Jake: I know. I miss her too. Do you want me to meet you?
Jake: Dad?
Dad: No. Thank you, but I’m better off on my own.
Jake: Ok. I’m here if you need me.
“I haven’t heard anything since, and something just didn’t feel right, so I checked his location. It says he’s at Stella’s.”
Stella’s was a paranormal bar, not really my scene but not a place that should cause Jake to act like this.
His forehead creased with worry. “The bar closed over two hours ago.”
Fuck.
I hadn’t realised how late it was.
Stella’s had a room out back that they let customers use for gambling. Card games, mostly. While technically illegal, if it stayed between paranormals, then we weren’t as stringent as our human counterparts as long as they kept to the rules of not serving aconite-laced alcohol to those playing. We’d been called there a few times when things got out of hand. Shifters and gambling weren’t the best combination, and unlike the main bar, the back room wasn’t protected by a magical dampener.
Which would account for the worried look on Jake’s face.
Considering the day, it suddenly seemed a whole lot worse.
“Let’s go.”
Stella’s lookedand sounded closed when we pulled up outside it, but the back room was fully soundproofed, so we wouldn’t be able to hear if anyone was inside.
Turning to Jake, I hesitated. “Are we going in as police or…?”
Strictly speaking, the only way we could legally enter the building was as police officers, and even then we’d have to prove we had a valid reason. But this was Jake’s dad we were talking about.
If Jake wanted to keep this off the record, then I’d do everything I could to make sure that happened.
He blew out a breath, hands curled into fists on solid thighs that I really shouldn’t be focusing on right then. “Can wenotmake it official? This has been a shit day for him. I don’t want to make it worse if I can help it.”
“Of course. But depending on what we find in there…”
“I know.”
I didn’t need to add that it might be out of our hands, Jake knew as well as I did that there was only so much we could overlook. Hopefully his dad was passed out drunk somewhere and all we’d need to do was take him home. “Come on, let’s get this over with.”
As soon as we got out of the car, I knew it was about to get a whole lot more complicated than we’d anticipated. I froze on the pavement, scenting the air again to confirm what my nose was telling me. Grimacing, I turned to face Jake over the roof of the car. “Can you smell that?”
He frowned, walking around the car to join me. It took a moment before the familiar scent registered. Then his shoulders slumped. “Fuck.”
Faint though it was, the scent of Xen Kelson, ouralpha, was unmistakable even out here. And it didn’t lead to the front door of the bar.
With a growing sense of unease, I followed Jake round to the rear of the building.
The door leading to the back rooms was a nondescript, dark wood.
It was also ajar.
Jake stopped about a foot from it.
Xen’s scent was joined by Jake’s dad’s, mixed in amongst a few more that I didn’t recognise. Not surprising, considering the location.
I gripped Jake’s wrist as he took a step towards the door. “Wait,” I whispered.
