Page 4 of Alpha's Second Chance

My heart, already working overtime, sped up. The man in the parking lot was no human. It was Owen Brady. My almost-mate. And a bear shifter from my clan.

You can’t let him see you.

My throat constricted. Had this been a ruse to get me back to the clan? It seemed too convoluted for that. If they’d known where I was, they could have simply grabbed me.

The reason was irrelevant. I’d worked too hard to let him take me now.

I’d thought the dual shock of finding out Bull was a shifter, while discovering my own precious chemicals no longer worked, couldn’t be topped. How wrong I’d been.

I pulled my prosecutor’s ID badge from my purse again and clipped it on. I grabbed a clipboard and pen from the desk and left the chief's office. I pushed my shoulders back. Any firefighters on duty would recognize the ID.

As first responders, firefighters were occasionally asked to participate in investigations, so I’d have to hope I looked like I was on official business.

I met no one in the hallway. I ducked into the women’s locker room. I shed my clothes and wadded them into a ball. I jumped into a shower, letting the hot water run over me. I soaked my hair and I dumped every shampoo I could find over myself. With quick motions, I scrubbed my entire body.

I wrapped my long hair up in a towel. Still dripping, I dug for a spare uniform. Damn it. The only two women on the force were much much smaller than I was. Maybe I should go into firefighting as a second career. I could at least sling a small adult over my shoulder. I’d be shocked if these tiny size two’s could lift a cat.

Across the hallway, I found the men’s extra uniforms and pulled on a pair of black pants and one of the button down shirts they wore. I spotted a can of men’s deodorant and sprayed myself down with that too.

I took my ID and my purse, but left my clothes behind. They’d smell too much like an omega.

I went out the back door. I slipped into my car. As I left the parking lot, I spotted Owen walking inside the building.

I drove.

Owen

The chief’s mouth pulled tight. “She’s gone.”

“What do you mean, she’s gone? She left Bull’s trial to what? Run away?” I knew from personal experience what it was like for an omega to run away and never be heard from again.

How could he have lost a fully grown omega? I took a step closer to the chief. “Didn’t you have anyone watching her?”

He held up his hand. “You need to settle down. She was always free to go.” he said. “I had my men watching the perimeter. No one could have gotten inside that wasn’t authorized.”

I took a step back. I couldn’t let my personal feelings interfere with the job. “I know you don’t like hearing this, but you could have someone on the inside, spilling secrets for cash. Or because they’re threatened.” The Chief had never liked any implication that his men were less than perfect, human or shifter. Today, he needed a healthy dose of realism.

He didn’t answer me. He turned his back to me and strode through the hallway, to the women’s locker room. “Look,” he said. He pointed at a pile of women’s clothes. I picked them up. It was part of a woman's black suit, with a white blouse, black pants, and black heels, appropriate for court.

The smell of honey mixed with spruce was familiar, stirring long-ago memories. I shoved the thought away. The less I lived in the past, the better. I yanked a shower curtain aside. I touched the still-dripping shower faucet. “The shower stall is still humid. She was just in here.” I’d have to hope that she’d gotten spooked and taken off. If Bull’s men had an omega…

“You’ll find her,” the chief said.

Damn right I would. We’d been after Bull and his gang for years. I wasn’t going to let him hurt anyone else. I picked up her clothes and inhaled, grateful the chief was a shifter and would understand why I was sniffing a crumpled suit. “Got any pictures?” I asked. The scent of the clothes was fucking with my head. I’d only ever smelled that particular blend of honey and spruce on one shifter, and I hadn’t laid eyes on her in ten years.

In the chief’s office, he pulled out a file. “Yeah, we have plenty of pictures. She’s got a headshot on the district attorney’s website.” He dropped a file in front of me. “This has her address, phone number, all of that. Her boss is in court with Bull right now, but he’ll be a good resource when they’re done.”

I opened and picked up the papers and froze.

The woman staring up at me from the professional website photo was Eve Johnson.

Eve, who had been the love of my life, my friend, and my future mate.

I took a step back. I gripped the arm of the chair. She was not only alive, she was thriving. She was second in line to the district attorney, and she was working a high-profile case. All this time, she’d been in Denver, just hours from me.

“You okay?” The chief frowned at me.

“Fine.” I swallowed hard. If I let him know she’d been my promised mate, they’d pull me off the case. “She left in her own car, right? I’m going to have the state police run a search for her tags. I’ll be in touch.”

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