Page 239 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“What?” The word sputtered out of my mouth.

“She basically took the kid in. She’s been caring for her. I didn’t feel right about harming a kid who was being cooperative.”

“I need you to go back to the part where a hunter is living in my parents’ house,” I said, anger boiling to the surface again.

“Easy, Miles. We understand the safety issue. We’ve got it under control. There’s a guard in the house with them at all times. Her door is locked at night. We’re pretty sure that’s a moot point, though. Having your parents nurture her has really turned her around. I don’t know if it’s some type of Stockholm syndrome or whatever, but she’s helping us.”

“And you’re sure she isn’t some spy or something?”

“No cell phone, no internet access. She doesn’t even have access to a landline. But, again, we’re a hundred percent sure she’s done with the hunter organization. They more or less led her and her team into a blood bath and left her to die. It’s safe. Or as safe as it can possibly be.”

It still didn’t sit well with me, but I also knew my dad wouldn’t let a strange girl into his house—especially not an ex-hunter—unless he was completely sure she was harmless. “All right, what was this info she gave?”

“Well, she was bussed into the training facility. The windows were blacked out, so she had no clue where it was, but once she was there, she caught sight of the exterior before she was led inside. The thing she remembered was that there were tons of trees around. Not like landscaping, but more like overgrowth, maybe on the edge of a forest. And there was a red sign out front. It was weather-worn and faded, and all she could see was the side of it, so she never saw any of the letters. I thought that was better than nothing.”

I nodded, trying to figure out how we could use that information. “Thanks. We’ll see what we can turn up.”

“Okay. Let me know if I can help anymore. Bye, Miles.”

I hung up and looked at Tate. “A lead?”

Tate shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not. Only one way to find out.”

We walked back to Blayne’s office, and I found him slumped over his keyboard, asleep. I chuckled and shook my head as I shook him awake.

“What? What? What did I do?” Blayne sputtered.

“Sleeping on the job,” Tate said. “I’m afraid the penalty is death.”

Blayne rubbed his eyes. “Perfect. At least then I could rest.”

I relayed the info I’d gotten from the alpha, and Blayne’s eyes lit up. He spun around and clicked through a half dozen pictures. Most were overhead satellite images pulled up from online maps; others were real-estate photos. He finally found what he was looking for and brought it up on the screen.

“It rang a bell as soon as you described it,” Blayne said, pointing at the screen.

Tate and I leaned in to look at the image. It was an old warehouse or factory of some sort on the outskirts of the city and nestled in a grove of trees. The front of the building was overgrown and semi-covered in vines and shrubs. The kicker was the old, faded sign. What used to be bright red letters read:Standard Toys.

“He’s got it disguised as a toy factory?” Tate whispered.

“Unassuming, unthreatening, and unlikely anyone will go poking around. Who gives a shit about a toy factory?” Blayne asked. “Well, anyone over the age of twelve.”

“Let me get the address to my PI friend. He can do some digging before we jump the gun,” I said.

I stepped into the hallway and called my friend while Tate and Blayne worked on getting more images of the place we could use when we worked out a plan. If this really was the place, weneeded to be very prepared. Rolling in half-cocked like we did at that warehouse Ryland had used worked once. We had no doubt this place would be better guarded and be more difficult to get into.

My friend told me to give him a couple days to dig, and that he’d get back to me. It felt anticlimactic. A huge leap forward in our case, and now all we could do was wait. I stepped back into the office and heard Tate on the phone with Steff, filling him in on everything we’d learned. Blayne was still skimming old pictures. One looked like it was from the eighties when the building was still being constructed.

“I’m heading home, guys. I need a breather. Maybe you guys can do the same,” I said. “And get some rest.”

Tate nodded, still on the phone, and gave me a thumbs up. Blayne turned from his computer. “You good?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just want to get this figured out.”

Blayne raised an eyebrow. “Okay.”

I left, his one-word statement echoing through my head. The sarcastic way he’d said it was enough for me to know he was worried about me. I wasn’t all right. Thoughts of Celina consumed my mind. My wolf was pawing at my chest, desperate to take her, claim her, and make her mine completely.

I spent the drive home, trying to push away R-rated fantasies and thoughts, and all the other things my wolf and I wanted to do to her. But that wasn’t what I wanted yet. Her first time should be special. It shouldn’t be some fast carnal attack. It should be something she could remember fondly, not something that made her embarrassed and ashamed.

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