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Remus grunted and shook his head. “That hardly makes her unique,” he replied. “It’s as if she just vanished into thin air even though she seemingly had everything going for her.”
I agreed, nodding. I wasn’t willing to buy into the happy-go-lucky family act right away. Still, when my tech hadn’t found any evidence of complaints or secret internet persona, I was beginning to believe that Ashley was exactly how she presented herself to her parents. “At best,” I said, “she might have been flirting with a boy from across the state. Her parents might not have approved of him. Her posting on social media has changed slightly, though my tech said it isn’t usually something he’d flag — there’s been a shift from posts about studying and tests and her college to how ‘she never thought someone could make her feel this way.’” I paused. As much as I wanted to be the one to crack the case, there was a slight problem with that. “But school’s out for the summer — so it doesn’t make as much sense for her to be posting about studying, anyway.”
“That’s a lot of ‘might.’ Besides, they call it summer love for a reason, don’t they?” Remus replied, shaking his head. “I suppose we can’t rule out the possibility she ran away because she met someone who wasn’t local, but we can’t rule out a kidnapping, either.”
I grimaced at the possibility. “Wouldn’t someone have sent a ransom note if she was being kidnapped? Those are her parents, right? It’s not a custody thing.”
Remus shook his head. “No, it’s not a custody thing. Those are her birth parents,” he confirmed, pursing his lips. “I’d almost rather it be someone trying to extort the Sanders. The implications of a kidnapping without any attempt to get a financial payout is…” He trailed off, his face darkening.
He didn’t have to say it out loud. I’d lived a protected life but wasn’t so sheltered as to believe that violence against women didn’t exist. Sometimes it was easy to pretend werewolves were above that sort of thing, but on days like this, I wondered.
“Can you see if your tech can get more information on the ‘special someone’ or where he is?” Remus asked.
I nodded. “I’m sure he can.” When I looked over, my father was smiling warmly at us. “What?” I grunted, a feeling of concern already starting to creep up my spine.
He took a sip of his drink, trying to hide his smile. It wasn’t working. “I’m impressed with the initiative you’ve taken, Eli. Tracking her online presence was a good idea — and I’m glad to see you working with a fellow pack.”
I blinked, warmth spreading through me. Of all the things I had expected my father to say, that was not one of them.How often is my father impressed?If he was, he rarely said it. He rarely said it tome. Some part of my brain relished that not only had he said it, but he’d also said it in front of Remus. It was a tiny bit of validation.
A moment later, that little ember of happiness was drowned by the bitter coldness that came with irritation. I wasn’t a little boy anymore — hell, I wasn’t a teenager, either. I didn’t need to be praised for each little thing I did right. Iknewit was the right thing to do. You didn’t just leave a girl high and dry because she ‘wasn’t your pack’ or it wasn’t convenient. I might not be a particularly social person, but I at leasttriedto be a good person.
Frankly, I didn’t need his approval for anything.
My wolf whined, tucking his ears back again as he sighed, tail limp between his hind legs.Hestill craved the approval of Nic Archer, and I wasn’t immune to how he felt. I tried to swallow down both the sense of warmth and the aggravation, leaving myself somewhere near neutral. “I’ll keep looking in to it,” I said gruffly, staring down at my hands. “I think this potential boyfriend or crush is the best lead I’ve gotten from online, so I’ll keep pursuing it.”
Remus nodded and then turned to me. “That woman outside — she said other wolves were missing?”
I blinked, surprised Remus had overheard us. I didn’t think Iris had been that loud, but perhaps I had been too agitated to realize how loud we were. “I have been researching local police records,” I admitted. “But I haven’t found anything. Admittedly, I don’t know every member of your pack, but… If pack members were actually going missing, surely they’d bring it up to you, wouldn’t they?”
Remus hummed and frowned, nodding again. “I would certainly hope so. It’d be far more effective than relying on the police alone.”
“Yeah…” I shook my head. “I’ll let you know if I find anything, but I think that woman was just being nosy.”
I still hadn’t ruled out the possibility that Iris was involved in this — or after Remus — and I wasn’t going to leave it alone until I was sure she’d left Texas.
15
IRIS
The ‘Murder Building’
Outskirts of Austin, Texas
It was sometime between eleven and midnight when I finally returned to the so-called Murder Building. While I hadn’t seen Eli’s thugs since I ran into him yesterday at the Sanders’ household — where the asshole prevented me from doing my job, no less — I didn’t want to assume they were gone. For all I know, that puffed-up alpha had finally realized how incompetent the first men were and hired some actual professionals.
I parked my car at a movie theater a few blocks away and walked to the building; it looked even more ominous at night. None of the streetlights seemed to be working except for one at the corner, and passing clouds partially obscured the waxing moon.At least it will be harder for anyone to see me.
I had debated the best plan to gain access to the building and concluded that climbing the chain-link fence would be best. Earlier in the day, I had taken a picture of the front door, so I could study the locks —there appeared to be three, and that wasn’t counting any that might have been in the door itself. Each lock increased the time I’d be out in the open, and even if this building looked abandoned, it was still owned by someone. Technically, it was private property, and if anyone saw me, they could call the police.
It was an unlikely scenario, but no reason to tempt fate when I didn’t have to. I’d have plenty of other reasons to tempt fate later — I was sure of it.
Instead, I found a side window in the shadow of an overgrown tree. It had a small break that appeared to have been boarded up, and the board was two days away from giving up the ghost. All I had to do was give it a little shake, and the rotting wood fell all on its own. I smiled a little, hoisting myself up with the windowsill and sliding inside. I landed on all fours, kicking up a cloud of dust.
I sneezed.
Gross!
How long had this place been abandoned?
