Page 3 of Guardian of Shadows

Travis narrowed his eyes. “A fairy, you say?”

“I’m sure it’s a disguise of some sort. I mean, there’s no such thing as pretty blondes with pointed ears.” Tony rubbed the back of his neck. “Anyway, are you in town for a while?”

Travis was staring at Anthony, but it was as if he was contemplating his sanity. Same, Brother. Same.

“As a matter of fact, I am. Good luck finding this female, and if you don’t mind, keep me posted on your success.”

“Sure. I’ll catch you later.” Once inside the elevator, Tony scanned his badge that allowed him access to the fourth floor where the Trio hid behind all sorts of security measures. Instead of glass doors, they were heavy wood with H3 carved intricately on each, but there was no signage indicating what type of business was being conducted behind them. Anthony then scanned his badge to unlock the biometric panel. He placed his thumb on the scanner, and the lock clicked.

Silently, he padded past the empty receptionist desk. He learned his lesson early on about announcing his presence. The three females were often on the phone with clients, and him yelling, “Honey, I’m home” wasn’t met with laughter but scowls or a thrown metal water bottle. If not for his shifter reflexes, he’d have been pegged in the head. The Trio shared a space filled with computer towers, screens, wall monitors, and all sorts of techy stuff. If they needed to speak quietly to a client, they now used the conference room.

Anthony entered their lair and strode to Carleigh’s station. She knew when he entered the building. Security cameras were set up all around the towers to keep not only them but those in the upper office of his cousin’s architectural firm secure. With Sebastian taking over as King, he was busy with his new home and mate in West Virginia, but his assistant, Grace, and his partner, Travis, still worked upstairs when Travis wasn’t in Norway with his family.

Anthony took the seat next to Carleigh. “Where’s Harlow?” He didn’t ask where Nikita was since she had recently mated with a wolf in South Carolina and worked with him at their home office more often than not.

“She’s meeting with a client.” Carleigh’s fingers flew across her keyboard, and Anthony waited until she paused, pointing at the large monitor on the wall in front of them. “Here’s what we have. Eleven banks have been robbed over the last year in different cities. Each time, this woman appears in the lobby always on a new moon unless the bank is closed, then she visits the day before. Granted, she’s dressed differently with varying clothes and hair, but since the MO never changes, we’re sure it’s the same woman somehow. She started off small, but now she’s making substantial withdrawals. She has the proper identification for every transaction. So far, she’s hit banks headquartered in Georgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas. In every single instance, this female produced a valid ID matching whomever owns the account she’s withdrawing money from. When interviewed, the tellers swear under oath the woman in their window matched the photo ID.”

“How is that possible?”

“How is it possible I see a frumpy woman while you see a fairy? I’ve already called Luna and asked if the woman could be a witch. She said it’s possible. Look at what she and Lilly did with the bracelets. If they can manipulate basic jewelry that changes into various weapons, why couldn’t someone change their appearance? Somehow, she’s manipulating the tellers into thinking she’s someone different. I’m telling you, the female is scary. I asked Nikita if she could be a Gryphon and voicing the tellers, but she doesn’t think so. She asked her grandfather if he’d ever heard of a Gryphon being able to manipulate cameras as well as using their shifter voice, and he said he hadn’t, but that didn’t mean it was impossible. Here, watch this.” Carleigh tapped the keys, and Anthony focused on the monitor. The female completed the transaction, then walked to the front door.

“Show me the outside footage.” When Carleigh flipped the image, it showed the female exiting the building and walking away. But there was something wonky with the feed. “Rewind it and slow it down for me.” Carleigh did as he asked, and when it got to the point where he noticed something odd, he said, “Stop.” Carleigh pressed pause, and Anthony shook his head. “I can still see her, but as soon as she steps out the door, there’s a type of shimmer.”

“Fascinating. A pain in the ass, but fascinating all the same.” Carleigh tapped the keys, and the screen changed again. “Can you see her here?”

“Yes. She is walking down the sidewalk, and... what the fuck? She disappeared.” Anthony rubbed his stomach, which was churning again.

“Okay. Now, take a look at this. It’s from the ATM of the same bank right before the thief walks inside. What’s weird is her face is different, but her clothes are the same as the woman who walks in the bank. And at the ATM, she only takes small amounts. Harlow, Nikita, and I have gone through this footage dozens of times, and there is no manipulation with the cameras.”

“And I still see the blonde. Show me the footage of when she walks away.”

“I made a compilation.” Carleigh changed views and stood. “I’m grabbing a coffee. Want one?”

“Do you have any ginger ale?”

“Ginger ale? Are you pregnant?”

“No, smartass. My stomach’s wonky.”

Carleigh leaned down, checking his eyes. “We don’t get sick, Tony. Unless...”

“Unless?” Oh. Oh. “No. No way. I have not been in contact with my mate. I ate some expired sausage this morning. That’s it.” He pushed her hand away from his face.

“If you say so. But no, I don’t have any ginger ale. I do have Sprite.”

“That’ll do, thanks.” For a brief moment, Anthony worried about whether he had incidentally brushed up against a random stranger who happened to be his mate. If he had, there was nothing for it, since there were too many possibilities. If he had, the fates would eventually bring them back together the way they had his uncle Zeke and his mate, Stella. Until then, he would continue living his life and doing his job.

Anthony focused on the monitor. When Carleigh returned, she placed an open can in his hand, and he sipped it without taking his eyes from the screen. Every time the female stepped away from the ATM, the feed darkened a few seconds, then went light again. “There. Did you see that?” Anthony stood and stepped up to the monitor, pointing.

“See what? All I see is the back of a badly dressed woman.”

“But it darkened for a few seconds before returning to normal. Rewind it please.” Carleigh did, and when the screen changed, he told her to pause. “Okay, zoom in.” It was still his angel. His angel? No. Nope. This woman, or whatever the fuck kind of witch or creature she might be, was a criminal. “I can see her face in the ATM camera, but when she walks away, the image shimmers, for lack of a better term, then my, uh, the blonde walks into the bank. Why the hell is she taking small sums from the ATM, then large amounts from the tellers inside?”

“Maybe she’s taunting them?”

“Do the ATM accounts belong to the women she portrays inside?”

“They do.”

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