Page 49 of Hard Shift

“Will you meet with a sketch artist at my office?”

She started shaking her head quickly, and fear struck her eyes. “No, no, no. I can’t let my husband find out.”

Elizabeth touched her arm in reassurance. “Your husband doesn’t need to be involved, but if we can put a face to the name, it might help us find your friends.”

“I can’t do it now.” Her voice trembled. “I’m about to meet him for lunch, but I can come by after.”

“That would be great.” Elizabeth gave Jennifer’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before heading to the door. “I’ll call ahead and tell them to be expecting you later today.”

Jennifer hugged her waist. “I hope you catch him. I may have asked to kill my fox, but I was only a kid. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

“We’ll find him.” Elizabeth gave a slight nod, walked out, and jogged down the steps toward the SUV. She repeated the name to herself as anger swept through her body, “Raw.”

Elizabeth drove on autopilot to the alley where they’d found Emily. She parked on a side street and walked to the mouth of the alley and turned in place. The road was mainly deserted with only a few buildings nearby, including the club. A few cars sat in the parking lot but not many. She scanned up and down the street, her mind working to imagine the scene when Maria’s call had taken place and where she might have run.

Unable to determine where the woman might have run, Elizabeth walked farther into the alley. The tall, old brick buildings around her blocked the afternoon sun from her eyes, casting dark shadows on the pavement. The stench of rotten food from the dumpsters and cans drifted to her nose. Flies swirled around, attracted by the potential feast. Scanning the ground and everything she passed, she continued walking, looking for something that the crime scene unit could have missed or overlooked. There was nothing.

As she reached the end of the alley, Elizabeth shielded her eyes from the sun and scanned the small street where delivery drivers could park to offload shipments. Beyond the asphalt was an open field leading to an outcrop of trees that ran the length of the entire block. The trees were the outer edge of the jogging path that circled the nearby park. “This is where she ran.”

She sniffed the air and smelled Colton before she saw him. She spun around to find him leaning against a brick wall in the alley. “I was wondering how long it was going to take before you realized I was behind you.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, frozen.

“Same thing you are.” He shrugged and straightened. “Looking to see if we missed anything.” He stepped up beside her. They scanned the same trees she’d been looking at.

“I listened to the 911 calls. The woman that called in about Emily was running as she made the call. She was out of breath.” Lizzie nodded toward the trees. “Care to take a walk?”

Colton smiled. “I thought you’d never ask.”

There was an awkward silence between them as they crossed the open field. Colton spoke first. “I should have told you about Evan.”

“Yep.” She continued walking beside him. “You’re half human.” She gave him a sideways glance and grinned. “You’re allowed to make a mistake or two. Just don’t let it happen again. Not when it’s something important, like that.”

She bumped his shoulder, and he bumped her back, making her giggle for the first time in a long time. She loved Colton like a brother, and while she’d been angry at him, it made her feel as though a part of her was missing. He was not only her boss but also her friend; the only friend she’d had for a long time, and giving that up wasn’t something she could easily accept. He’d screwed up, but they all did. It was an inevitable part of life.

She loved Colton like a friend, nothing compared to the love she felt for Rhys. Her eyes widened, and she tripped over her own feet, righting herself before she fell.

She couldn’t love Rhys? It was too soon. No. She pushed the thought aside.

“What’s the matter? Forget how to walk?”

She gave him a little shove with her hand. “Hardly.”

They walked slowly through the trees, stopping to check anything that looked remotely out of place. A few soda cans and trash was all they found. Colton rested his palm on her arm, stopping her from taking another step. He inhaled a deep breath sniffing the air, prompting her to do the same. A very faint scent of wolf drifted to her nose. When she opened her eyes, she could see the pack of wolves in the distance. They were coming at them from all angles. She glanced behind her. The street was free and clear.

“What the….”

Colton spun her around the nearest tree and pulled her to a crouch. “Shift or run?”

She peeked back out from the tree and still hadn’t spotted the one wolf that was the bane of her existence. The only wolf brave enough to threaten her. Horace was nowhere to be seen. “I’m going to shift.” She placed a hand on his arm. “There’s too many of them for you. You need to go back.”

“Like hell.” He growled and rose, tearing off his clothes.

She jumped up from the spot and hurried to remove hers. If they were going to fight, she needed whatever advantage she could get.

She let the magic take her over, feeling its pull and push over her body. Her teeth lengthened and sharpened, yet her body didn’t shift. She felt stronger and sharper than any of her other animals. Her vision turned red.

“Shift,” he growled as if waiting for her to take her form.

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