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  “Just tell me where Art is and I won’t report you,” I replied, though really I had no intention of reporting him unless he actually attacked me. Werewolf politics were a pain. The less I was involved in them, the better. Plus I didn’t want everyone thinking I was a tattle tail.

  He pointed to a trailer near the back of the lot. “I haven’t seen Art in a few weeks, but that’s his trailer. I see a woman coming and going sometimes, but I don’t know her name.”

  I nodded. “Thanks, and please don’t tell anyone we’re here.”

  “Yes ma’m,” he replied instantly.

  I turned to hide my blush. I did not need men in their sixties calling me ma’m. It was just too weird.

  He quickly shut the door and left us to our business.

  I turned my gaze to Lucy. “Thanks for the weirdness, little miss alpha.”

  She looked down at her feet, embarrassed. “Sorry, my instincts jump in at the strangest times.”

  I patted her shoulder and let it go. I knew it wasn’t easy being a werewolf, let alone a werewolf with teenage girl hormones making your instincts go haywire. Teen girls were moody enough as it was. I should know since I’m one of them.

  Allison moved to join us as I led the way to Art’s RV, but I motioned for her to stay back with Alexius, ignoring her sudden glare. Since she was human, she couldn’t take nearly as much damage as the rest of us, much to her chagrin. I didn’t need her stepping out front to get attacked before any of us could save her.

  The RV we approached had definitely seen better days. The siding was falling off in places, and the lowest metal step leading up to the water-stained door was missing. The hot sun reflected off bare metal in places, blinding me if I looked at it wrong.

  Chase knocked on the door, then stepped back to stand beside me. Lucy waited a few feet behind us.

  No answer.

  He knocked again.

  Still no answer.

  “The man did say he hadn’t seen Art in weeks,” he sighed. “Maybe this is a dead end.”

  I walked away from the door toward one of the trailer’s small windows. It was too high up for me to see much without jumping, but the interior was blocked out with heavy blue curtains regardless. I circled the rest of the trailer, just in case, then met Chase and Lucy back by the front door.

  I stepped forward and tried the knob.

  “Xoe,” Lucy whispered harshly. “You can’t just open the door. It’s private property.”

  “Actually,” I whispered, “I can’t just open the door because it’s locked. Stand guard, will you?”

  Her eyes widened. “Xoe, breaking and entering is illegal,” she rasped.

  “Yes it is,” I replied.

  I stole a quick glance around the RV park to make sure no one was watching, then reached for the knob again. Having no other choice, Chase and Lucy positioned themselves to block me from view as much as possible. I focused my powers on the knob, slowly heating the metal with a small amount of fire. I kept heating until the cheap metal melted.

  I smiled and stepped back. “Et Voila.”

  Lucy turned her attention back to me while Chase continued to guard my back. I reached forward and pulled the door open, not being mindful of the hot metal since it couldn’t burn me. The door swung outward, revealing the RV’s dark interior.

  I mounted the second step, the only one attached to the RV, and poked my head inside, mindful that someone might be waiting to attack me. I had just broken into a demon’s RV, after all.

  The interior was dark and still.

  I stepped the rest of the way inside. The space appeared normal, if a little messy. There was a small kitchenette with a booth table for dining, and further back was the bed. To my left was a tiny bathroom. I was about to dismiss the place as empty, when I cast a final glance at the small stove, and the frying pan that rested there. It had scrambled eggs in it, and they looked fresh. I approached the pan and placed my hand near it. Still warm.

  “Hello?” I called out softly as Chase stepped into the trailer behind me, leaving Lucy outside.

  “It seems empty,” Chase commented.

  “There’s someone here,” I whispered.

  There was a rustle from the direction of the bed, then a woman emerged from a pile of blankets and threw a knife right at my head.

  I screeched as Chase pushed me aside, banging my hip into the small dining table.

  The knife clattered harmlessly to the floor, and the woman stared at us in horror. She was probably around thirty, with mousy brown hair hanging limply around her face. She was thin, and seemed very frail, thought she’d thrown the knife with a good deal of force. She straightened her hot pink tank-top and gray sweatpants, but did not attack again. She appeared to be trembling.

  “Any reason you just threw a knife at my head?” I questioned.

  “I-I thought you were here to kill me,” she stammered. “Are you?”

  Well I had just broken into her RV, so I couldn’t blame her for jumping to conclusions. I had called out though, so I didn’t feel my intrusion merited a knife in the head.

  “I’m just looking for Art,” I explained. “Your door was . . . open, so I figured I’d check inside.”

  “P-please don’t hurt me,” she stammered.

  I sighed. “Why would I hurt you? I already told you why I’m here.”

  She suddenly slumped down onto the bed in defeat. “Art said that if you found me, you’d kill me.”

  I glanced at Chase, who shrugged.

  “I don’t even know who you are,” I explained, “and I try not to go around killing strangers.”

  She cringed. “We’re not exactly strangers.”

  I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Come again?”

  “If you don’t know, then I’m not telling you,” she stated boldly.

  I stepped forward. “What happened to the please don’t kill me bit?”

  She instantly shrunk back. There was no reason she should be this afraid of me. I mean, I know I can be a bit cranky, but I only took part in the death of two demons. Scratch that, it was three, but few knew about the role I played in the death of Chase’s ex girlfriend, Josie.

  Her eyes shifted around the small space as if she might make a run for it, though we were blocking the only door. All she really had to do was call out for help and we’d be running ourselves to avoid police intervention, but she didn’t.

  “If I tell you where Art is,” she began slowly, “do you promise to let me go unharmed?”

  “Sure,” I replied. Now we were getting somewhere.

  “He’s camped out in Red Rocks,” she explained. “First exit after you enter the National Park’s land. He’s been hiding out ever since he heard your dad was trying to find him. Look for a red pick up truck, and you should be able to find him from there.”

  “You knew my dad?” I asked instantly.

  “Knew?” she questioned. “Did something happen?”

  I eyed her scrutinizingly. Either she was telling the truth about not knowing, or she was a very good actress. Of course, if she lived in the human world full time, it made sense that she might not have heard about my father’s death.

  “Never mind,” I sighed. “Art better be where you say he is.”

  She nodded encouragingly.

  I looked to Chase. “Shall we?”

  He nodded, but seemed to be conflicted. He turned toward the woman. “You thought Xoe would know who you were. Why?”

  The woman tensed, flicking her gaze between us. She licked her lips nervously, then admitted, “We’re related,” she said, her voice quavering. “Distantly. And that’s all I have to say about it. Art can tell you the rest.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. “If Art thinks I’m here to kill everyone, I doubt he’s going to be in the mood to chat.”

  “B-but you said you weren’t here to kill us,” she stammered.

  I sighed. “I’m not.”

  A knock sounded outside the trailer. “You okay, Suzie?” a man
called.

  “She’s fine,” I heard Lucy argue.

  The woman, Suzie, glanced at the open door behind us, then back to me. She didn’t answer the man who’d called out to her.

  “I guess we’ll be leaving,” I stated, not wanting to get caught up in a conflict any more than we already had. I gave her my best cold stare. “But you better not be lying. I have a friend that can send ghosts to find you if you try to hide.”

  Suzie looked like she might faint.

  I turned on my heel and headed for the door with Chase following close behind.

  Outside waited a burly man with a buzz cut. His muscles strained underneath a white undershirt that had seen better days. Another resident?

  Lucy stood behind his turned back. She caught my eye and mouthed, “Werewolf,” while pointing at him.

  “What is this, the supernatural trailer park?” I muttered as I walked past his glare.

  “Yes,” he answered simply, his gaze following me.

  He watched us go, but didn’t try to stop us. Feeling like we were now being watched from the inhabitants of all the nearby RVs and travel trailers, I hustled back to our vehicle where Allison waited with a bitter expression on her face.

  Alexius yipped when he saw us.

  I gave him a quick pat as I reached the driver’s side door, then we all piled in.

  The werewolf office man watched from his window as I started the car and backed out of the spot. His expression was unreadable, but I had a feeling he was glad to see us go.

  Normally I might be offended when people were glad to be rid of me, but it was beginning to become a theme in my life.

  Chapter Three

  My cellphone buzzed again, rattling the center console like something alive. I glared at it, then turned my eyes back to the road.

  “It might be important,” Chase said evenly.

  “Whatever it is, I’m sure Devin can handle it.”

  “You told him only to call you in case of emergencies,” Lucy chimed in, nudging past Alexius to stick her head between the front seats.

  I glanced down at the phone again as it buzzed with a new voicemail. “Fine,” I grumbled. “One of you listen to it. I’m driving.”

  I did not want to deal with whatever Devin had to tell me. He’d been calling since we left the RV park. I really should have answered him right away, since he was watching over my werewolf pack, but didn’t I have enough to deal with? Devin was a powerful werewolf, one of the most powerful around. What could I handle that he couldn’t?

  Lucy retrieved my phone. A moment later I could hear her gentle tapping as she typed in my voicemail password. Since I hated answering my phone, my friends all knew my voicemail password by heart. Kind of defeated the purpose of having a password at all, but whatever.

  Another minute passed, and she ended the call and returned my phone to the console. “Emma’s father is in town,” she explained, “but she’s the only one who has seen him. No one else can seem to find him.”

  I sighed. Just what we needed. Emma, one of my new pack members, came with a little bit of baggage. Her father, a human, was an abusive man. She lived with her foster parent Siobhan, another wolf who could protect Emma. Thing was, the human father had managed to elude all of the wolves after him. I had a feeling there was more to the dirtbag than what met the eye.

  “Is she sure she saw him?” I asked, scanning our red rock surroundings for the turnoff. “Why didn’t Jason call?”

  Jason, my vampire ex boyfriend, had been hired to watch over Emma. I’d told him to call me if he needed.

  “First,” Lucy began, “I only listened to a message, so I couldn’t really ask Devin if he was sure Emma saw her father. Second, Jason probably doesn’t want to call you.”

  That last bit stung. I’d done my best to leave on good terms with Jason, but I was beginning to learn that it was uncomfortable to be friends with your ex. I glanced at Chase to see his frown, which he quickly hid as soon as he realized I was looking at him. The situation wasn’t just uncomfortable for me.

  It was all compounded by the fact that I was still mad at both Chase and Jason for slipping me some of Jason’s blood in case I died confronting my grandmother in the dream world. Would I have done the equivalent for either of them? Probably, but it didn’t stop me from being a little peeved.

  I put on the blinker and pulled over with a sigh. Not looking at anyone, I picked up my cell phone. Service was sketchy out in the middle of nowhere, but there was enough to make a call, unfortunately.

  I opened my recent calls and selected Devin’s number, then waited while it rang. I didn’t have to wait long.

  “It’s about time,” Devin chided, not even bothering to say hello. “We have problems.”

  I sighed. “Can you really not deal with a single human?”

  “Hey, there’s something wrong with this human. None of us can seem to find him, but he’s harassed Emma twice now. Jason was outside of her house on one occasion, and outside of a restaurant where she was spending time with some friends on the other.”

  I took a deep breath, attempting to quell my irritation. “So what do you expect me to do about it? We’re in Nevada.”

  “Can’t you just poof back here and put your detective skills to work?”

  “Detective skills?” I questioned.

  “You and your little team seem to always figure out the mysteries,” he explained. “And now you even have a dog to be your Scooby Doo.”

  “I can only travel with one person at a time,” I replied tiredly, “and I’m not going to leave anyone alone out here for very long. We already accidentally encountered a demon and two werewolves at the supernatural RV park. Now we’re in the middle of nowhere looking for someone in my dad’s files, who apparently thinks I have reason to kill him.”

  Devin let out a long whistle. “You always seem to find trouble, don’t you?”

  I snorted. “It’s a gift.” I had a sudden thought. “Why don’t you call Sam?”

  I could sense his distaste, even over the phone. “Sam?” he questioned. “You mean Chase’s much despised brother? Why would I call him?”

  “He’s trying to make amends so I’ll want to kill him less,” I explained. “He’s even checking on Dorrie while we’re away. His ghosts might be useful.”

  “You left your poor sparkly demon friend in his care?” he asked, ignoring my suggestion.

  I sighed. “She’s not a demon, and I’m quite sure she could beat him to a pulp if she needed.” Thinking of Dorrie, I was a little worried. I really should call her to make sure Sam was doing his job.

  “I’ll call him,” Devin agreed, but not like he liked it. “Text me his number after we hang up. And Xoe?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Hurry up and get your butt back here. Being pack leader is a pain.”

  I laughed. “Preaching to the choir, buddy.”

  He snorted, then hung up.

  I texted him Sam’s number, tossed my phone in the console, then pulled back onto the narrow highway, speeding onward.

  Chase’s eye bore into me, but I kept my gaze on the road. “You really think calling my brother is the best course of action?” he questioned finally.

  “Sam, for some reason, wants to get in my good graces,” I replied. “I think he’ll help. If wolves can’t find Emma’s father, maybe ghosts can.”

  “Yeah but he wants to get in your good graces, not Devin’s,” he countered.

  I laughed. “I’m sure Devin will find a way to make Sam believe getting in his good graces is the same thing as getting into mine.”

  Chase chuckled. “Devin does manage to talk his way through quite a bit.”

  I grinned. “It comes with the territory of being a smart ass.”

  “You would know,” Allison chimed in from the backseat.

  I rolled my eyes at her in the rearview mirror. “Oh please, everyone in this car would know all about being a smart ass.”

  “The turnoff,” Lucy interrupted, po
inting her finger between the front seats toward a green and white sign on the roadside.

  I slowed the car and turned right, feeling suddenly nervous.

  “How are we going to find him?” Allison asked.

  I drove slowly, searching for signs of life. “I figured Lucy could sniff him out. Suzie, the lady in his RV, claimed he drove a red pick up truck out here. Once we locate it, we’ll track his scent from there.”

  Speak of the devil. I spotted a dusty red pick up truck in the distance, parked aways down another turnoff. I maneuvered our vehicle toward it and sped along the bumpy dirt road. Red dust sprayed out from the wheels high enough to see it from our windows. I could sense Allison cringing behind me each time the car hit a particularly deep divot.

  I slowed as we neared the truck, then parked beside it. We all wordlessly scanned the surrounding desert through the windshield and side windows. When no one saw any signs of life, we all piled out of the vehicle.

  I walked around to the passenger side of our car, watching Lucy pace around the pickup truck, sniffing the air as she went.

  I noticed with a start that I’d finally gotten used to her going all wolfy. It had unnerved me for the longest time, seeing my friend like that. Of course, I now spent most of my days around demons and other werewolves. Abnormal had become the norm.

  Lucy finished her sniffing and returned to us. “I’ve got the scent. Let’s go.”

  I nodded, then turned to Allison and Chase. “You two stay here, just in case he comes back while we’re closing in on him. I have a feeling if he manages to drive away, he’s going to be pretty impossible to find again.”

  Chase frowned, glanced at Allison, then nodded. I knew he wouldn’t like me going off on my own, but Allison needed protection more than Lucy or I did.

  I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek for not giving me a hard time, then followed Lucy out into the desert. “Scream if there’s trouble!” I called out as we walked away.

  Now that I’d been to the area where we’d parked, I could travel back to it, along with Lucy. It was a neat trick to have, with the caveat that I couldn’t travel to places I’d never been before. I had to be able to clearly envision my destination, and not just how it looked. I needed the feel of the place. The scents. Everything.