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  At this, Bryn perks up. “But she will recover, right? They’ll treat her through the detox and then she’ll be clean. And when Lillian’s people come back, the townspeople will kick them out?”

  It was foolish of me to hope Bryn wouldn’t press this far. “Ryder’s going to leave a contingent here, and they’ll deal with Lillian’s people when they come back.”

  Her brow knits. “Why do you need people from the Front here? Now that the townspeople know what L’s Lemonade is, they won’t let it back in here, right? I mean, they’ll all be detoxed and everything, right?”

  I take a deep breath. “I wish I could say it’s that simple. Yes, the medics will purge the drug from everyone’s systems. But one of the things that makes euphorium so addictive is the magical component. There’s something in it that calls out to the magic in supernaturals. Forgive the pun, given the source, but it’s like the drug has its own siren song. That’s why it’s so hard so shake.” I do my best to spread an upbeat expression on my face. “But that’s why we’re leaving some people here. They’ll stop the drug from coming in, and they’ll arrest Lillian’s men. The town will be safe.”

  “Until Lillian sends more dealers,” she says, bitterness souring her tone. “She won’t stop. She’s not going to look at Wisdom as a wash after giving away so much free product. She’ll keep sending people until she gets what she wants.”

  I switch to the couch she’s seated on, sliding my arm around her. “Then we’ll keep stopping them. It’ll be all right, love.”

  She stands, pulling away from my offer of comfort. “Even if we can keep people safe when they’re here, what happens if they ever leave Wisdom for anything? What if they go out of town on vacation or to visit family? Do you really think Lillian is wanting to hook just one town? She could strike anywhere next. There were only like five supernaturals living in the town I grew up in, and the euphorium made its way there. What’s to keep Lillian from—I don’t know—spiking the water at a place like Twin Rivers? Even if we could detox all those people, we can’t keep every supernatural on lockdown forever.” She points down the hall, toward the room where Connie still sleeps. “The only way we can make sure that girl grows up with a mom who gives a damn about her is to get euphorium off the market for good.”

  Fire blazes in Bryn’s eyes, and for a moment I can almost imagine her taking on every drug pusher in the world with her own bare hands. But she doesn’t have to go on this quest alone.

  I stand, resting my hands on her upper arms. Her breaths come fast and deep, like she’s just run a marathon. “Bryn, I know how close to home this hits for you. And I need you to consider that your head might not be the clearest right now. I know you want to eradicate the world of this drug, but the best way to do that is to work with a team. And I don’t just mean Calder and me. I know you’re not sure what your future holds, or even what you want the next year of your life to look like. But maybe right now it’s best if we stay close to the Front. Believe me, they want euphorium off the streets for good as badly as you do. They’ve seen what it does to individuals and families alike.”

  Seconds pass before she drags her gaze up to meet mine. “Okay. As soon as Connie’s grandparents get here, we’ll go. I never want anyone to go through what I went through.”

  I pull her into my arms, running my hand down her back. “And no one ever will. I give you my word.”

  As she relaxes against me, I hope to any deity listening that I never have to break my promise.

  Chapter Eleven

  Poe

  I’ve just scrubbed some shampoo into my hair when my phone starts screaming like there’s an emergency alert on a submarine. Cursing, I run both hands over my head, trying to squeegee off as much water as possible as I step over the low rim of the bathtub. My feet leave puddles of water across the floor as I step through the bathroom to the bedside table, where I left my phone plugged into the charger. Stupid move. I should’ve known as soon as I was away from it, I’d get a call.

  It takes two tries with my wet finger before I can answer the call, and I grab my pillow to dry my hand before attempting to put it on speaker.

  “…there?” Detective Donovan asks.

  “Yeah, I’m here.” I try to keep my voice as professional as possible, given the fact that I’m naked and dripping wet at the moment. “Any updates?”

  “As a matter of fact, yes,” Trey says grimly. “My junior detective friend was down at the forensics lab this morning, and the techs were talking about how strange the drug we found yesterday was. They’ve never seen a chemical makeup like it. She took a look at it, and…” He blows out a breath. “It’s euphorium.”

  The word sends a hot pulse of rage through my body. Euphorium. The drug designed by supernaturals with the sole purpose of hooking other supernaturals. It’s a move that would only be committed by the lowest of the low. I mean, designing a magical drug to target humans would be shitty, but to make one to target people in your own community is Olympic-level douchiness. In my time with the elders, I’ve seen families torn apart by addiction to euphorium. The idea that it’s being made here—and in such large quantities—makes me uneasy.

  “Any idea where it is now?”

  “Now for the good news.” The smile in Trey’s tone comes through loud and clear. “A CI of mine got word of a big, secret shipment of drugs arriving at a warehouse downtown. Get your team together; we’re moving on it in thirty minutes. I’ll text the details.”

  He ends the call before I can agree to meet him. Not like I wouldn’t; this is, after all, what I’m here for. Not so much the seizing of magical drugs as the taking down of the baddies responsible, but I’ll take it. After all, it isn’t as if the euphorium will be sitting there unguarded. I’ll be able to bring in those responsible for the heist, and the elders have ways of making them tell who they work for.

  I head back to the shower, careful not to slip on the wet tile, and rinse off the remaining shampoo in the iciest damn water that’s ever dribbled from a tap. Before I’m even dressed, I call Carmen and tell her to gather the others.

  We’re about to take down some bad guys.

  I don’t exactly get a lot of downtime to watch TV, but I’ve seen enough that the idea of raiding a warehouse in broad daylight is unsettling. Although I know that criminals do crime at all hours of the day, heading for a confrontation without the cover of night seems almost reckless.

  Unless we’re dealing with vampires—in which case attacking before noon gives us a decided advantage. The sunlight will weaken those bastards enough to make taking them down child’s play.

  But I don’t let my guard down as my team moves into position. We could be up against any kind of supernatural. We know for a fact shifters were involved in the heist; there’s no reason to believe they won’t be part of the group protecting the drugs.

  A voice crackles in my earpiece. “Alpha team in position,” Trey says over the open comms.

  “Ditto for Beta,” says an unfamiliar female voice.

  I glance over my shoulder at the rest of my team. All five of my shifters are accounted for. If the steely glint in Summer’s eye is any indication, she’s prepared to rip out the throat of any hostile she encounters. When we all grouped up in the motel’s parking lot, I had a speech prepared for her. I was going to pull her aside and tell her that, yes, my last mission had changed me, and I was sorry if her feelings got hurt, but we’ve got a job to do. She surprised me by approaching me first and apologizing for her behavior. I’m not sure whether she had a revelation about how inappropriate she’d been, or if the threat of me tattling to the elders was enough to snap her in line. Really, I don’t care. All that matters is now she’s got her head in the game.

  “Charlie’s in place,” I murmur into the microphone Trey clipped to my sleeve.

  “Thirty seconds to go,” Trey responds immediately. “And if your team wants to go furry, it’s safe. Everyone here is prepared for that possibility.”

  His words make m
y heartbeat kick up a notch. Shifting in the open—in the middle of a city—isn’t something that’s typically considered acceptable. It’s true that this area of the warehouse district is mostly abandoned, but there’s still the possibility of a civilian being in the vicinity. His people might be ready to see some shifters in action, but the same can’t be said for a random passerby. And since we’re already here to investigate a breach of the Secrecy Act, I can guarantee the elders won’t be pleased to know their own people have committed a second violation unless it’s a matter of last resort.

  That’s why it’s crazy that I’m tempted to give it a try.

  I’ve been under the elders’ jurisdiction since the incident that ended in the death of a handful of nom kids and two of my friends. Although they claim every bounty I bring in me closer to freedom, I’ve come to terms with the fact that my debt will never be paid.

  But at the Temple of Theurgy, Bryn talked about how she could focus magic. She said that we could help each other—that I could lend her my strength to help heal Calder and Taj, and she could keep me from going all murder-y when my furry side takes over. And although at the time, I never considered actually shifting to test the theory, the desire to do so now is nearly overpowering. For the first time in a long time, I feel the panther inside me stirring, stretching. If I can do it—shift and keep from turning entirely feral—that has to mean something.

  “We go in three…”

  If something has changed inside me, then maybe all isn’t lost. Maybe part of me is still connected to part of her.

  “Two…”

  Even though we can’t be together, I would still have something tangible to hold onto. Something left to know what we shared was real. That Bryn didn’t give herself to me just to save Blondy and the Englishman—that she did it because there is something that binds us, something that neither space nor time can ever fully sever.

  “One.”

  My team is already in motion by the time I come to my senses and begin running for the warehouse. I tamp down any impulse to change forms. It’s too risky. Even if I can control my animal side, it’s been so long since I’ve shifted, there’s no telling how long it’ll take. And it’ll probably hurt like a bitch.

  Instead, I streak toward the building’s side entrance. We’re still yards away when the door swings open and guards dressed in black pour out. It’s immediately obvious these aren’t humans. Their movements are too fast to not be supernatural. These must be the shifters who robbed the lab.

  Metal glints in the sun as they draw closer. A guy up front gets a few rounds off before Marty grabs the barrel of the gun, crumpling it. I square off against a tall guy and a broad-shouldered woman, but even though they both get a few hits in, I manage to block them before taking the woman out with a temple punch and the man down with a hit to his jaw.

  To my left, Lloyd sets off a flashstone, knocking out a group of five as they descend on him. Summer and Marty are teamed up against a single black-clad figure, and Dave and Carmen are holding their own against one aggressor each.

  The door that was our original target is clear, and I rush toward it. My team is more than capable of dealing with the threat out here, and I don’t want to give whoever might be inside the chance to escape while the authorities are distracted.

  “Charlie team leader entering the warehouse,” I murmur into the microphone on my sleeve.”

  The warehouse is cloaked in shadows, despite the windows along the walls where they join the ceiling. Industrial shelving stretches high above my head, with sections forming a labyrinth-like maze through which I move on silent feet. Muffled grunts and the occasional pop of ammunition fire reaches me through the open door as I move deeper into the building, but I keep my attention on what’s in my immediate vicinity.

  A voice crackles in my ear. “Alpha team moving into the warehouse.”

  The knot of tension in my stomach relaxes ever so slightly at Trey’s words. Knowing that I’m not alone makes the structure feel smaller somehow.

  I detect motion to my right a split second before an impact knocks me off my feet. The air whooshes from my lungs as I attempt to get my bearings, but I barely glimpse the violet eyes of my attacker before he swoops in for another attack. I curl up at the last moment, protecting myself from the brunt of his kick aimed at my stomach, and I manage to grab his foot and pull him off balance. I use his distraction to get my feet under me and pull a flashstone from my jacket pocket. A steady squeeze activates the device, and I squeeze my eyes closed against the bright light it emits. My vampire attacker drops like a sack of potatoes, along with two figures in the shadows who I didn’t even notice were closing in.

  Taking only a few seconds to catch my breath, I press deeper into the maze, my body on high alert for another attack. But no matter where my eyes fall, I don’t detect any more movement.

  But what I do see makes my pounding heart speed so fast I’m afraid it’ll beat its way out of my chest. Boxes emblazoned with the Rhapsidion Laboratories logo line these shelves, and I double-check my surroundings before pulling one off and settling it at my feet. It thuds with more force than I’d prefer, but the box is heavier and most unequally weighted than I anticipated for a container full of euphorium. Then again, if the thieves boxed up the merchandise, it stands to reason they wouldn’t have been as precise as a lab technician.

  I unfold the closure tabs and peer inside, but the sight that greets me won’t compute. Instead of vials of euphorium or bottles of the drug in pill form, the box is filled with bricks. I shift a few, looking underneath in case something is being hidden from view, but all I find is more bricks.

  I pull down a second box and find the same thing. A third from a higher shelf is stuffed with packing peanuts.

  “What in rivers’ name?”

  Shouts rise up from deeper within the warehouse and I abandon my exploration of the baffling boxes.

  “Available units to the warehouse,” says Trey through my earpiece. His voice is tight and I steel myself for whatever he and his team may have found deeper within.

  It takes almost another minute to wind my way through the rest of the shelf maze. When the area before me opens up, my eyes first settle on Trey and a few of the uniformed officers at his command. They each level guns at someone sitting in the middle of the room. But these aren’t standard-issue weapons; it’s clear even from this distance that they hold revolvers capable of firing silver bullets. There are few things that will put a vampire down for any length of time, and it’s good to know Trey and his team have planned accordingly.

  “Stay where you are,” Trey warns, his eyes not straying from the person at the end of his barrel.

  I creep forward several more steps until I’ve cleared the last bit of shelving and peer around it to see what vampire could possibly elicit the level of fear I detect in the voice of such a capable officer of the law. But when I catch a glimpse of the culprit, my blood to turns to ice in my veins.

  A woman with golden hair and a haughty expression stands in the center of the open area in a single circle of light that appears to have been lit just for her. Her violet eyes flash as she studies the man holding her in his sites.

  “You’re too late,” purrs Lillian Castle. “You won’t find what you’re looking for.”

  Trey’s lips curve. “I think you’re wrong on that count. Now come quietly, or I won’t hesitate to shoot.”

  Before she can reply, Trey’s team is on the move. They fan out around her and come at her from all angles. Their movements are slow and calculated, as if they’re trying not to spook a frightened animal.

  Except Lillian is no fearful wounded doe. With a speed so fast I almost don’t see it, Lillian streaks for one officer and disarms her. Her canine teeth flash as she lowers her lips to the woman’s neck. Even though I know I’m not fast enough to stop her, I take off at top speed for Lillian.

  The shot echoes through the warehouse, and everyone freezes. Lillian slumps to the floor, leaving a str
eak of crimson down the front of her victim’s uniform. The officer jumps back, clutching her shoulder where the silver bullet that passed through Lillian’s torso lodged.

  “Quick, let’s get Juarez to the medics,” Trey says, lowering his gun. “And as soon as Lillian’s patched, let’s get her in a transport back to Twin Rivers.”

  All of the officers applaud each other for an efficient mission as the cleanup crew begins its work. But as I make my way outside to check on my own team, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right here. Why is Lillian here? The euphorium is long gone, and it isn’t as if someone as important as she needs to be present for moving a stolen drug from one location to another.

  Maybe we just got lucky. It happens from time to time. Except I don’t like to bank on luck.

  Chapter Twelve

  Bryn

  My stomach ties itself in nervous knots as Calder steers us down the abandoned-looking one-lane dirt road that he insists will lead us to the Liberation Front’s headquarters.

  It was hard leaving Connie. Ginger is still at the makeshift infirmary at the high school, and although the Front’s medics say she’ll be able to come home tomorrow morning, they can’t allow Connie to visit. I know she’s in good hands with her grandparents, but part of me feels like I’ve abandoned her.

  Which is ridiculous. Two days ago, I hadn’t even met the girl. She’s much better off with her family. Besides, if I want Ginger and the rest of the residents of Wisdom to be safe from euphorium for good, I’m right where I need to be.

  Taj leans forward from his spot in the back seat and holds out something that looks like a flattened quarter. “Take this.”

  My fingers curl around the medallion automatically. “What is it?”

  The corner of his mouth quirks. “You’re going to need it. And sorry in advance.”