My father didn’t know what happened at my mother’s house. Brock wouldn’t allow him in the house, some bullshit about exes, I don’t know, but my father allowed that. He told me once he was just ‘being the bigger man’ and accepting boundaries, but…How could he not know? He’s not an idiot. He must have figured it out at some point… right?
“Eli…”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I groused. Hell, I didn’t want to talk aboutanythingright about now. “You should enjoy the night with your son.”And Fiona,I thought grimly, butIwasn’t a ‘big enough man’ to say that out loud.
He said nothing else, and I did not look back as I descended the few steps from the porch to the yard. He didn’t bother trying to stop me — and why should he? He had his other son to party with, and that was fine by me. I had nothing left to say to him.
IRIS
Austin Health and Care Clinic
Austin, Texas
Isat in the parking lot across the street, watching the free clinic and the people filtering around it. There was more than one free clinic in Austin and the surrounding metro, but one of the folks I’d spoken with last night mentioned this one by location. It seemed as good a place as any to start, but…
Someone was following me.
I glanced in my rearview mirror, pretending to touch up the makeup I wasn’t wearing while I scoped out the black Land Rover SUV. They clearly weren’t professionals; even in a city like Austin, Land Rovers weren’tcommon. I hadn’t noticed anyone following me last night — I’d taken an Uber back to a nearby diner after Eli kicked me out of the Moonmate party. I got a decaf coffee before walking back to the motel. This wasn’t my first rodeo. If someone were following, I’d have noticed.
I slept in a little this morning, but I headed out for breakfast once I’d showered and dressed more comfortably for early September. A shifter tailed me to the small coffee house. Ignoring him, I ordered my dark roast with cream and a coffeecake muffin. After I’d eaten and headed back towards the motel to get my car… the same shifter was still following me. He looked nondescript enough, but I was still a wolf and could smell him.
Yet another reason I knew he wasn’t a professional.
Not at this, anyway.
And now, an hour later, the Land Rover was parked at the far end of the street. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew Eli had told the guards to keep an eye on me last night, but I hadn’t considered they’d take it outside of the party. If I’d known these lumbering assholes would make my entire day this much more difficult, I’d have thought twice about peeking into the office.
I didn’t even find anything worthwhile.
I snorted and shook my head. If they wanted to follow me inside, by all means. Maybe the Silverstreak pack would take Cyn’s disappearance more seriously — if nothing else, they’d see I didn’t care about their rich boy alpha.
As I walked across the street, I saw not one buttwoguards step out of the vehicle. I rolled my eyes, unsureif I was annoyed or flattered he thought I needed two guards on me.
Admittedly, I hadn’t realized that Eli and Remus were half-brothers, either. I’m not sure that knowing he was related to the Silverstreak alpha would have tempered my tongue, but… Well, I was no expert on pack politics —Obviously. I hadn’t been a member of a pack since my parents’ death — that was one of the problems of being in the foster care system.
I suppose I could have petitioned to join one when I became an adult, but I was too busy earning my way. I didn’t want to waste my time flattering some alpha boy whose ego was too big to fit inside his head, and I certainly didn’t want to be limited in where I could go or work. Having a pack didn’t serve me.
Sure, being a lone wolf was supposed to be every wolf’s worst fear, but…
It certainly worked for me.
Banishing Eli’s guards from my mind, I trotted up the front steps to let myself into the building. The guards hadn’t moved from their post, and I smiled before I gave myself a shake, putting on my professional face. Even at this hour, the free clinic was busy. I could tell at once they didn’t serve only shifters but humans, too. Which meant they probably didn’t realize they were helping shifters unless they unknowingly had one on staff.
Shifters ran free clinics for shifters but were few and far between. There was one in Travis County but outside Austin city limits. I might still check it out later, but I had my doubts. Far fewer patients meant each doctor had more bandwidth. More personalized care, even if it was free. They were more careful about what they gave to shifters because theywereshifters; they knew what would work and what wouldn’t.
They’d also probably notice if their patients kept going missing, with far fewer of them. I couldn’t guarantee that, but it seemed like less favorablehunting groundsthan an underfunded clinic where patients outnumbered doctors four to one.
I grimaced at the thought. All of it was uncomfortable. I couldn’t focus on the social ills at play, or I might never find my way back out of that rabbit hole. That was why I was a private detective — to right what wrongs I could. If I tried to take on the whole damn world, I’d get pulled down by the undercurrent.
Finally, it was my turn to see the intake nurse. I knew this was going to take a bit of finesse, but… Glancing over my shoulder told me I didn’t havetimefor finesse. There were plenty of people behind me waiting to check in after me, and I knew the nurse wouldn’t appreciate it if I wasted her time.
“Good morning,” I greeted her quietly, placing my hands on her desk. “I just have a question.”
She didn’t even look up, still scribbling something on the last patient’s intake form before swiveling around in her chair, putting it in one of many multicolored files. “Do you need to see a doctor, miss?”
“I…” I glanced around. “It’s just a question.”
“If you don’t need to see a doctor, I will have to ask you to step aside and come back later. We’re a bit busy.”