gritted my teeth when I nudged the door open, scanning for signs of where Mindy and Sloane had gone.
