Page 2 of Expose Me

Holding on to the photos, I tuned in to the energy of the necklace. It was faint, barely a lead to follow.

I cracked my eyes open and held my hand out, palm up. “Take my hand.”

Robbie rubbed his hands on his thighs and gently placed his clammy hand in mine. I closed my eyes again and gripped his fingers firmly.

The extra connection helped, and I started to see them—tendrils of energy. Like ribbons floating on the breeze, wisps of energy beckoned me to follow them. I grabbed on to the strongest one and tugged, then checked out a few of the others. They all led to different locations.

I sighed and dropped Robbie’s hand before opening my eyes. He stared at me intently, his eyes wide with hope.

I downed the rest of my cocktail and carefully placed the glass back on the table.

“Well? Did you find it?” he couldn’t help asking, the suspense clearly killing him.

“I’m sorry.” I squared my shoulders and shook my head. He frowned, his gaze flicking to the pocket where I’d tucked away his payment. He was a shifter of some kind, but I wasn’t sure what. Shifters tended to underestimate me. He could try to take it back, some unsatisfied clients did, but he’d just end up on his ass and bruised. I was up-front about my terms.

“The item no longer exists,” I explained, hoping to defuse the situation.

“What?” He frowned.

“Whoever stole it has taken it apart and sold the precious stones separately. I could tell you which general area they’re all in, but they’re all over the place, and there’s no way to identify the specific gems that came from that necklace.” I got to my feet, keeping my arms loose, ready to grab the blade at my thigh if necessary. “I’d let it go and move on if I were you. It’s gone.”

He slumped in his chair, and I turned around and made my way through the crowd. I’d told him all there was to know and had nothing left to say. Our business was done.

At the door I checked to make sure he wasn’t being stupid and following me, but he’d gone to the bar, to drown his disappointment, no doubt.

* * *

I pulled my satin trench coat closer around my body, but I didn’t duck my head against the wind. It was not smart to lose focus of your surroundings. The urge was strong though. It had been warm, balmy even, when I headed out for dinner earlier that night. But in true Melbourne fashion, the weather had turned in a matter of minutes, and it was cold now, the wind carrying a sharp bite.

It was just one more block to the building where I was staying, and just three more days until my official business here was done. The House of Spirit and Sapphire was expanding its territory in Melbourne, and I’d been tasked with overseeing the changes. Our headquarters was in Sydney, and that’s where I lived—when I wasn’t traveling on House business, which was often. Odin and Lady Gabriella, the elected leaders of our House, were based there, as were most of the high-ranking members.

There had been seven Houses—established after the portal in Portland opened and exposed the supernatural species that had been living among humans in secret for hundreds of years. After the discovery of a new species of phantom in Scotland a few months back, a new House had been established, so now there were eight. Eight Houses holding territories all over the world and leaving the spaces between lawless, dangerous No Man’s Land.

A lot of Spirit and Sapphire members had been settling in Melbourne over the past few years, so it was time to expand our territory.

We had a base of operations in what used to be the parliament building. I’d spent nearly two weeks in endless meetings there, but I was staying in an apartment building owned by Spirit and Sapphire several blocks away.

I turned down the side street. It was empty. Up ahead, light from the lobby of my building spilled onto the street. I picked up my pace, ready to get inside and into a warm bed.

As I passed a narrow alleyway that ran between two buildings, something in the darkness moved. I had my dagger in the palm of my hand faster than you could blink, my body poised for action, my senses on alert. The sound was a kind of shuffling, like a cardboard box scraping against brick. Maybe a homeless person? I guessed it was possible they had snuck past House guards and into our territory. But then came a metallic thud, followed by a low, pained moan.

My eyes were adjusting to the heavy darkness, and I could just make out the corner of a dumpster. Was someone getting beaten up behind there? I knew my superiors wouldn’t want me to get involved, that I should just contact some guards to deal with it, but I hesitated. They wouldn’t want me running my side hustle either, so whatever.

“Hey, you alright in there?” I called, not too loudly, but with a firm, level voice.

After a beat of silence, the shuffling sound came again, and a figure emerged from the darkness, leaning heavily on the dumpster.

The woman was petite, her long blonde hair obscuring her face. She was completely nude.

“He ... hey ...” she mumbled, and she sounded winded. She was hunched over, gripping her middle.

Ice ran through my veins, and I scanned the darkness again.

“Are you alone?” I asked, taking careful steps towards her. “Are they still here?”

“Al ... alone ...” came the weak reply. I believed her. If this was some kind of trap, they would’ve made a move already. This poor woman had clearly been attacked, possibly raped, and left nude to rot in a dirty alleyway. Inourterritory—where all members of the House of Spirit and Sapphire were supposed to be safe. I kind ofwishedwhoever had done this was still around.

I tucked my murderous rage away along with my dagger and gently grabbed the woman’s shoulder. She flinched, but a quick scan of her body didn’t show any bruises or cuts. I frowned, confused. She was actually remarkably clean—like she’d just taken all her clothes off moments before stumbling towards me.

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