Page 25 of Shadow Running
“We might as well get this over,” he said.“After all, what’s the worst she can do to us?”
“She’s a witch.There’sno tellingwhat she can do, although I think she had much power, Dante would be in far more trouble than he is.So, shall we get this over with?”
I hoped that her husband didn’t own a gun, although rabbit shifters tended to be pacifists.Very few of them ran around armed.
With a sigh, I opened my door and stepped out onto the road.Carson followed suit and together, we marched up to the front door.I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as I rang the bell.After a few seconds I rang again.
The door opened abruptly and we found ourselves staring at a six-foot tall man, who was far more burly than any rabbit shifter I had ever met.But there was a gentle look in his eyes, although he stared at us warily.
“Are you Lou?”I asked.“Rowan’s husband?”
He nodded, looking puzzled.“Yes, I am.Are you looking for Rowan?She’s out right now.”
I shook my head.“No, actually we’d like to talk to you if we can have a moment.My name is Kyann Sarasan, and this is Carson Dreyfus.We’re from Shadow Blade Investigations.”I watched him closely to see if the name registered, but he still stared at us blankly.
After a moment, he stood back, opening the door wider.“Come in, please.”
He led us into the living room, which was modestly furnished.It was clean and organized.Plants grew everywhere, including a few orchids.The furniture had seen better days, but it too, was neat and clean.The entire place felt comfortably lived in.
“Please, sit down?”He asked, ushering us over to the sofa.
We sat down, and I set my purse on the table.I unzipped the pocket nearest me and brought out my badge, showing him my credentials.
“Have you ever heard of our agency?”I asked.
He studied my badge for a moment, then shook his head.“No, I’m sorry.”
“Have you ever heard a man named Dante Franco?”I asked.
Again, the blank stare and a shake of the head.“No, I’m sorry.”
“This is going to be a dicey subject,” I said.“And I’m not sure how you will react, but I assure you, we wouldn’t be here unless we needed to.”
Lou’s expression clouded over.He began to fidget, tapping his foot on the floor.“All right.I’m ready.”
“Oh boy,” Carson muttered.
“I’m really sorry, Lou — pardon me but I’m not sure of your last name — but we have a few uncomfortable questions to ask about your wife.”
A frightened look replaced the nervous gleam in his eyes.“Are you from immigration?”
“No, we’re not.We aren’t here regarding your green card.Your wife’s name is Rowan, correct?”
He nodded.“Yes, that’s her name.”
“There’s no easy way to say this,” I began, then decided to just blurt it out.“Rowan has been stalking one of my investigators.In fact, he’s my co-owner.Dante Franco has known Rowan for a while.She used to frequent the gym where he worked out, and she began harassing him.We have all of this on video so she can’t deny it.She’s broken into his apartment, stolen from him, and yesterday she slashed his tires.I’m afraid if we don’t put a stop to this, it might lead to violence.”
I sat back, watching him closely.Lou just sat there, processing what I had told him.After a couple of moments, Lou let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair, dropping his head back as he let out a groan.
“Not again.Please, not again.”
“You believe us?”I asked.
After another sigh, Lou leaned forward.“Believe you?Yes.I do.This has happened before.We used to live in Tacoma, until Rowan started stalking a man there.He went to the police.I threatened that I’d leave her if she didn’t stop.I got her to see a shrink, and he helped her wean herself off the infatuation she had for this guy.But our reputation was ruined.She ended up spending two weeks in jail, and he slapped a restraining order on her.As soon as we could, we moved.I thought it might be a one off—that somehow, she’d just lost control for a time.”He paused, then asked, “I assume you know that I’m here on a green card marriage?”
I nodded, not sure what to say.That she had done this before signaled a greater problem than I thought.
“Iwasn’t the one who askedherto marry me so I could to gain my citizenship,” he said.“We were dating.She wanted to marry me and I thought we were in love.It seems like a win-win.Marry the woman who could assure my future here,andwe were in love.I thought I had found the best of both worlds.”
