Page 134 of Faith and Fury

“Sirena briefed me on your suspects,” he tells us without saying hello. “I’ve been working on a geographic profile.”

Jaxon and I look at each other—equal parts concerned and curious.

“Hit me,” I say.

He leads us to a whiteboard in the middle of the bullpen. A map of the city has been sprawled open with magnets, red markings all over the place.

“Here,” he says, pointing up to the far east. “Are the most expensive properties in New Caniss.”

“We know,” Jaxon scoffs. “We spent all morning there.”

Micah shakes his head. “You can rule it out. Too flashy. This alpha is wealthy, but he’s also cautious. He likes his privacy.”

“Okay, then …?”

Micah points again—further east still, almost at the edge of the map. “Here. I checked the system, and there are a handful of properties. Mostly warehouses, boutiques, out-of-the-way restaurants. Really high-end stuff. Plus—” he indicates three circled locations. “These multi-million-dollar houses.”

“Hang on.” I fold my arms. “That’s way too far from the inner-city. It would take half the day by foot, especially if they’re moving underground.”

“Which explains why you’ve barely seen them in the city,” Micah says. “Or, when you do, you can’t trace them back. The scent gets lost along the way.”

I have to admit … it makes sense. And if he’s right, it lowers our suspect pool down to one or two.

“If you’re wrong,” I force myself to say, “we’ll waste valuable hours driving there and back.”

“I’m not wrong,” Micah insists. “I promise.”

His force, his certainty, takes me aback. Unusually for an alpha, it’s not in Micah’s nature to be assertive. The closest he ever used to get was at work, looking after patients, really in his element. And then, of course … when Faith was at his side.

“Alright.” I quickly run the calculations in my head. “Sirena—crosscheck those three properties with our suspect pool. Then get a warrant. The rest of you.” I look around the room. “Gear up. All hands on deck.”

Though the whole team must be running on fumes, I hear no complaints. My squadmates leap to action, their determination a tart, metallic scent in the air.

Find omega, my inner alpha demands, bring her home. Properly, this time—with a nest, a scent, and a thorough course in sign language for me and my packmates. I’ll buy a new apartment if that’s what she wants. One with an extra space for her, and her mate.

The determination swells up inside of me.

I don’t just want to find Faith. I want her to be mine.

It feels weird to sit with these words. Maybe I don’t have the mental space left to push them out. Or maybe, now I’ve lost her, everything else is finally becoming clear.

“Caleb,” Jaxon’s voice snaps me out of it. “We going?”

I cough, surprised to feel a knot in the back of my throat. I owe my packmate an apology. Both of them.

I see you now, I want to tell them. I see … everything.

“Yeah.” I re-holster my gun. “We’re going.”

***

The search warrant barely comes through in time for us to get there.

The property, listed under Mr Duke Cunningham, is just as lavish as I expected. Smooth, pale paint across the exterior. Glossy windows with wooden panes. Three stories, by my estimation. Sirena said she was working on the blueprints to see if there’s anything we should look out for. Namely, anything underground.

As much as it pains me, we follow procedure—waiting for the SWAT team to break down the door and do their preliminary sweep before charging inside.

The rooms sprawl out, joined by open archways. SWAT keeps calling out, instructing anyone home to come out with their hands up.

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