Page 48 of Shifting Gears

I slid the photo of Raven and the man she was with across the bar for him to have a look. He glanced at it, studying it for a moment, then looked at me, shaking his head.

“No one I recognize except the woman.”

I pulled the photo back and sighed. I glanced at the rest of the men gathered here. I went one by one, showing the photo and asking the same question, only to be met with three more noes in total.

Four people. An unlucky number, as its pronunciation,shi, also meant death.

I continued to ask around the entire place, and an hour later, I was still no closer to finding out any answers.

“Dammit …” I swore under my breath as I resigned to leave here and go stop by places Raven had frequented in the past.

As I rounded the corner to walk up the stairs, I bumped into a man who could possibly be a butler of some sort based on how he dressed. I fell, dropping my photo as I landed on my ass.

“Ouch!” I hissed as the pain jolted up my spine.

The man paused, then extended his hand, which was covered in a black glove.

“Apologies, ma’am. Allow me to help you.” He spoke with an American accent.

I reached up and accepted his offer. “It was my fault. I was lost in my thoughts and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

He flashed me a smile, and then he bent down and picked up my photograph. He brushed it off and refolded it before handing it back to me. I accepted it, and with a nod of his head, he continued on his way down into the room.

Must be here to fetch something for his boss.

I glanced down at the photo before tucking it back into my pocket. Time to go before it got much later.

I went to half a dozen cafés and spas before I gave up for the night. Another handful of texts and calls to Raven went unanswered as well. When I arrived home, Regan informed me she’d had no luck either.

“I’m worried about her. I went into her room, and when I opened one of her vanity drawers, her beautiful comb, which used to be our mother’s, was broken in half. I’m not usually superstitious, but it made me uneasy,” Regan said as we sat on the couch next to each other, searching through social media, attempting to find anything that could lead us to Raven.

I glanced over at her. “I’m sure it has been broken for a while now. It is a really old comb, sis. Try not to worry about it being something bad until we have to, okay? You should go get some sleep. I’ll keep looking around a little while longer.”

With a tired nod, she excused herself, and I resumed my search late into the night before I finally succumbed to sleep right there on the couch.

CHAPTER 17

AJ

After my firsttext had gone unanswered on the day I dropped her off, I shot off another text the next day. I glanced at the message again as I downed some breakfast. Not even read.

Maybe she’s just busy.

It wasn’t the first time my texts had gone unanswered for a day or two since we’d met. I’d worry about it if another day passed with no answer. Until then, I’d head down and get some work done.

I strolled down the stairs and onto the mechanic floor, seeing the others already doing repairs. I grabbed the clipboard with vehicle pickups for the day on it and snagged the top one, checking the car’s details. Not too far from here. Easy bus routes to get there. The perfect first job.

I made my way up the road to the bus stop and kicked back on the bench there, putting in my earbuds and cranking up the music as I waited.

A few minutes later, the bus pulled up, and I got on, making my way to the back.

The bus rides were fast, and before long, I was walking over to the car, twirling the keys on a finger as I walked around,inspecting it. Any dents noted on the description matched up, so it was good to go.

I handed the guy his payment and slid inside, starting it up and driving it onto the busy roads. It was running smooth as I sped up to get onto the freeway. There didn’t feel like there was anything in the engine that would cause concerns, but I knew the guys would still go over it fully before throwing it into a shipment.

I weaved in and out of traffic, checking the responsiveness of the steering and the braking power. Both seemed to be in decent shape as well. I pulled off onto the exit that would lead me back to the warehouse when I hit a long line of traffic.

Traffic backed up even more as I got closer to the docks. Which wasn’t usual.

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