Abreast of the front doors, I paused with my spine to the wall, Landon right beside me. After a deep, steady breath, I tested the door. Locked.
“Keep your eyes open,” I said to Landon as I crouched in front of the door with the lock picker Marley had given me. I should have asked if it came from Urick Enterprises.
After a few seconds, the door clicked open. I waited for an alarm to blare, but nothing happened. My instincts buzzed, telling me to beware. I wanted to turn around and take Landon as far away from here as possible.
“We’re in,” Marley said quietly into the comm.
“Be careful,” I murmured.
We slipped inside.
16
LANDON
“I got you something.”
Her head snapped up, eyes focusing on me. “You did?”
The light from the sunset made it look like her hair was on fire—an apt description for what she did to me inside. The wind tried to push us over, a usual thing for this bend of the beach in early spring. It would warm up soon.
I slipped my hand into my suit pocket, hesitating only a second before taking out the box and setting it in her hand.
“Why would you buy me something?” she asked, blinking at it.
“I had it made, actually.”
She stared between me and the box. Finally, she lifted the lid. “Oh wow.” Her eyes flicked up to me, her cheeks turning red, then gazed down at the pendant in the box. “This is beautiful.” She lifted the chain. “A crescent moon. Thank you.”
I opened my mouth to tell her it wasn’t a moon, but a bear claw, then pressed my lips together.
Too soon.
* * *
The cement walls and doors sucked out all the light coming from narrow windows near the ceiling. I didn’t turn on my night vision goggles, but shifted my eyes to see better, a far superior alternative. I should know, Urick Enterprises manufactured the ones Jolyn and her friends were using, the design attempting to duplicate a shifter’s ability.
Scents swirled around me—human—nothing I would call fresh. I followed Jolyn, her body alert, eyes focused over the barrel of her assault rifle as she scanned every direction, clearing each room one at a time. I could tell from the lack of sounds and active scents we were alone in the building, but didn’t think she’d take my word for it without a full explanation. And she’d probably want to clear the rooms her way even if she’d known about my talents.
We turned right. Jolyn placed her hand on the first doorknob and opened it. Once determining no people lay in wait, she stepped inside, then glanced at me over her shoulder—and did a double take. I backed off my eye-shift. She might be able to see the yellow reflection behind the lens of the goggles, and I had to remain aware of that. She didn’t react further, and the tension left my shoulders.
Entering the office space, a sense of hurry swirled around us, like someone had left quickly. A desktop computer sat unplugged on top of a wood desk. Filing cabinet drawers were left partially open, half-filled with folders. A stack of files towered beside the computer, leaning precariously. Allowing her gun to hang off her shoulder, Jolyn reached for the top file.
I tensed at the sound of quiet feet on concrete. “Someone’s coming,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
She flattened herself against the wall, and I did the same beside her. A tactical-clad woman stepped inside and lowered her weapon. Jolyn relaxed a fraction.
“We’ve cleared everything that way,” Alina said with a jerk of her head, Marley right behind her. “This place is a ghost town.”
I glanced at the women’s formidable guns. Were they even legal?
“Find anything interesting?” Jolyn asked, pushing away from the wall.
“We walked through the factory area and it was attached to a lab,” Marley said, then held out a strip of brightly colored labels. “They’re bottling vitamin water. There aren’t any bottles, though, just the labels. It’s been cleared out.”
Jolyn’s gaze flicked up from the labels. “They looked to be moving out of that warehouse the other night, and now this place is deserted?”
Alina shrugged. “The timing could be coincidental.”
