“Her body was found this morning at Fort Baker park. One of your floor managers, Dion, said Jacinda was here eleven days ago. I need to know if you saw her after that night.”
“I didn’t. I had a family emergency and left the Feline Fest a little after nine. Jacinda was sitting at the bar with Dion. I called her this past weekend but she didn’t answer, and I left her a message. I worried, but she traveled often for work. Pharmaceutical sales. I assumed…” Jinx shakes her head. “I should have checked on her. What happened?”
“I cannot share details of an ongoing investigation. Do you have her address? Phone number? Names of her other friends?”
“Y-yes. I can give you all of her contact information.” Jinx scribbles on a Post-it note, then grabs a second one and adds her own phone number. “Call me any time, Agent Sin. Jacinda and I weren’t terribly close. She only moved to San Francisco a few months ago. But she was a kind and sweet soul, and I wanted to get to know her better.”
“I will.” Rising, I tuck the papers into my pocket. A vague sense of guilt over questioning Jinx and Dion without my partner lingers in my gut, but I lack the patience to explain the nuances of the shifter world to her tonight. I can sense the grief flowing from the jaguar still sitting at her desk, and before I slip through the door, I add, “I will find her killer and they will pay.”
* * *
With no word from Gabriel,the prospect of going back to my penthouse apartment leaves me unsettled, so I take a seat at the bar and order another drink. Three hours later, midnight approaches, and sobriety is a distant, fuzzy memory.
Other than the bartender, not a single shifter has spoken to me, but that affords me the opportunity to observe. The wolves and hyenas do not mix with the cats, but the bears and dragons don’t care. They’ll dance, flirt, and make out with anyone.
“Another,” I slur to Bastian, but he shakes his head.
“Sorry, man. You’re cut off. Did you drive here?”
The chameleon blinks so quickly, I struggle to focus and snarl as I dig my keys out of my pocket and hold them over my head. “I am d-drunk. Nnnot ssstuuupid. I will walk. Bill. Now.”
Anger helps sharpen my words, and I scribble my name on the check, tuck my card and keys back into my pocket, and stumble towards the door.
Halfway there, a sweet, melodious voice floats just under the music.
“You want to come with me now, dearie. I will take care of you.”
I know that voice. And the solicitous tone with an undercurrent of pure evil. I thought she had stolen all my memories of her, but apparently, some were merely buried. Regina. I scan the club, desperate to discern if this is all in my head or if she is truly here.
“Did you drive here, my sweet girl? Where did you park? Tell me now, and forget about your friends.”
Fuck. When Regina captured me, there were no automobiles. She ishere. And she has found another victim.
Turning around quickly is a mistake. The lights, blaring music, and at least a dozen shots of rum conspire against me, and I start to fall, nearly taking a small pack of female wolves to the ground with me.
Two of them shove me away as I hear Regina again. “Do not protest, dear. No talking now at all. Off we go.”
“Stop!” My strained cry does not carry over the din, and when I get to my feet, I cannot see anything but a mass of people waiting to enter the club for its after-midnight soiree. “Get out of my way,” I snarl, but all I am is a drunk asshole, and no one listens.
“Regina!” I call at the top of my lungs. “Regina, you fucking bitch, stop right now!”
But when I finally stumble into the street, there are only empty sidewalks and thick fog rolling in off of the bay.
* * *
Zoe
A pounding headache wakes me, and I groan as I sit up and rub my eyes. But the sound only gets louder. The walls are shaking. Someone’s knocking. I stumble to my door and check the peephole.
Shit.
“Sin? How the hell did you find me?”
His eyes are bloodshot and very blue, and he smells like he took a bath in a bottle of rum and—ew—vomit.
“Regiiiinnnnaaa,” he mumbles. “Nnnneeeddd...”
I step aside to let him stumble into my apartment, and as I shut the door, he tries to turn, but his legs tangle and he falls over.
