Page 2 of Fallen
My mates are on the verge of laughing but Gerald’s expression doesn’t change. “Unicorns are shifters, Leviathan. Rare, powerful, and not nearly as cuddly as the myths make out. When they shift, their horn is a deadly weapon, somethingnearly untraceable since the DNA of their shifter is not the same as their human form.” He clears his throat, pointing to the victims. “There’s no tie between them that I can tell, which means that your unique set of skills may come in handy.”
“Why me? I mean, I’m flattered, but I’m still figuring out this Chameleon thing. You’ve got a whole team of badasses at Essence. Not to mention thatyouhave my unique set of skills.”
“You’re correct,” Gerald hums, tapping his nose. “We both can smell magic, track signatures no one else can. But there are a few traits you have that I never acquired. Besides, I can no longer go out in the field like I used to. If anyone’s got a shot at sniffing out a unicorn shifter, it’s you.”
I’m never going to sayno. Anything is better than staying in this place a moment longer. “Okay. I’m in. But if I end up with glitter in my hair, I’m billing you for emotional distress.”
Gerald chuckles, but there’s an edge to it. “Deal. I’ll send the full case file in a little bit. Start tomorrow. And Leviathan? Be careful. Unicorns don’t play nice.” His smile twists a little bit, gaze darting to Rowan and then back to me.
I immediately frown and look back down at the pictures, finding something familiar about one of the victims. I’ve seen him before. A client, maybe? Years ago, when I was still scraping by as a solo PI. He’d hired me for something small—tracking a missing heirloom, I think. My gut twists. This isn’t just a case. It’s personal. Well,fuck.
And yet, that doesn’t seem to be what's making Gerald uncomfortable. “Can someone tell me what’s going on so I don’t feel like the butt of a joke?”
Rowan sighs, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and dragging me into his side. “Gerald couldn’t get this case to us fast enough. He’s done his homework on all of us and apparently, you knew one of the victims. Not that that’s the connection, just that it’s more evidence,” he quickly adds when I start to protest.“The problem is the fact that it feels like you might be on this unicorn’s shit list.”
“Why?”
It’s a dumb question. I’m on a lot of people’s shit lists. For one reason or another—I’m not reallyniceand I play by my own rules.
“Because there’s a corpse in your fucking front seat, Lev.”
Dread curls in my chest as I pop to my feet, racing outside to where my beat-up beige Ford parked in the lot, looking as pathetic as ever. My men are right behind me, Gerald a little farther off as I stare at the driver’s seat door flung wide open, a body slumped in the front seat. My heart pounds as I approach, the metallic tang of blood hitting my nose before I even see it.
“I know him,” I whisper as I sink to my knees. How in the fuck did I piss off a motherfucking shifter unicorn? And why is he killing the very people I helped?
Chapter 2
LEVIATHAN
I always knew my luck would run out at some point but I didn’t think it would end up with a young shifter in my truck, let alone one with a gaping hole where a unicorn horn tore through him. His face, frozen in terror, is hauntingly familiar. A former client, someone I tracked down a cheating ex for.
“Lev, breathe,” Amand purrs as he steps up beside me, placing a warm hand against my back. His sea-glass eyes are darker than usual, the muscles in his jaw tightening as I realize he’s just as pissed as I am.
“Breathing’s overrated,” I mutter, trying to bring humor to the situation, but my voice cracks. A tingle beneath my skin has me sighing, my magic threatening to blend me into the rusted paint of my truck.Great. Nothing says “professional investigator” like vanishing mid-crime scene.
Gerard is still a few feet off, Rowan beside him as he shouts into his phone at someone. Something about the fact that this is ‘our’ scene. With as many people who don’t particularly likeme at the station, I doubt they’ll just let us have this one. Still, I watch as the muscles in Rowan’s neck and shoulders constrict, veins just beneath the skin boldening. My traitorous body responds as his brown eyes flick to me, a possessive edge in his gaze that makes my stomach do a weird flip. Not the sexy kind. Okay, maybe a little sexy, but mostly it’s the “I’m in deep shit” kind.
I shake my head, trying to focus on the issue at hand. The police will be here at any minute, which means I don’t have very long to gather what I can from the body. I force myself to lean closer to the shifter, ignoring the way my gut churns. Yet again, my magic can only help in situations like this; the ability to smell someone’s magic signature an ace rather than a hindrance.
I inhale deeply, wincing at the blood’s coppery tang riding in the air, but there’s something else. I’ve never caught it before but I can only assume the metallic, mysterious edge to the scent that comes from a unicorn. The problem is that twisted in all of this magic is a familiar note, faint but still there, tugging at a memory I can’t quite grasp. It’s a combination of pine and musk, a hearty, earthy scent that brings back hazy parts of my past.
If only I could rememberwhothat scent belonged to.
“Anything?” Amand asks, his hand sliding to my hip and squeezing softly.
I shake my head, frustrated. “Unicorn, definitely, I think that’s what that is. But there’s… something else. I know it, but I can’t place it.”
Rowan hangs up and strides over to stand on my other side. “Police are on their way. Maybe ten minutes and they’re gonna want to talk to you, Lev.”
“Fantastic,” I deadpan, stepping back from the truck. “Nothing screams ‘innocent’ like a dead guy in my front seat. Should I just burn the damn thing?” Another joke but for some reason, they aren’t hitting the right way in the last five minutes.
Amand’s lips twitch as he exchanges a look with Rowan. “Not a bad idea,” he says, his tone so serious I almost believe him.
“Burn it,” Rowan agrees, grinning down at me with all the desire I’ve been trying to ignore. “We’ll get you a new one. Something that doesn’t look like it’s held together by duct tape and spite.”
I glare at them, but the banter eases the knot in my chest. “You’re both hilarious. Remind me why I moved in with you?”
“Because we’re irresistible,” Amand purrs. He winks, a slow smile spreading across his lips that has heat swirling around in my belly. I fight my own smile, still trying to come to terms with how I ended up with mates who are biologically designed to kill me. Even so, my body wants them. I’m still not sure if it’s love or biology screwing with me, but right now, I’m grateful for their presence.
