“It usually is.”
Clint nodded in agreement. “Usually, but Lucien is not one to make an eternal commitment for love or lust.”
“What does he make it for?”
“Power.”
Grunting, I went back to staring out the window. How would Clint make Lucien more powerful? He was a norm. It had been relatively easy for me to attack him—he was more of a weakness to Lucien. I eyed the large man again. Unless there was more to Clint. After all, he hadn’t died.
“You’ve been stagnant for hours. I expected to find your body. What are you up to?”
“Surveillance.”
“On who?”
“Shhh… You’re bugging me.”
Clint sighed. “The one building of interest in the area is the SRD headquarters. This leads me to question why you’re scouting out your own employer. We’ve already concluded they weren’t behind your orders. What have you found out, my little pet?”
Exhaling deeply, I turned to him, and hoping my death stare would give him the hint, I paused before speaking. “You will get your full report when I’m ready to give it. Until then, shove off and leave me to do the job your Vampire-dearest assigned to me.”
Clint laughed and pushed away from the table. “You have five more days.”
“I’m optimistic,” I said.
Clint leaned in and spoke to the top of my head. “So am I,” he said before he sauntered out of the café.
If I didn’t know how twisted he was inside, I might’ve enjoyed the view of him walking away, but I was just glad to see him leave. The man oozed confidence, power and style, but he creeped me out. He also had a secret, and one I wanted to know. If I failed in my mission, I planned to kill him. And then run, hard as hell.
Caught up contemplating what Clint could possibly bring to the table power-wise and how to off him now that I knew throat-ripping was out, I almost missed the movement of Angie’s full hips booming back and forth. When I leapt from my seat, I spilled what remained of my coffee all over my suit.
I cursed, grabbed my purse and ran out of the café into the rain. A norm would follow on foot. A Shifter or Were would’ve remained downwind and hoped the target didn’t notice. Either way, I had an advantage. I jogged to the alley and stripped, flinging off my already torn clothes as fast as I could. My skirt was ruined anyway. A homeless man living in a cardboard box whistled.
Grinning at the man covered in filth, I shifted, letting the falcon form take over. The man cowered in his box and looked away. Norms found it disconcerting to see a shift—even a fast and fluid one like my own.
Stretching my wings out wide, I took to the air and circled the block until I found my target. Her bold red, skin-tight dress underneath a clear umbrella stood out among the blacks, grays and blues of the business world surrounding her. My falcon focused on the moving red body like a mouse in a field.
She slipped with feline grace into a sleek black car and led me to a large house to the prominent, up and coming neighbourhood of Port Moody. With only so much space in the Lower Mainland, and the population spreading like a cancer to the outer regions, new money invested in this location, making it grow exponentially. People liked the proximity to the water and mountains and the direct route downtown to the heart of Vancouver. The area filled with professional couples with fluffy lap dogs instead of children. The pets probably had a more versatile wardrobe than I did.
Perching on the roof of a neighbouring building, I tried to glean as much information as possible. Multiple people went in and out of the house. Good looking people. Big men. Sexy women. All in great shape. I didn’t need my wolf nose to tell me this must be the den of the Wereleopards.
The rain eased up and I shook the excess water off my feathers. My body vibrated, itching to shift and take in the scents. If I found the one from Landen’s apartment, I was a step closer to solving this mystery and saving my ass from Clint’s clutches and the death certain to follow when he grew tired of me.
This was not a safe time to be on the ground, sniffing about. The house was full of Weres. They were probably holding a meeting. My cat would be no match for one of them. My falcon screeched into the night, the bird equivalent of cursing. Could I afford to wait? I only had five more days.
My wings hunched up and I dropped my head down between them, hoping to avoid some of the wind. Puffing my feathers out provided little insulation. I would wait until most of the Weres left. If they left. Then I’d go down.
****
It turned out Wereleopards liked to chat. Their meeting lasted hours. Honestly, what could they possibly have to discuss? Never having belonged to a pride, I couldn’t imagine what day to day business would entail. How different could it be from a pack? Why didn’t they just e-mail each other?