Page 50 of Shifting Gears

I drove down into the parking lot and got out of my car. All I wanted to do was get a cold shower and eat before I tried to sleep off the lingering anger I had about Raven’s death.

Suddenly, I saw a car round the corner and drive right toward me. Something about it set warning bells off in my head. I’d never seen this car before, and random people didn’t just drive over to this far corner of the docks like that. When it came to an abrupt halt in front of me and the driver's door opened, I thought I was ready for whoever jumped out at me.

But I’d never expected the person to be a woman who looked very familiar.

CHAPTER 18

SYDNEY

As soon asRegan shouted my name, I knew in my soul that our sister was gone.

I ran into the living room to find Regan sitting on the couch, tears streaming down her face as she covered her mouth with her hand as the news played in front of her.

I watched as they extracted a body from the water, blurring out the face and part of the woman’s body. But I didn’t need to see her torso or face to tell me who it was. The black feathers trailing down the upper arms confirmed it could be only one person.

Raven.

I felt my heart break, and tears welled in the corners of my eyes, but from the cracks running through my soul, it wasn’t just sadness pouring forth. It was rage.

Someone had ripped away one of the most important people from our lives, and I was going to find out who had done it. When I did, whatever they had done to her was going to be returned with a vengeance. I would make them feel fear, helplessness, and desperation before their inevitable end.

Regan’s cries grew louder, wrenching me out of my inner thoughts.

“No! Not Raven! We already lost our father. We can’t lose her too!” Regan cried as she buried her face in her hands.

Fuck, I need to focus. This doesn’t only affect me.

I rushed to the couch and sat next to my sister, wrapping my arms around her. I tugged her into me and held her tight.

“I know. I’ve got you, Regan. I’m going to stay here with you until we know for sure,” I said.

I knew she knew I was lying. We both knew in our hearts, without a doubt, that it was her on the TV right now.

I glanced over at the TV again, instantly regretting it as I saw them making an effort to block off my sister’s body from the camera’s view. I tried to soothe Regan, knowing it was going to be impossible. This had been Raven’s specialty, being able to bring that calming, motherly energy to situations. I could never replace that.

How can this be happening? I talked to her a couple of days ago. She was fine! Now she is gone, and I still don’t know who she was last seen with or where he is! How am I supposed to know what happened after she left the fight that night if no one knew anything about where they went?! Fuck, sister! Why didn’t you tell me anything more that morning?

My mind was reeling with emotions and thoughts as the front door burst open. My eyes snapped over my shoulder at it. I tensed at the thought of who it might be, but I was instantly flooded with relief as I saw Touma limp his way inside.

“Touma!” Regan cried out as she leaned away from me, her makeup ruined by the tears streaming down her face.

He came over to us as fast as his crutches would allow him, and I moved over so he would fit on the couch next to us. He pulled her into a massive hug, and she sobbed on his shoulder, clutching his shirt as her body shook. He locked eyes with mine. They were full of anguish, and I could see that he felt the same as we did.

He knew it was Raven as well. He knew we had lost the person who had held everything together this past year, and just like me, he wasn’t sure what the hell would happen from here.

I stood up as he consoled my sister, trying to get my thoughts in order. I couldn’t leave this to the police to find out what had happened to her. I needed to get to whoever had done this before the police did. They deserved to be taken out, not shoved in a cell for the rest of their life.

I walked over to the drawer I had shoved the photo of my sister and the mystery man in and brought it out. As I unfolded the photo, something hard and small fell onto the countertop.

What the hell?

I reached down and picked up a business card for some sort of shipping dock in Yokohama.

“How did you get here?” I muttered to myself, puzzled.

Then it hit me. The man I had bumped into. Had he placed it there? Why? Unless … unless it was where the man I was looking for was!

“I have to go,” I exclaimed.

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