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like Grey. Didn't even walk like him.
Yet she knew, without a doubt, that it was him. How, she
couldn't really explain, except to say that something deep
inside twitched in recognition.
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LifeMate Connections: Eryn
by Keri Arthur
"There he is," she said, pointing at the fast disappearing
figure. "You'd better get someone into the store and check
the men's room. I bet he's knocked someone out and taken
their clothes."
Jack didn't waste any time refuting her certainty. "Henry,
get the cameras on him. Bob, contact our eye and advise him
of Grey's change of appearance. And get someone to check
the store out." Jack glanced at her. "You want to stick around
in case we lose him again?"
She nodded. Going home while it was pouring rain held no
appeal. She didn't have a car and would have to hike several
blocks to the subway. And while Jack would undoubtedly
arrange a car for her, home didn't have the appeal of sitting
here and watching Grey.
Leaning back in her chair, she kicked off her shoes and
rested her feet on the corner of the table. "I bet you twenty
bucks he'll attempt another changeover in the next ten
minutes."
Jack handed her a full coffee mug that had seen better
days. "No bet. Henry, make sure you don't lose him."
"We won't."
But after ten minutes of watching, they did. Only Grey
didn't go into another store and change form. He simply cut
through a tree-filled park, moving beyond the range of the
security cameras and their eye in the sky for all of one
minute. But one minute was all it took.
Jack swore, and threw down his ear mike in disgust.
"There goes our only chance to discover where he lived."
"He'll be back tomorrow night."
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by Keri Arthur
Jack glanced at her. "If he knew he was being followed, he
might just cut his losses and run."
"He's not your killer. And he'll be back."
"You seem awfully certain of that."
"I am. He's after the killer, same as we are." Only she
suspected Grey had no intention of arresting the killer and
seeing him brought to trial. No, Grey had something far more
permanent in mind.
She sipped her coffee and tried to ignore the chill running
down her spine. It was a chill that had nothing to do with the
fact that she was lusting after a man who was, by training, a
killer, but rather the fact that she kept getting these strange
little insights and certainties about a man she only knew
sexually.
"So," she added, lifting her feet off the table, "we here
again tonight?"
Jack nodded. "Approval's been given. Hopefully Gantry will
make an appearance tonight."
"It's not Gantry."
"And you know this because...?"
"I smelled that smell in the club tonight. It couldn't have
been Gantry because he wasn't there."
He gave her a long look. "And you were intending to
mention this when?"
"When I remembered it, which I just did." She shrugged
an apology. "Trouble is, it was coming from a booth two
women were sitting in."
"Which could mean one of those two women has already
met the killer."
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by Keri Arthur
Especially since both women looked like the type the killer
went after. "Might be worth putting a trace on them."
"Which booth were they in?"
"The same one Grey was sitting in earlier. Both women
had dark hair. One was in green, the other red."
Jack grunted as he wrote down the information. "We'll
grab their pics from the security cams. You want a ride
home?"
She hesitated, listening. The rain no longer pounded the
van's roof, though the vehicle still trembled under the assault
of the wind. She shook her head. "No, I like walking through
predawn hours like this. Everything smells so fresh, so new."
"Only a shifter would say something inane like that. The
rest of us would be happy to catch a lift so we could get home
to the warmth of our beds."
She would have been happy to catch a lift, too, if there'd
been someone home to warm her bed. But after too many
nights of going to bed alone, and too many mornings of
waking alone, she had to catch her pleasures where she
could. And there was something delicious about walking
through the wet hours just before dawn, especially when the
rest of the city had yet to stir.
She finished her coffee and placed the cup on the table.
"Same bat time?"
Jack nodded and held out a hand. "Ear pieces."
She undid them both and dropped them into his palm.
"You and the boys planning to stick around here?"
He glanced at his watch, then nodded. "Changeover is at
six."
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by Keri Arthur
"Do you really think watching the bar's security cams day
and night is going to magically catch the killer?"
He shrugged. "Right now, we've got nothing else. Not
unless your nose picks up something, anyway."
"Even a hound has to have a scent to follow. And my nose
certainly didn't prove much of a help tonight."
"If you caught the scent once, you'll catch it again. Give it
time, Eryn."
Time was the one thing they didn't have much of, because
the countdown had begun. The killer was killing a woman
every four days. The four-day deadline was up tomorrow ...
today, she silently amended. But everyone in the van was
more than aware of that fact.
"See you tonight."
He nodded and turned back to the screen. She grabbed
her coat, pulling it on as she opened the door and stepped
into the crisp morning. She took a moment to breathe deep,
enjoying the sensation of air so fresh that it was filled with
nothing more than the sharp aroma of the passing storm and
the warm tang of wet concrete. It wouldn't stay that way for
long even now, the city was stirring. Soon the fumes of cars
and factories and life would belch into the air, and this brief
moment of revival would be lost for another day.
God, how sad was her life that reveling in a wet dawn was
getting to be a high point?
She smiled wryly and shoved her hands into her pockets.
Truth was, until this assignment, she hadn't exactly realized
how stale her life had become. Yeah, she loved her job, and
hell, she loved sunrises, but there was more to life than that.
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And it was about time she started exploring other avenues of
enjoyment.
Like Grey.
She bit her lip and stepped out from the van's cover. The
wind blew her hair in a hundred different directions, and her
ears, which were oversensitive at the best of times, became
chilled. She reached back, snagging the jacket's hood,
tugging it over her head and tightening the draw strings.
What good did it do her lusting after Grey? While she
couldn't guess at his reasons for bedding the victims, she was
positive about one thing. He was here for one reason only to
hunt down a killer. A relationship of any kind was not on his
agenda.
Which was a damn shame, because the connection that
had formed between them in such a brief amount of time
suggested even a casual relationship could be a mind-blowing
experience.
Still, she at least had the promise of tonight to look
forward to.
She splashed across the road, leapt the pool of water
gathering around the drain, then continued on towards the
subway. Another good thing about traveling at this hour was
the lack of people on the trains. Though few people didn't
necessarily equate to no aromas. She screwed up her nose,
trying to ignore the stale scent of sweat and humanity and old
perfume as she traveled the three stops to the station closest
to her apartment.
By the time she'd made it out of the subway, it had begun
to rain again. A car drove past, splashing a huge wave of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]