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Eli frowned, watching me for a moment. “It doesn’t have to be Austin. That was just an example,” he said. “You could come to London. Join my pack. No matter where you were, you wouldn’t have to tell anyone anything you didn’t want to. It’s your life.” He paused. “But if you went overseas, it might be more like a fresh start.”
“I… Uh…”What the hell am I supposed to say to that?No one had ever offered me anything like that before. I shook my head. I couldn’t believe he’d made that offer, but I couldn’t consider it right now. “We need to find these missing people before I go anywhere,” I said instead, nodding as I navigated the traffic. “We have to find them before it’s too late.”
22
ELI
Silverstreak Motors’ Headquarters
Austin, Texas
Iglanced at the little glowing lights on Iris’ dash and bit back a groan — it was a little past nine in the evening, and Ryan still hadn’t emerged from the Silverstreak Motors’ building. Iris didn’t look the least bit bored, even though anything interesting stopped happening at least three hours ago, but I didn’t want to look like a little kid who couldn’t sit still. Finally, I looked over at Iris and cleared my throat.
“Yes?” Iris raised a brow and looked over.
“Can… are we allowed to talk?” I whispered, looking out into the parking lot. It was largely empty, though I assume the remaining cars belonged to security and maintenance.
Iris’ brows tucked together, and she tipped her head to one side, offering me a small smile. “Windows are closed,” she said, nodding past me. “So, it’s fine, as long as we aren’t distracted from watching.”
I huffed, not sure if she was teasing. “Isn’t it weird that he’s back to work? His daughter hasn’t even been missing a week. I don’t think Remus would force him to come back, either.” Admittedly, I had no idea who was in charge of the financial division, but Remus was the top dog — no pun intended, hah. If some manager tried to force Ryan back to work and he didn’t want to, all he’d have to do was talk to his pack alpha.
Iris’ lips pursed together as she looked away, staring at the building. “Everyone handles grief a little differently,” she replied slowly, “but that would be assuming Ashley was already gone, not missing. Catherine certainly doesn’t seem ready to make that jump just yet.”
“Yeah, exactly,” I replied, following her gaze to the door. It didn’t move. He was still in there, somewhere. “I mean, he could be hiding from his problems, but…” I frowned and shook my head. “That wasn’t the impression he gave when we spoke.”
But then again, Ryan Sanders hadn’t given me the impression he was unconcerned, either. I didn’t know what to think. I turned my head, looking at Iris. “Do you have to do this a lot? The staking out bit, I mean.”
She shrugged, taking a sip of the slushie we’d picked up on the way over. She warned me that we would be out here for a while; I sort of regretted only getting a small water. Even with the AC on, it was still warm. At least the burning orb had finally retreated past the horizon, but it still took hours for the air to cool. I assumed that the fact that we were sitting on a blacktop wasn’t making it cool any faster.
“Sometimes. Depends on the case,” Iris said after a moment, leaning back in the driver’s seat. “Some of them are a lot more digging online. It depends on what the issue is. I spend no small amount of time sitting in a car waiting for someone to show up, though, stakeout or not.”
The idea alone made me groan. Ihatedwhen someone was late to a meeting, even two minutes. I couldn’t imagine just sitting andhopingmy contact showed their face. “How do you do it?”
“Do what?”
“The sitting and waiting. Alone. I think I would lose my mind.”
Iris snickered, casting me a sideways smile. “I could see that,” she replied, poking her tongue out. I ignored how that made my pulse speed up. “It doesn’t bother me much. You have to wait if you want results; the people I work withneed mebecause someone else was too busy for them, you know? Besides, I don’t mind the quiet; I’m used to being alone. My thoughts don’t bother me.”
I frowned, trying to disguise my expression as I looked out the window. Wolves were pack animals — they shouldn’t be used to being alone. They shouldn’thaveto get used to being alone. That was why banishment was considered one of the most severe forms of punishment; depending on the circumstances, some wolves considered it worse than death. Once you were banished, it was incredibly hard to get accepted into another pack, no matter what happened that led to your banishment in the first place.
And yet… on some level, Iris hadn’t just survived. She appeared to have thrived.
Her attention seemed to have fallen back to the building and I sighed, trying to ignore the restless feeling growing inside me. I glanced around the car, but nothing was left in the front seat. The backseat was an entirely different story; clothes, a computer charging cable, empty bags from chain stores, and novels.
I grinned, reaching back to grab the nearest novel. Its spine was well-worn, but I could still make out the title. “Formidable Foes, huh?” I asked, wiggling the book as I pulled it to the front seat to leaf through a few pages. “What’s this?”
“Crime novel,” Iris replied, not bothering to look over.
I huffed. “You read crime novels for the fairytale romance?” I teased, having noticed the…strappingman on the front cover. “The bad guys get locked up every time, and the good guys hook up in the end?”
Iris snorted, giving me another sideways look. “I said crime, not crime romance,” she clarified, raising a brow. “I don’t read romance. Real life doesn’t work like that.” She pointed at the book in my hand. “Those, though? Realistic or not, someone had to come up with the mystery. I like to see if I can solve the crime before the characters do.”
“Can you?”
“Usually,” she replied, giving me a wink. “Every once in a while, I find a creative writer, though. That’s fun.”
“Huh.” I hadn’t thought about it like that. It was probably like exercising for her job, in some way. “No happily ever after?”
