Into The Dragon's World - Brittany White Page 0,19

“You’re not going to go after him, are you? Just call the police.”

“I can’t,” Brady said, gently placing his hands over her shoulders. “This is shifter business. It stays among shifters.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Casey shook her head, frowning. “Brady, if you go after him, he will kill you.”

Brady couldn’t help but flash a quick smirk. “I think I might be able to give him a fight.”

“Just don’t get cocky about it.” Casey wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. He gathered her close and rested his cheek against the top of her head. “If you get hurt, I’ll kill you.”

“Noted,” Brady said with a quick kiss to her temple. “Go upstairs and get comfortable. I’ve got to call a friend.”

She nodded and allowed Jasmine to lead her away, looking back at Brady as he watched them go. Casey was no delicate flower, but the realization that something terrible could happen to her so easily made his stomach churn. Human lives were so fragile.

He took his cell out of his pocket and called up a number. It picked up on the third ring.

“Arno.” The voice on the phone was hoarse. “What’s up?”

“Zack, I need some help.” Brady glanced toward his office and saw Jasmine and Casey go inside. “It’s not official police business, but...you might want to bring your gun.”

12

Brady

Brady was already at Casey’s apartment when Zack got there. Zack looked, as usual, as if he’d just rolled out of bed. He probably had, leaving the girl du jour there to wait for him. There were two things Zack excelled at: being a cop and attracting women. Brady figured that someday, one or the other would end up killing him.

“Hey,” Zack said as he walked up. “Have you been up there yet?”

Brady shook his head. “No. He might not even be there.”

“I hate stalker cases,” Zack said as they walked into the apartment building. “Fucking losers taking out all their incel fury on women who did nothing to ‘em.”

“That about sums this whole case up.” Brady glanced over at him. Zack Arno didn’t look like anybody’s idea of a cop. When he wasn’t trying to pass as a strung-out junkie, he looked more like a rock star, all shaggy hair, scruffy beard, and black leather. The look helped him blend in, though, working undercover with the narcotics task force. When he smiled, he looked positively fierce, almost more wolfish than when he shifted into a gray wolf.

“So, who’s the chick?”

They stepped into the elevator and punched the fifth floor.

“Her name’s Casey Donahue,” Brady said with a faint smile. “And if she heard you call her a chick, she’d probably kick your ass.”

“Who’s stalking her?”

“Professor at her school.” The elevator dinged and they stepped out. Casey’s apartment was at the very end of the hallway, but Brady could already see the damage to the door. “Shit.”

Zack eased his pistol out from beneath his jacket, nodding to Brady. They walked down the hallway silently, easing towards the apartment. The door had been knocked off its hinges and hung in the frame. Zack held up a hand to Brady—stay back—and edged into the apartment. Brady waited impatiently while Zack searched each room.

“It’s clear!” Zack finally shouted. “Come on in.”

“Holy shit,” Brady whispered as he looked around the apartment. It had been totally destroyed. The clothing piled on Casey’s floor lay in shreds soaked with urine. The walls and furniture had been slashed.

“Stalker boy?” Zack asked.

Brady raised his brows and nodded. “Oh, yeah. Definitely stalker boy.”

They separated as they moved through the apartment. Brady glanced into the kitchen while Zack headed into Casey’s bedroom.

“Yo, Brady!”

Brady hurried to the bedroom, almost afraid of what he might find. He stopped in the doorway beside Zack. Casey’s bed was torn to pieces. Everything in the room that could be picked up and destroyed lay in piles. The stench of urine was breathtaking.

All that fell away as Brady saw the message written over Casey’s bed: U WILL BE WITH ME. It looked as if it had been written in blood. He sniffed the air. Bear shifter blood.

“I don’t think this is gonna be your average stalker,” Zack said quietly. Brady glanced over at him. For once, the usually unflappable Zack Arno looked disturbed. “I think we got some real trouble about to go down.”

“Yeah.” Brady slowly nodded. “I think so, too.”

Where are you, you bastard?

Brady stood at the edge of the rooftop of Casey’s building, looking out at the city. Evan Wallace was out there