Due to traffic, it took me almost an hour to get to the second address, but this one was much more promising. It was anapartment building, and as I pulled up, a woman walked out with a tiny dog on a leash. That told me they allowed dogs here, which would make it feasible for Leif to have Hugo.
The neighborhood was crowded so it took a while, but I found a parking space. The inside of the complex was tidy, but bare bones. There used to be a pool, but it was now filled with gravel and park benches had been put on it.
The part that made the whole place look a lot less nice was a bunch of guys hanging out on the benches drinking beer. The moment they noticed me, the catcalls started.
Classy.
Ignoring them, I found a set of stairs and knocked on door number 202.
When a scruffy-looking blond guy opened the door, I gave him a bright smile. This wasn’t Leif so it must be his roommate.
“Hi,” I said. “I’m looking for Leif. I think I got some of his mail by accident.”
“What?” the guy said, looking stoned as fuck. “Leif? He’s staying with a friend for a little while.”
“Oh, do you know when he’ll be back?”
The guy’s expression turned suspicious. “Why do you want to know?”
I pretended to be affronted. “So I can give him his mail.”
He held out a hand. “Give it to me, I’ll give it to him when I see him.”
I shook my head. “That’s against the law. I can only forward mail or return it to the sender. Handing it to an unidentified third party without a notarized power of attorney or a court order is unlawful.”
He blinked, obviously confused by the legalese that had flowed out of me without thought. I’d been a lawyer back in South Dakota. I was studying to take the California bar exam, butmostly because it gave me something to do. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a lawyer again.
What I wanted was adventure and satisfaction, but what I was doing right now was messing up. I tried a different tactic.
“Look, if you have a phone number, I can call him and resolve this really quick,” I offered.
His expression went back to suspicious. “No way. Only cops and process servers talk like you. Get lost!”
With that, he slammed the door shut in my face.
Damn, that hadn't worked, but I wasn’t out of options yet. He said he’d be seeing Leif, so maybe it was time for me to experience a stakeout!
Chapter 2
Marduk
“What’s she doing now?” Danzig asked. I was sitting on my motorcycle with my helmet on, parked down the street from Bec’s car.
I had a Bluetooth device attached to my helmet that was connected to my phone, allowing me to talk to my twin while being ready to follow Bec the moment she started to move.
“She got back into her car and is just sitting there,” I said, trying hard not to snap at my brother. He was as worried about our mate as I was, but he was being annoying. I know he wasn’t happy about being out of town to finish our current contract. Once he was back, we could focus on protecting and seducing Bec.
“Why would she do that?” he asked.
“How would I know?” I snapped.
If I had to work right now, I’d probably be as annoying as he was by constantly demanding updates. Sympathy kept me on the phone, annoyance made me snippy.
“But why is she even there in the first place?” he asked.
“I. Don’t. Know.”
Danzig made a frustrated sound. I felt the same way. “This isn’t what she normally does.”
