Page 24 of Shadow Running
When we reached the office,Dante was in the breakroom, fuming.
“What’s up?”I asked, dropping my backpack on the breakroom table.
“That bitch slashed my tires!I’ve had it.I called the cops.”His eyes flashed, and he let out a soft growl that told me his wolf was close to the surface.
“What the hell?Rowan?Is she here?”I looked around, expecting to see her tied up somewhere.
“No, but she left a calling card.”He tossed a black rose made out of metal—including the thorns—on the table.“She loves black roses.She also keyed my car.”He let out another growl.
“Cripes.Did anybody see her?”I knew what the cops would say, and I wanted to prepare Dante because I knew he wasn’t thinking straight.
“No,” he said, giving me side-eye.
“Do you have a security camera installed in your car?”
“No,” he said, again glancing at me sideways.He knew what I was getting at.“You don’t think they’ll do a damned thing, do you?”
“No, honestly, I don’t.Without proof that it was her, there’s not much you’re going to be able to do.They’re not about to show up on her doorstop and accuse her of vandalism when there’s nothing to prove she’s been around here.”
For one thing, the cops were overworked and they didn’t have time for cases without compelling evidence.For another, a number of the cops were corrupt, and it often required a bribe to get anywhere.An activity we weren’t going to perpetuate.
Dante kicked the leg of his desk.“Damn it.What the hell am I going to do about her?I’d like to kick her ass across the ocean.Or better yet,intothe ocean.The deepest part.”
I thought for a moment.We had to do something because she was growing more dangerous.The cops weren’t going to help—we already knew that.Thing was, Rowan was also married and it made me wonder if her husband knew about what she was doing.We suspected it was a green card marriage—Lou was from another country and they’d been married for about five years, but from what we could tell, they were barely on speaking terms.
“What about contacting her husband?I wonder if he knows anything about this?”I asked.
Dante gave me a pointed look.“Well, that wasn’t a thought I was entertaining, but it might enlighten us…maybe.”He almost cracked a smile.“Can you imagine the look on her face when she finds out we’ve involved her spouse?Hey, what if we call immigration and tell them it’s a fake marriage?”
I snorted.“We can’t do that.He’s had enough hell in his life living with Rowan for five years.Besides, we’re not afterhim.We’re after her.”
“True,” Dante said.“Okay, but I’d rather not be the one to confront him.If we’re wrong, and he’s in love with her, I’m not the guy he’s going to want to hear this from.”
“Then start looking through the file that Philip gave me, while I drive over to their apartment.I’m only too happy to do what I can to put a stop to this.”
I dropped the files on his desk and strode out of the room, determined to put a stop to this for good.Peeking in Carson’s office, I whistled at him and snapped my fingers.“Yo, come with me.We got something to do and I need backup.Dante’s not the choice for this,” I said.
Carson groaned.“You’re talking about Rowan, aren’t you?”He shrugged into his leather jacket and followed me toward the door.
“You know me so well,” I said.“We’re going to go talk to her husband and see if he has any idea what she’s been up to.”
Carson knew better than grumble.He just followed me silently to the door, and — after informing Sophia where we’d be — we headed down to the parking lot.
* * *
I stoppedin at the coffee stand before we hit the road.“Triple shot caramel latte,” I said.“What do you want?”I asked Carson.
“Quad shot espresso, iced.”
I gave his order and, once we had our drinks, we set out for Lake Forest Park.
Rowan and her husband lived on Northeast 174th Street.We took Highway 523 to Highway 522, where we turned north.We made another turn onto Highway 104, then left onto 178th Street.From there it was a quick jog to the left on 44th and another on 174th Street.
Finally, we pulled to a stop in front of a modest two-story house.The neighborhood wasn’t a bad one, though it wasn’t affluent, either.The house was a dark grey, with ice blue trim.
There was one car in the driveway — a green sedan.I wasn’t sure what Rowan drove, so we wanted to be cautious.I turned off the engine and looked at Carson.
“I suppose we should go knock on the door,” I said.
