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Colton narrowed his eyes at the pretty brunette behind the desk—the same one he’d watched going into the hotel the night before. Actually, she was more than pretty. Gorgeous might not even be enough to describe her.
She had black hair that hung in loose curls to her shoulders, and sky-blue eyes that gazed up at him from a pixie face, with high cheekbones and full, kissable, bow shaped lips completing the package. She was much shorter than he was, the top of her head barely coming up to his shoulder.
If it wasn’t for the panic rushing through his veins at the thought of missing his cousin—again—he’d be standing there hitting on her. But as it was, he couldn’t afford to get distracted by a woman, no matter how beautiful she was.
He thought she had to know something more than she was letting on—the night before, she’d been staring at the car Justin was last seen driving, after all. And he was pretty sure his hunch was confirmed when he said his last name and her eyes widened before dropping to the computer screen.
“Listen,” he said, leaning in as his eyes dipped to her name tag. “Katia, is it? This is important. My cousin, Justin Alexander, disappeared a month and a half ago. I’ve been tracking him ever since. The last car he was seen driving was sitting in the parking lot right before I came in, and now it’s gone. If he checked out, you need to let me in the room. There could be a clue about where he’s going next.”
She swallowed hard, glancing down at the keycard she held in her hand before meeting his eyes again. “If he’s missing, you should report it to the police and let them search for him.”
“I’m sure they are searching,” he fibbed, hoping he didn’t look as uncomfortable as lying always made him feel. “But no one will look harder or more thoroughly than I will. I need to find him, Katia. Odds are that he didn’t leave anything behind, but I need to see that for myself. Please.”
Hesitating, she sank her teeth into her bottom lip as she gazed at him, a debate playing out in her sky-blue eyes. He hated when he had to lie to anyone, but for some reason it made him feel even shittier to do it to her.
But when it came to this, he had to. He couldn’t involve law enforcement—not the human kind, anyway, and especially not without knowing exactly what was going on with Justin. Whatever he was wrapped up in, it could involve shifters. If that was the case, the last thing he needed to do was involve the human police.
It wasn’t like he could tell Katia that, though.
She had a beautiful name—almost as beautiful as she was. He ran his eyes over her face, taking in her delicate features. She looked like she had Russian heritage, and her name fit her perfectly.
She exhaled, and he looked up to meet her light blue eyes. “Okay. But this is as much as I can help you. Don’t ask to look at the records, or for his credit card number, or anything like that. This is as much as I’m willing to break the rules.”
He hadn’t even thought to ask about the credit card the hotel had on file. Some detective he was. It would be really helpful in his search—not that he knew how to track charges made to it, although his hacker friend might.
Katia cocked an eyebrow as she looked at him expectantly, and he reluctantly nodded. “I won’t ask for anything else. I just want to see if he left anything behind.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” she muttered as she put a back soon sign on the desk and walked around the counter. “I’m not sure the guy who was in that room is your cousin, anyway. Like I said, he had blond hair. Maybe Justin’s credit card was stolen.”
“Maybe,” he replied, considering that. But it would mean he’d been staked out at this hotel for nothing, and he didn’t like the idea that he’d wasted his time. Besides, the car in the parking lot was the same one people said his cousin was driving. “Or maybe he dyed his hair or something.”
She got in the elevator, hitting the button for the third floor as she looked at him dubiously. “Maybe. What’s your first name?”
“Colton. Most people call me Colt, though.”
“Well, Colt, I think this is a waste of time, but I still hope you can find something that will lead you to your cousin.”
“I do, too. And I appreciate you letting me in, Katia.”
She smiled at him faintly while giving him a nod as the elevator doors opened. Following behind her, his eyes dropped to her ass, highlighted in the snug jeans she was wearing, and he watched it as they walked down the hall. He couldn’t pull his gaze away until they stopped at a door and she inserted the keycard. She really was a gorgeous woman, and he wished he’d met her under different circumstances.
Maybe once he found Justin, he’d make his way back here and try to get to know her better. It wasn’t like he had much to go back to in Montana, anyway, besides the ranch he and Justin owned. But it always felt more like Justin’s place than his, despite the fact that Colton’s name was on the deed, too.
Yeah. He’d definitely have to see about coming back here and seeing Katia again.
His dragon rumbled with approval at the idea, and he quickly swallowed the sound down when Katia paused as she opened the door, glancing around with a frown. He did his best to smile innocently as her gaze landed on him, and her beautiful sky-blue eyes narrowed for a moment before she turned around and opened the door.
Quietly blowing out a relieved breath that she hadn’t questioned the noise, he followed her inside, looking around with interest. At first glance, the room looked pretty tidy, but there could still be something inside that had a clue on it.
Katia moved farther into the room and he started to follow, but then halted abruptly when his dragon hissed inside him just as a coppery scent hit his nose. He narrowed his eyes on the closed bathroom door, dread welling up inside him as he wondered why the hell the smell of blood was coming from behind the door.
Inhaling deeply to steady his nerves, he grasped the doorknob and slowly pushed the door open. He walked in, flipping on the light as he went. His eyes went to the sink first and he froze, staring at the blood streaked in the basin. Whoever had been bleeding in here—and he suddenly hoped Katia was right and Justin’s card was stolen, because he hated the thought that that might be his blood—they hadn’t even tried to clean it up.
Taking a few steps forward, he slowly scanned the room, looking for any other hints of blood, rubbing his chest where his dragon was pacing furiously inside him. His animal was quiet, as he always became when he felt things too strongly, but Colton could feel his emotions.
He was furious, worried, and he was trying to hide it, but he was scared, too. Colton understood all the emotions all too well, because he felt the exact same way.
Taking a deep breath, he grimaced at the strong smell of blood as his gaze landed on the trash can. His blood ran cold as he noticed the bloody towels inside, and he steeled himself for what he might find as he grabbed a clean washcloth from the counter and bent to pick up the blood-soaked towels.
