Hours went by before Gabe returned. During that time, Avery didn’t dare step foot outside the cabin. Devon had made it clear they were watching her, and she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. At least, not until he got the pack’s religious symbol back.

To pass the time, she practiced her telekinesis. Small objects flew around Gabe’s living room, and she even levitated the couch, as well as a bookcase. When Gabe finally entered the cabin, she barely missed hitting him with a kitchen chair.

He muttered a curse under his breath as he shut the door and set down a paper grocery bag. “Please leave my crap where it is, Avery. This is a magic-free zone.”

“What happened?” she asked, ignoring his comment about magic. Instead, she looked him over for cuts and bruises. If McAllister had been home, he would have put up a fight. “What did you find out?”

He went to the kitchen, and she trailed after him.

“Nothing happened. I went to his apartment and took a look around,” he replied as he pulled a water bottle from the refrigerator.

“Was he there?”

Gabe shook his head. “No. I made sure he wasn’t before breaking in.”

“What did you find out?”

“I located a file shoved up under his desk drawer while tossing the place. It wasn’t labeled. There were a couple of addresses in there. I checked out one of them on the way home.”

“And? What was there?”

“Nothing. An empty house.”

“What about the other one?” Avery asked as she tapped her foot, becoming more anxious and annoyed. She hated pulling the information out of him as if plucking thorns from the bottom of his foot. She’d rather just get the whole story in one sentence instead of playing twenty questions.

“If you’d let me finish, I’ll tell you,” Gabe said before gulping down the rest of his water.

Biting her lip, she waited.

“We’re heading up there right now. It’s in Blaine.”

“Blaine? That’s at the Canadian border!”

He nodded. “Yep. It’s a pretty drive, though.”

She glanced down at her prison-issued jumpsuit. It probably wouldn’t be best for her to be seen in public wearing it, although, no one would really understand its meaning unless they were familiar with the paranormal prison system.

“I borrowed some clothes for you from one of the females in the pack. They’ll be a little big, but they’ll work.”

She was touched by his thoughtfulness and couldn’t wait to get out of the jumpsuit. “Thank you.”

“It’s in the bag by the front door. You can use my room or the bathroom to change.”

Twenty minutes later, they were on the road. Thankfully, the clothes fit, but the jeans legs needed to be rolled up a few times. The Ramones T-shirt had definitely seen better days. Wearing the smell of shifter so close to her skin caused her some unease, but she tried to focus on the task at hand and appreciate the opportunity to have something else on besides that horrid jumpsuit.

She may very well run into McAllister again, but she doubted it would be this afternoon. It was a weekday, and he would most likely be working. At least, she hoped so. The man had a lot of power, and if she found herself under his thumb again, she probably would never see the light of day. If she and Gabe discovered McAllister’s secret, they might find the missing antiquity and the stolen items from her mom’s place—and vindicate her in the process.

The detective was somehow involved in her mother’s murder, although probably not directly. She didn’t think he’d killed Melia with his bare hands. However, the man knew something about the crime and was hiding that knowledge from her and the authorities. Somehow, the information benefitted him, or he was covering for someone. Either way, she needed to know the truth.

Once again, she glanced over at Gabe’s strong profile, his focus straight ahead. His pack was counting on him to bring back their religious item. What would happen to him if he didn’t? What would happen to her?

A Fae and a shifter working together to solve not one, but two crimes? Strange. She did agree with Gabe though. The coincidences were too hard to swallow … that her mother’s missing items and his were somehow connected.

Just as she began to breathe easier and enjoy the wall of greenery on each side of the highway, Gabe turned off the main road.

She sat up straight in her seat and checked the phone mounted on the dashboard. A map materialized on the screen, and she realized they were close to their destination.

So much for relaxation. The muscles in her neck tensed and her heart beat faster as adrenaline rushed through her veins.

Gabe maneuvered the truck up a hill into a residential area. Some of the houses were old and in disrepair. Pockets of the Pacific Northwest appeared that way with moss on roofs and faded wooden siding that had seen too many rainstorms. Most needed paint or would require significant repairs to return them to their original condition. Others scattered throughout the neighborhood were well-maintained. Gabe slowed in front of a white house with green trim, one in the latter category. Small patches of manicured lawn sandwiched the sidewalk leading up to the stoop. No lights shone from the windows, but Avery noticed some furniture inside.

“It definitely seems like someone lives there,” Gabe murmured.

He didn’t stop the truck and turned the corner sharply instead.

Is it McAllister’s second home? Or does it belong to the vampire? How does it connect with the case? She’d make herself insane by second-guessing and spinning scenarios about who lived there and what she and Gabe would find.

“I personally think it would be best to go in,” she said.

“Why is that?”

“Because circling the block and waiting around to do something makes me crazy. My magic is very ineffective when my anxiety levels are high.”

Gabe grinned, then hung a left. “That’s as good a reason as any for me. I certainly don’t want a partner whose magic doesn’t work. Let’s do it.”

A moment later, they pulled up in front of the house. She stared at it, wishing she had X-ray vision to know whether anyone was home or not.

“Let’s go,” Gabe said, opening up his door.

Avery followed his lead and ran around to his side of the truck.

They strode up the walkway and stood at the front door.

“Maybe we should go around back,” she suggested. “This door seems too obvious.”

Turning to her, he nodded. “I’ll go in the back. You stay here. If anyone is inside, I’ll subdue him and let you in.”

She nodded and watched Gabe disappear around the side of the house.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she waited impatiently, scanning the street and neighborhood, searching for anyone who might be taking too much interest in her. Everything seemed normal—a very quiet house in the suburbs with most people at work. It had been smart to move in during the daylight hours. At night, they had the cover of darkness, but with so many eyes and ears around then, it had more potential to be dangerous.

Avery paced on the front porch and then stopped when she thought she heard glass breaking around the back.

She tried to see in the window.

A red blast of light flashed in the living room, and she gasped.

As she ran around the side of the house, she heard a loud noise coming from inside.

Once in the back, she grabbed the lid of a garbage can, then slowly approached the door.

She opened the screen door, keeping the lid in front of her. To her utter shock, her anxiety stayed at bay, and she became calm and centered.

Directly in front of her, she could see through the kitchen to the living room and to the front door. On the green and white wallpaper to her left, she noted a scorched area. Likely, one of McAllister’s energy balls had done damage there.

Avery tiptoed into the kitchen to find everything fairly neat and orderly, except for Gabe lying on the floor either dead or passed out. She didn’t have time to find out.

As a red energy orb blasted toward her from the living room shadows, she was ready.

She held up the metal lid, and the energy orb smashed into it. The force of impact shook her arms, and it sent an electrical charge from her fingers to her toes.

Stepping over Gabe, she hurried to the kitchen counter where McAllister couldn’t see her. She caught a glimpse of movement in the living room mirror and realized she had the perfect vantage point to watch his every move.

McAllister snuck around the corner and stood just on the other side of the wall from her, his hands creating another weapon.

“I don’t know how you got out of prison, Avery, but I’m done trying to play nice with you. You have become a wart on my soul that needs to be eradicated.”

How many times this week had her life been threatened? She’d lost count. If the detective thought he was frustrated, he should spend a few hours in her shoes. Avery had been sexually attacked by a co-worker, then fired from her job. She’d had multiple attempts on her life. Her mother had died. To add insult to injury, Avery had been thrown in prison. Truth be told, most of her problems were related to this lying detective.

Avery dropped the garbage lid and held out her hand while concentrating on the lamp with the white base on the coffee table. Through the mirror, she steered it out of his line of sight. As it crashed into the back of his head, he yelped and stumbled forward into her view.

Once she’d retrieved the lid, she swung it upward, hitting him directly in the face. McAllister staggered backward, and she slipped into the living room.

All the hurt, anger, and fear she’d experienced since she’d been attacked by Jake boiled to the surface.

“Who killed my mom?” she shrieked while kicking his side with so much force, he exhaled and spit blood.

He rolled over and struggled to his feet. A trickle of blood ran down his chin from his mouth. His cold stare conveyed the depth of his hatred for her.

“You’re fucking everything up!” he screamed and lunged at her.

Avery took a quick step to the side and an idea flashed in her head when she spotted stacks of china in a cabinet to his right. Using her magic, she opened the glass doors, shattering them, all the while flinging plates at him. Most missed their target, but by the time he dove in front of the couch, he’d been hit a few times.

The detective resurfaced with a small energy orb in his hands. Avery wasn’t quick enough, and it hit her in the shoulder, knocking her on her butt. Back on her feet, she noted he’d already formed another one. She stretched both arms toward him, concentrating on the coffee table behind him. With a scream of effort, she lifted it until it rose to his shoulders. He let the energy ball fly. At the same time, she crashed the table into him, then dove for the floor just as the orb whizzed over her head and slammed into the kitchen door behind her. A small boom echoed around the walls, but she paid it no attention.

Her focus rested solely on McAllister.

Another flashing ball whizzed by her head. She glanced around for something to counter with that would do significant damage but didn’t see anything. Sweat poured from her brow, her chest aching from anxiety and working her magic so hard. She couldn’t continue using her power at this pace for much longer.

An idea formed—reminding her of the cartoons with the lightbulbs popping from the character’s head. She had to admit though, it was another terrible one. However, she wasn’t driven by logic or sane thoughts. Emotions drove her, and although she knew that allowing them to make decisions for her probably wouldn’t turn out well, she couldn’t stop the pain and anger raging through her. If her timing was wrong, she’d be in a world of hurt, or dead. If everything went her way for a change, she could only hope the idea would be effective. Either way, she had to try.

Avery crossed the living room in a few steps and leapt onto the back of the couch, perching there on her haunches for just a second. McAllister stared up at her, his eyes wide in surprise. Another energy orb had begun to form between his hands, but it wasn’t large enough yet to do any damage.

With a yell, she bounded down on top of him, the ball disappearing.

Avery straddled him and punched him in the face. Although she’d never enjoyed violence, the satisfaction of her fist hitting his cheek actually brought a smile to her face. McAllister grabbed her and threw her off him, tossing her like a wet towel. She rolled to her feet and charged at him again, this time, concentrating on his belt.

He smacked her in the face, causing her head to spin, but she kept going. They rolled around on the floor for a few moments while he tried to get the upper hand. Although the man was much taller and outweighed her by at least sixty pounds, she scrambled and squirmed, not allowing him to get a firm grasp on her.

Avery was able to stand, but only moved a few feet away from him. She kept her right hand hidden behind her thigh and hoped he didn’t realize what she’d stolen.

During their scuffle, she’d wanted to get his gun, but quickly recognized he wasn’t wearing it. Instead, she went for the next best thing.

The detective’s face was now smeared with blood. Avery must have scratched him during their battle on the floor because his neck appeared like he’d just gone toe-to-toe with a grizzly. He wiped his eyes with his forearm, never taking his gaze off her.

“Why couldn’t you just believe me when I told you your mother was killed by a human?” he asked. “Why did you have to be such a pain in the ass?”

“You lied to me about her death,” she said between gasps of air. “I saw the vampire bite. You owe me the truth.”

A small grin played on his lips, and he shook his head. “I’ll kill you first, Avery.”

She smiled back at him, showing teeth. “Go ahead and try.”