Chapter Five #2
Finally, I felt like my old self. The woods were my turf. But this wasn’t a remote mountain gully. It was a patch of trees on the edge of a parking lot, and the scent reeked of dog urine, old beer, and gasoline. If I pushed deeper, the pollution should’ve subsided.
There was a clear path that wound through the woods. I stalked through, feeling much more bear than man. I wanted to shift, but instinct told me to stay human. I’d have more resources available when I found her. Not if.
But there was nothing. Just a guy out walking his dog, who was totally chill, not on edge that he’d seen an apex predator when he’d gone out to do his business. I circled back to the parking lot, and took a deep inhale of the hoodie, hoping I’d pick up her scent again.
It had been so strong in the apartment, I could practically taste it. But here, it was like she didn’t exist.
“Fuck, Ellie, where are you?” I sighed. Using her real name felt like crossing a boundary every time Jen had done it, and that sinking feeling in my stomach didn’t go away when I used it, either.
I got into my truck, circling the neighborhood. Looking for anything out of place. Hoping to pick up the scent. This close to the city, it was impossible to concentrate.
This case was making me doubt everything, and pissing me off for having so many doubts.
I knew what I was doing. I’d been a highly paid tracker, finding missing hikers, abducted persons, and a variety of other things I never wanted to think about again.
But this case had me doubting everything.
Maybe I wasn’t cut out to work for a high-profile outfit like Sawtooth Security.
I had no plans of giving up. If anything, the realization energized me.
I needed to go back to basics, rip a page out of Synamon Honey’s book, and ignore the rules.
When I worked for myself, I’d relied solely on my instincts to solve a case.
That was the problem. I was trying too fucking hard to fit in.
Ellie and I had something in common.
Darkness had fallen over the Boise suburbs, and I wasn’t even sure what I was looking for anymore.
Ellie’s scent had become nothing more than a memory, even fading from the thick sweatshirt material.
I banged my hand against the steering wheel, admitting defeat for the night.
I had to find another way to track her. I could always press Jen for more information on what Ellie did when she shifted…
Who’s solving this case, you or Jen? My bear rumbled.
I was, I insisted. I had to get back to basics. Jen was helpful, but Ellie was secretive. Instinct told me that there were things about this woman that she’d never tell her best friend.
Will she trust you with those secrets? My bear asked.
She didn’t have to trust me, but I needed to uncover the truth about who Ellie Carmichael really was. I understood why she was adamant about protecting her real-life identity from her fans, but a woman like Ellie should have a close circle of family and friends that she felt safe with.
And as close as she and Jen were, there were walls between them.
In that storage closet, I experienced firsthand how frustrating it was to have them slammed down in front of me.
Jen had been extremely helpful today—I would’ve never gotten this far without her.
But there was no missing the frustration she felt toward Ellie.
The undertone of sadness she couldn’t tell me everything, because she didn’t know.
I had to concentrate on what I did know if I was going to find her.
Someone shifted in that apartment. It might be dangerous to assume that it was Ellie. If she had, she’d still be in the area. There was only so far she could get, especially if that blood on the floor belonged to her.
That assumed she got away from whatever had taken place. My temperature spiked. I willed my bear to stay inside me for just a little longer. This close to the city, it wasn’t safe to shift.
The thought made my blood run cold. Because even if Ellie hadn’t been the one who shifted, that meant the bear had her in their claws.
Either way, she wasn’t safe.
I pulled into a dirt lot, my truck tires kicking up dust because I’d come in too fast. My heart pounded. I was totally out of my element. I belonged in the backwoods. Deep in the forest. I was out of my league here.
No, I growled. My knuckles whitened as I clutched the steering wheel. I needed to stop thinking I wasn’t polished enough to do a job unless it was miles away from civilization. I was setting myself up for failure. No case that came into Sawtooth Security would ever have perfect conditions.
If I had any chance of saving my mate, I needed to do something more important than shift. I needed to adapt.
I got out of the truck, thankful no one was around because this close to my shift, I was anything but human.
There was a little pond here, half shielded by woods. Not far from Ellie’s apartment, but quieter, now that we were away from the highways and strip malls. Without all the noise, I could think clearly again.
“Come on Ellie,” I said softly, as I inhaled, hoping to pick up her sweet scent. “Show me who you really are. Fuck, give me a clue.”
But all I got was the faint hint of exhaust, stagnant water, and the garbage can at the end of the lot.
I couldn’t stay here, but I couldn’t leave either.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, but my hands shook, and it was too late to call for backup.
I was shifting. I’d taken this case as far as I could in my human form.
I needed to shift, explore every shadow and secret this city had, until I made sure my mate was safe in my arms.