Once my breathing and heart rate was under control, I glanced down at Veronica. She was still panting, her back rising and falling. What surprised me the most was how she was lying on me. Her head resting right on my chest. I stared at the gorgeous curly brown hair; the claw clip she’d been wearing was gone, probably lying somewhere in the room. The warmth of her cheek on my chest sent a strange yearning sensation through me.
How long had it been since a woman had been this close to me? How long since a woman had touched me in an intimate way? A fucking long time.
In my heyday as a full-time private eye, I’d been what some might call aladies’ man. The mystery and intrigue surrounding my profession got people interested. That lent itself to conversation, which led to flirting, which would invariably end up with me and the woman thrashing around in bed. After what happened three years ago, though, I’d lost all desire. For work, for women, for friendship. Hell, I’d damn near lost my desire to live. I’d thought all of that was gone forever, yet here I was,fighting for my life, taking a new case, andfeelingsomething. It made me a little uncomfortable with how much I liked it.
Keep business and pleasure separate, Dec, I thought as I eased myself out from under Veronica.
She sat up, moving to her hands and knees, her curls falling down and obscuring her face.
“How the hell did that thing find us?” she asked, then turned her head, pinning me with her hazel eyes. My mouth went dry as my eyes drifted across her lightly tanned skin. “Didit find us? Could it have been a coincidence?”
I grunted as I got to my feet. “You’re on the run for the murder of a famous magical professor, and within hours, achangelingturns up right on the doorstep of a safe house where, quiteliterally,no one would ever think to look for you. That’s not a coincidence. That sounds like you were tracked down.”
“But how?” Veronica said, sitting back on her butt and hugging her knees to her chest. “I’m not great at magic, but I’m not an idiot. I cast cloaking spells and used magic to obscure my tracks. I even crossed creeks and stuff to mask my scent in case they hired shifters to track me.” She shrugged and looked away. “I would have masked it magically, but I haven’t learned that yet. How could they have found me here?”
I thought about it as I reloaded my gun, pulling silver cartridges from the inner pocket of my leather jacket. I’d had her spray herself with the scent neutralizer back in the car. Even if that thing had somehow managed to track her all the way from my house, there’s no way it could have followed right to the safe house door. That thing had walked upknowingshe was inside. There was only one possibility I could think of.
“Take off your clothes,” I said absently.
“Uh…say what?”
I clicked the cylinder in place and slid the gun back into my shoulder holster. Veronica was looking at me with wide-eyed surprise, a faint red glow on her cheeks.
“What?” I said, frowning at her. “Take off those clothes. I need to see something.”
Veronica slowly got to her feet and took a single step back, eyeing me warily. That was when I realized what my statement sounded like. I grimaced and slapped a hand against my forehead.
“Shit. Sorry. I’m not trying to get into your pants. I need to check if there’s some kind of tech or magic tracker on you.”
It seemed my ability to be polite and subtle had atrophied during my retirement. In the two hours I’d known this girl, I’d already conversed more than I had in the last three years combined.
“Why would there be something in my clothes?” she said, visibly relaxing, but lookingmoreworried as she ran a hand unconsciously across the sleeve of her shirt.
I knew how most of the magic academies worked. They were basically like a boarding school. Some were for children, others for adults like Veronica, and still others were more like research facilities for the experts in magic. The one thing they all had in common were uniforms. Most had the students wear traditional robes, but underneath theyalsowore a standard outfit provided by the school. Veronica wore a fairly bland short-sleeved button-up and navy pants.
“Did Balthazar provide those clothes to you?” I said, pointing at her outfit.
She glanced down at herself, then back at me. “Uh, yeah. Everyone gets this to wear. These are the casual clothes you get. It’s what we wear when we aren’t in class. The only thing you get to choose to wear is your pajamas.”
“Exactly. I can’t think of any other way they could have found you.” I stepped forward, hands raised in surrender. “If you want, you can take them off in the bathroom and hand them out to me for privacy, or I can check them with my hands while they’re on you. Up to you. Whatever you’re more comfortable with.”
Veronica worried her bottom lip between her teeth, then glanced at the hole where the door had been before the changeling so rudely busted it down.
Rolling her eyes, she sighed. “I’d rather not be naked in the bathroom if some other asshole shows up.Fine. Check it now.”
“Want me to do those first?” I said, pointing to the lensless glasses.
Her eyes widened slightly, and another flush crept across her cheeks.
“No need. These, uh, these aren’t uniform. I brought them from home when I came to the academy.”
My forehead furrowed as I took that in. “But it doesn’t have any lenses. They look like the glasses you said belonged to this Wendy girl. Why would you wear that?”
She pushed the glasses up her nose, and shrugged. “I had to wear them when I was younger, okay? Before I became a shifter.”
Some of the information clicked into place. “You had bad vision.”
She nodded. “I got made fun of a bit when I was younger, and these”—she touched the glasses once more—“turned into a comfort thing. I popped the lenses out and wore them. All right? Good enough?”
