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That gleam came back.
“You’re very bloodthirsty today.”
“Sayeth the vampire.”
“I’m bloodthirsty every day. It’s part of my charm. We need leverage. Maybe Theo can find something when he reaches the Order that we can use against her.”
Bells jingled, and Connor looked back at the store, watched the bachelorette party walk outside, each carrying a small white bag withCRYSTAL INFERNOprinted on it. They strode down the street in their short dresses and stiletto heels, then slid into the back of a waiting pink limousine.
“Why do humans do that?” Connor asked.
“Ride in limousines? Fastest way to get from point A to point B while also drinking cheap champagne.”
“The sash and the giggling.”
“Do you have any idea how many giggling girls I’ve seen you with?” I touched a hand to his arm. “‘Oh, Con, you’re so strong. And you’re just so handsome.’”
He just stared at me with a mix of horror and amusement in his eyes. “Never happened.”
“Oh,” I said with a grin, “it happened. And gave me plenty of ammunition.”
“You’re a brat.”
“So you’ve said.”
Connor glanced at his watch, his grin fading. “I need to get back. The memorial’s in less than an hour. I can give Georgia an update while we’re there, make sure the search is under way.” He looked back at me, frowned. “You’ll be okay on your own?”
“I’ll watch my back. You’ll keep an eye out for Zane?”
“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “We have many things to discuss.”
***
I still wasn’t sure what the memorial would involve, but he didn’t change clothes, so given that—and the general nature of shifters—I assumed it wouldn’t be a formal affair.
I knew it was safer to stay near the cabin, but I couldn’t just sit. If I sat, I’d think. And I didn’t want to think right now. Not about last night—the blood and the fire and the gore. Not about Carlie and the sickly gray of her skin, and not about the danger we were still in.
We had an idea who the creatures were and knew they’d been using magic of some type. But we didn’t know the magical details or where Zane and the others had gone. We needed more information.
We needed more luck.
So I’d try to be productive. I’d start with another look at the ground near the cabin, at the shutters. Maybe I could find a trail, a scrap of fur that could be tested for magic, some bit of evidence I could ship off to Theo and Petra and, in return, get a solution.
And because I apparently had a target on my back, I’d be very careful. I found a penlight beneath the kitchen sink, and walked outside. The temperature had dropped, and the chill seemed to soak the scent of woodsmoke into the air. The resort was quiet, probably because most were attending the memorial and those who were left were subdued enough to stay quiet.
I walked around the side of the cabin, thought enough to stopand flick the light toward the ground. The tracks we’d seen earlier had been mashed and covered by others, probably clan members curious about Connor’s story. I didn’t see any other evidence, so I turned to the shutters.
The grooves were obvious in the sharp circle of light made by the penlight. Striped grooves where something with claws—very large claws—had gouged the metal. Not just scratching at it—although there were scratches, too—but actually trying to rip it apart with claws. Not the smartest tactic.
On the other hand, they were smart enough to try to remove the shutters. Punishment by sunlight.
I moved the beam of light around the rest of the shutters, but didn’t see anything else unusual. Or at least not any more unusual than unique Supernaturals making a go at the real estate.
But then I stepped closer.
Near a shutter’s top right corner, in a spot I had to stand on tiptoe to see, was a scratch in the metal that didn’t look like a gouge. And it didn’t look accidental. It looked like a symbol: two capital Rs standing back to back, the first letter reversed so their spines were aligned. I wondered if I was imagining it, my brain seeing a pattern in marks that were actually scattered and random. But the letters looked intentional. There were even little serifs along the bottoms.
So who was “RR”? That didn’t match the initials of the shifters we believed were involved.
