Page 34 of Rafe

“Where’s the back room?” Rafe asked the hostess and she pointed to a curtain near the bar.

“But there’s no bar back there. It’s just a small kitchen,” the hostess said.

“It’s likely there’s a powerful witch or warlock behind this.” Greyson tapped the bar with his finger. “But it could be any kind of a diabolical creature. Something that can bend the reality of what you see.”

“There’s a lot of bad things that can glamour.” Rafe strode toward the curtains and pulled them open, revealing a concrete wall. “What the fuck?”

“I can smell the smoke. Can’t get it out even with the magick,” Greyson said.

“We need to focus,” Rafe told them, studying the room. “Why go through so much trouble to glamour a bar? Why cover it up unless you have a reason?”

Skylar stood behind the bar and slowly turned in a semi-circle. Her gaze settled on the shelf underneath the bar. No coffee cups. No coffee. A tall stack of square napkins tucked into a corner drew her attention. A smile broke on her face as she spied the long thin silver spoon.

“Hey guys.” She held it in the air, showing off her prize.

“A spoon?” Rafe circled around the bar.

“A cocktail spoon. See the spiral ridges. Not a coffee spoon.” She reached into the corner and held up a napkin with a red logo on it in the shape of a blood drop. “This was a bar.”

“Nice work there, detective,” Greyson said. “So what does this tell us? It tells us that whoever did this may be gone but they’re sloppy. Maybe they used glamour to cover things up for an evening. Maybe they’ve been using this place for a while.”

“Whoever helped glamour this place last night isn’t here. I can’t sense even a hint of magick. I don’t scent anyone,” Rafe said.

“When I first got here, it was kind of empty but there was a hallway that led to another bar.” Skylar explained. “There were a lot of people. I sat down next to Tina. I ordered a drink. I just can’t remember anything else after that until I woke up in the desert. But how did they get me out? There’s no way they could have taken me through the casino.”

“It’s not like you’d be the first passed-out girl someone carried out of a casino,” Greyson countered.

“Assuming it was glamoured, what else would have changed? Round tables to square tables is an easy spell.”

“What about that painting?” Skylar asked as she studied it. “I don’t remember seeing it. That painting is really big.”

“I don’t think that’s a painting.” Rafe reached for it and rapped his knuckles onto it. “It’s glass.”

“There must be something behind it.” She spun around, her attention drawn to Rafe as he knelt to the floor, sniffing, his hands hovering over the wooden molding.

“I can feel the temperature change, the air coming from underneath. Tell me. Do you like magick?” he asked with a clever smile.

Skylar put a hand on her hip. “Not at this particular moment. Are you going to show me a trick?”

“You know it, darlin’. I’m gonna show you quite a few.” Rafe winked at her and went to work.

The extraordinary, sexy as fuck wolf tempted her, but Skylar forced herself to ignore his flirtatious nature. Convinced he’d found something of importance, she watched with fascination as his hands slid up the wood. “What is it?”

“Abracadabra,” Rafe said as his fingers popped open the secret door.

Greyson laughed. “Nice work, wolf.”

“Yeah, this doesn’t look like a kitchen. Stay back,” Rafe ordered, his voice stern.

Skylar eyes widened as she caught sight of the bloody floor. “Oh my God.”

7

Greyson stepped inside the tunnel and stared into the darkness. “Well shit. I knew I shouldn’t have worn these boots.”

“What are you talking about?” Rafe laughed. “Let’s go.”

“Viktor gave them to me. To be fair, he ruins as many pairs of shoes as I do. All that killing and whatnot.” Greyson turned to Skylar and winked.