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He took a sip of his coffee. “I feel like I’ve been shot,” he grumped, raising a brow at his half-brother. “But I’m sure it’s nothing a shift can’t fix. I feel far less exhausted today.”
“That’s good,” Nic rumbled, nodding. “That’s very good. I assume you’ll be doing that soon?”
“As soon as I’m able,” Eli confirmed. He took another sip. “So, what did you find?”
I hid my smile with a bite of waffle, glad he brought it back up.
“The gunman’s name is Marcus Grant. He is indeed a shifter, and he was honorably discharged from the military five years ago,” Nic reported, not beating around the bush. “He is an alpha, but as far as we can tell, he has no pack affiliation. None at all, and none that seemed to exist before he enrolled in the military. His last known location was a small town in Georgia. We don’t know when he arrived in Austin, why he was here, or for how long.” He made a face. “Now that we have some information, though, I’m going to look into his financial records to see if I can answer any of those queries.”
He took another sip of his coffee, and then he continued. “For now, we’re going to assume he was a hired gun for this Project Night Moon since he wasn’t active military — and we aren’t even sure if the government actually sanctioned this ‘military project.’ Even if it was, it might also be a case where it is set up to be abandoned if and when it was discovered.”
I nodded slowly, taking it all in. Those assumptions made sense, so I tucked them into my little shell of logic.
“We believe that’s why they were using Ryan Sanders for financial backing,” Remus added, grimacing. “They likely wouldn’t need to do that if it was all above board.”
I nodded again. “And the tattoo? Did you find anything about that?”
Nic frowned. “Unfortunately, no. He had no other marks on his body to reference, either. We took photos, of course, but… nothing new to share.” He turned to look at me. “I believe you should be careful, though — there is a chance it is all connected, and if they recognized you…” He trailed off, scowling fiercely. “That could put you at great risk.”
Eli rumbled next to me, clearly agreeing with that line of thought. “You can stay with me,” he suggested. “The motel security is nonexistent. I have a guest room,” he added as an afterthought.
I paused and then shrugged one shoulder. No matter how I felt about him, it would save me some money I was quickly running out of — plus, he was right. The ‘security’ in my motel room was a single chain on the door. If these were the same people and they did find me… there was nothing to stop them from breaking in. “Okay,” I agreed.
“We can pick up your stuff today,” Eli said, nodding. “And all the case stuff, too.”
“I’d like to see that too, if you don’t mind,” Nic added, looking thoughtful. “If nothing else, a fresh pair — or two — of eyes might notice something different.”
I couldn’t argue with the logic, even if the idea left me feeling off-kilter.But this isn’t about you, Iris. Remember Cyn. Remember Ashley.
I gave a firmer nod this time. “Sure. I’ll show you everything.”
The sooner we could shut this down, the sooner we could get those missing back where they belonged.
32
ELI
Redwood Motel
Austin, Texas
We took our time with breakfast, none of us feeling particularly energetic, and then we took my car over to the park. Nic had arranged for Jaxon and Clay to bring it back last night, and I was grateful we didn’t have to drive all the way back to the wildlife reserve before shifting. While taking a run in my wolf form had taken the edge off of the pain, I wasn’t entirely healed. It would take another shift or two before I was feeling right as rain again.
Iris was quiet when we pulled into the parking lot, hesitating before opening the door. “It shouldn’t take long,” she finally said, fishing her key from the pants she had been wearing the day before. “Taking the wall down will be the hardest part.”
I gave her a wry smile as we stepped back inside. “I can start doing that,” I suggested. “I can put everything back in the folders while you gather your stuff.”
She paused for a moment, giving me a narrowed-eye look. “It’s going to take me, like, two minutes, Eli.”
I shrugged. “I don’t want you to forget anything. It’s not like the motel will give you a call.” I raised a brow. “Unless you think I’m incapable of taking papers and photos down?”
Iris stuck her tongue out at me. “Fine,” she agreed, pointing at the wall. “But if you rip my stuff, I’m going to be seriously disappointed, Eli Archer.”
That won a soft laugh, but I was very careful as I peeled the tape from the wall. I doubted a motel like this would have a security deposit, but if it did, I didn’t want to be the reason Iris didn’t get hers back. Everything was put into folders carefully. Photos here, newspaper articles there, company files in a third file folder, and so on. Once all of Iris’ pieces, bits, and bobs were packed up, I’d have to hang the shitty pieces of art the motel hung back on the wall. At least there were only three. I doubted anyone knew what order they went in.
Iris didn’t take long at all to gather up her clothing and toiletries, setting a duffel and computer bag by the front door. I paused for a moment, brows knit together. “That’s everything?” I asked. “You checked under the bed, right? Nothing rolled under there?”
Iris made a face. “How much do you think I own, Eli? I live on the road. I’m not a pack rat.”
