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"The mail dates back to three weeks ago." He held up a letter. "This is postmarked the earliest. By the time stamp and city of origin, I'd say . . . yeah, three weeks to the day." He riffled through the envelopes. "Looks mostly like bil s. No personal letters. Some ads. A Penthouse magazine."
"Three weeks. That coincides pretty much with what Katrina was saying about not seeing her buddies. Tomorrow I'l talk to Paulo's fiancee. What about Saz? Should we stop over at his place tonight?"
Chase began gathering up his gear. "Yeah. I'l tel my crew to stay here, finish, and then be prepared to head out in case Star Walker is missing, too."
He fol owed me outside with the others behind us.
"You okay?" he asked, his voice low.
"Oh, I'm just peachy. I lose my boyfriend, we've got missing werewolves up the yin-yang, and my sister just got disowned by our father al in twenty-four hours. I'm dandy, Chase. Just dandy."
"Disowned? Who? Not Camil e."
"Yes, Camil e. Not only that, she's banned from Y'Elestrial. Don't worry yourself over it. It's our problem, not yours." I knew I sounded bitchy, but I couldn't help it; I was feeling bitchy.
Chase stopped and turned, taking me by the shoulders. He ignored the others as they delicately passed by us.
"Listen, Delilah. This is hard on me, too." He ducked his head. "Don't think it isn't. But I have to figure out what the hel is going to happen in my life now, and I can't do that if I'm worrying about a girlfriend, a lover, or anybody in that capacity. What if I decide I don't like this? What if the Nectar of Life fucks me up for good? I didn't have the chance to go through the proper rituals, and I'm having a hard time. Yes, I'm very grateful to stil be alive, but this seriously has fucked with my head. Good god, woman, you real y don't think I just woke up and thought, Wow, time to ruin Delilah's life?"
I caught my breath, shivering. Not only was it getting cold, but his words slapped me like a wet blanket. "No," I said softly. "No. I don't think that. You're right. I'm just . . . things are so weird right now that I don't know what to think. Al our foundations are being shaken."
"I'm stil here for you--as your friend, as a brother . . . as someone who cares. I just can't take a chance on loving you. I could end up hurting you again, worse. And that would be very bad." He pul ed me into his arms, and I leaned against his shoulder.
"Thank you," I mumbled against his shoulder. "I feel so convoluted right now. And there's so much at stake." He held me tight, patting my back, calming me, and final y I eased away from him, staring into his eyes.
Chase gazed back at me. There were sparkles in his eyes that I'd never seen before--magic, a hint of it, crackling back there, waiting to break out. And when it did . . .
"You're right," I said, inhaling a long, slow breath. "You need to concentrate on the changes you're going through. I'm not a weak-wil ed person. I just miss having you around. But Chase, I'm not begging you to come back, and my life won't end because we're no longer dating. I'm a big girl. I can handle change." Giving him a soft smile, I headed down the sidewalk to my Jeep, where Menol y and Vanzir were waiting.
Chase fol owed, catching up to me before I opened the driver's door. "Delilah--you know there's nobody else, right? I'm not looking for any other pussycat."
The gentle grin on his face made me laugh.
"There's the smile I know and love. I'l meet you over at Star Walker's. Drive the speed limit, you hear?"
"Aye, aye, sir!" I jumped in the driver's seat, fastened my seat belt, and without a word, took off for Saz's house. Somehow, Chase's humor had managed to break through the gloom, and even though I felt on the verge of tears, I was smiling.
Saz lived in the dregs of town, along junkie row, hooker hangout, whatever you wanted to cal it. The back streets that we were navigating were definitely on the wrong side of the tracks. The address Yugi had dug up was a four-plex town house. If Doug's house had seen better days, this dump had seen better centuries. The carport looked two shakes and a nasty gust of wind away from crashing down, and I made certain not to park beneath it. It seemed the other tenants had the same idea--none of the slots were fil ed, though I saw lights shining in two of the units.
Chase didn't park there either. As he got out of the car, he motioned to me, and I jogged over. "We ran the license plates of the cars in front of Doug's house. Sure enough, one of them was his car. And we found his keys on the desk. No wal et, but that was likely in his pocket. Looks like your buddy got himself abducted, though that's off the record and not an official statement."
Ouch. I didn't want to think about who abducted him . . . or why, though in the back of my mind the words Wolf Briar kept repeating themselves over and over again. And the essential ingredient in Wolf Briar . . .
Shaking my head to clear away unwanted thoughts, I motioned to the others, and we headed up the walk after Chase. He motioned for us to stay back--
he had the badge, after al --and then knocked at the door. Nothing. He rang the bel . Nothing. After a few minutes, he ordered one of his men to bust it open, and they broke in, Chase holding a special revolver that I recognized as bearing silver bul ets--the only kind that worked al too wel against werewolves.
After a moment, a light went on, and Yugi motioned for us to enter. We trooped through and stopped in the middle of the foyer. The dingy little apartment would be nondescript except that a struggle had obviously taken place.
Books were scattered on the floor, chairs knocked over, an end table smashed. Blood had dried against one wal and was splattered on the floor. The room was thoroughly trashed, and I blinked as a sudden wash of scent rol ed over me. Immediately, I turned tail and raced outside.
"What's wrong?" Chase poked his head through the door.
"You can't smel it?" I winced, my head hurting. "Wolf Briar. The place reeks with it. Whoever took Saz, used Wolf Briar. And I don't think it's been two ful weeks--because that crap would have dissipated by now."
As I stared at the open door, a sick feeling raced through my stomach. Someone was picking off beta wolves in the area, and al the evidence pointed toward murder. Before I could react, the stress of the day flattened me like a steamrol er, and I turned to the side and vomited over the edge of the landing.
CHAPTER 12
