Page 15 of Shadowed Vows: Ghost
The gnawing frustration that's been building all night crystallizes into a hard knot of determination. I stuff my phone back in my bag, remembering my car is parked just two blocks away in the restaurant lot.
No. I'm not going home to lick my wounds.
The warehouse. The mysterious electricity usage. The fresh tire tracks and too-new security system. All those pieces waiting to be connected.
Jenny would have gone back.
The thought hits me like a physical blow. Jenny wouldn't have walked away from an investigation unfinished. She wouldn't have let herself get distracted by intense blue eyes or disappointing dates.
I pull up Detective Wilson's contact and press call.
"Bennett." His voice is gruff, surprised. "It's almost eleven."
"I need to talk to you about the old Apex Solutions warehouse in Hunter's Point."
A pause. "What about it?"
"I was there a couple of weeks ago. It's not abandoned. Someone's using it. Someone with resources."
"Jesus, Alina." I can hear him shifting, probably sitting up in bed. "Tell me you didn't break in."
"I'm going back tonight."
"Like hell you are." His voice takes on that authoritative tone cops use when they think you'll actually listen. "That area is dangerous enough during daylight hours."
"I was interrupted. I need to see what they're hiding."
"Interrupted? By who?" The concern in his voice sharpens to alarm. "Bennett, what did you do?"
"Someone was there. Professional. Military trained, maybe."
"And you want to go back? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
I pace along the sidewalk, my heels clicking against concrete. "I can handle myself. Carlos made sure of that."
"Carlos taught you self-defense, not how to take on professional security."
"I'm not asking permission, James." My voice hardens. "I'm telling you as a courtesy. You can help or not."
The silence stretches, filled only with his frustrated breathing. Finally, he sighs. "Give me forty-five minutes. I'll meet you there. Don't go in without me. Promise me, Alina."
Relief loosens the tension in my shoulders. "I promise. Thank you."
"Don't thank me for enabling your death wish." He pauses. "Be careful getting there. And Bennett? Next time, maybe call before you decide to break into suspicious warehouses."
I hang up, satisfaction warming my chest. This—this is what I need. Action. The familiar surge of adrenaline that comes with chasing a story that matters.
I drop my phone back into my purse and lift my chin. The fog has thickened, wrapping the street in ghostly tendrils. As I turn toward the valet stand, something makes me freeze.
A shadow against the restaurant wall… there one moment, gone the next. The fine hairs on my arms stand up.
Carlos's voice echoes in my head, "Trust your instincts, Alina. Your body knows danger before your mind does."
Someone's watching me.
five
Kade
