the man passed the alleyway, then slipped out to follow him. At the crosswalk, he moved over to their side of the street, then continued heading toward where they’d parked. A few blocks later, he turned off Crystal Drive onto a smaller side road.
She and Landon got to the corner just in time to see the man turn again, this time darting into an alley. Then they heard the sound of running feet.
“Shit,” Landon muttered. “He made us already.”
Chasing a guy, especially one who might be a shifter, when they didn’t know a damn thing about him probably wasn’t the smartest thing in the world, but she and Landon didn’t have much choice. This whole op was a bust if they didn’t get a good look at him.
She and Landon cautiously peeked around the edge of the building. The alley was a dead end. Overcoat was nowhere in sight. Ivy pulled her weapon. Beside her, Landon did the same. Since she had a better sense of smell, her husband let her lead the way, but he stayed close. Ivy’s nose led her straight to the back corner of the alley.
She shoved her gun in the holster at her hip. “He climbed the wall. I’ll go after him.”
“Not without me,” Landon said. “I don’t have claws, remember?”
“But I do,” she reminded him.
Her husband scowled. “I don’t like it. This could be a setup.”
She’d already considered that. “I know, but my kitty senses aren’t tingling. First hint of trouble and I’m off that roof like a shot. I promise.”
Landon’s jaw flexed. “Okay. But be careful.”
“I will. Head around to Jefferson Davis to see if he comes out that side.”
Landon kissed her hard on the mouth, then disappeared down the alley.
Ivy extended her claws just enough to get a purchase on the cracks between the bricks, then climbed. She got to the top of the three-story building thirty seconds later. That was more time than the strange smelling shifter had taken to scale the same building. Whoever the guy was, he was a better climber than she was, and faster, too.
His scent was easy to pick up on the roof, mostly because it was so unique. Ivy pulled her SIG and followed it, careful to scan the rooftop as she went.
The trail didn’t lead to Jefferson Davis like she thought. Instead, it led her along the rooftop parallel to Crystal Drive. She was forced to cross several low walls and navigate around a couple of HVAC units before she ran out of buildings. She leaned over the edge of the roof she was on. Below was a cross street between Crystal Drive and Jefferson Davis. There were hardly any street lamps, and no stores to speak of. No one would have seen the guy climb down. He could be five blocks away by now.
Dammit.
Ivy holstered her gun and slipped down the wall to the street, landing lightly on the sidewalk in front of a darkened shop window. She sniffed the air and groaned. No wonder the mysterious shifter had come this way. The wind whipping down this street would make picking up a scent trail nearly impossible. The guy was good. He’d known there was another shifter on his trail.
She’d just pulled out her cell phone to let Landon know where she was when her kitty alarm went nuts. A split second later, she felt a prickling sensation along her back as someone dropped down soundlessly behind her. Crap. He’d somehow hidden on the wall and waited for her to climb right past him. What the hell kind of shifter could camouflage himself so well?
She breathed in, imprinting his strange scent on her memory. That was when she picked up another scent, one more familiar. She’d smelled it on the slim woman from the jungles of Costa Rica, the one who’d led them to the research compound.
Ivy forced herself to relax, ready to twist and slash at his face before diving to the side and drawing her SIG. She didn’t know who this guy was, but he’d made a mistake if he thought he could sneak up on her just because her back was turned.
But the sudden pressure of something round and hard pressed into her back stopped her cold.
“Don’t move, Ms. Halliwell.”
His voice was a slow, sibilant whisper in her ear, and for some strange reason, her body obeyed his command without any conscious thought on her part. She bit back a hiss as the fog cleared and forced her head to