Flirting Under a Full Moon - By Ashlyn Chase Page 0,40
do I.” Anthony rose and strolled toward the bar. He waved over Angie and Brandee.
When the two of them stood close enough to speak in low tones, he said. “I’m going to have Sadie stay after closing. She’ll make contact from down here. Hopefully, she’ll be able to make whatever is hanging around move on.”
Brandee placed a fist on her hip. “If she can talk to the spirit from down here, why did she have to go into our apartment last night?”
“She said it probably avoids people. Since she’s never around when the bar is empty, she wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make contact with whatever shy spirit could be here. That’s another reason you girls should feel plenty safe.”
Brandee and Angie stared at each other.
“Do you feel safe, yet, Ange?”
Angie lifted one finger to say, “just a sec,” to a patron who was trying to get her attention. “I have to go, but let us know what she finds as soon as you can. I’ll feel better when this spirit thing moves on or goes into the light, or whatever it is they do.”
She scurried off, but Brandee was still looking at Anthony as if she had more questions.
“Have you heard from Nick?” she asked.
“Uh—yes, but I doubt he’ll be in tonight.”
“Coward,” she muttered and strode off to pick up an order.
***
Nick had another case, and just in time too. He needed something to focus on other than how hugely he had screwed up with Brandee, and he was getting nowhere on the identity of Katie’s kidnapper. But tonight the full moon would demand he shift. He only had time for some basic research on the assignment before he met the rest of the pack.
This new case was becoming an embarrassment to the department. It should have been solved by now. He didn’t wonder why they’d finally come to him. It had the stamp of paranormal all over it.
Banks were being robbed by seemingly invisible perps. Captain Hunter had managed to get some camera footage from one such heist to Nick.
Nick was scanning the footage over and over. Finally, he slowed it way down. A faint blur appeared and Nick thought he knew what he was after, but not who. A vampire could move so fast he’d be undetected by the naked eye or cameras. It fit with the rest of the story too—except in one important way. Vampires couldn’t pull this off during the day, and these robberies occurred only when the vault was opened. Someone was taking advantage of the short time it took to load or unload the vault. Unmarked cash—a few banded stacks at a time—seemed to disappear unnoticed until the next time the books were reconciled.
Shit. He couldn’t slow the footage enough to see a body or face. Stopping it on a blur only showed a dull wash of gray. Nick’s mind wandered to Brandee. How she’d worn gray that first night she followed him. Most of her red hair had been covered by a hoodie. The memory had nothing to do with the case, but everything reminded him of Brandee.
He glanced at his watch. He had just enough time to hop the train to Newton and meet up with the pack before the full moon. He usually arrived early to visit with his brother and sister-in-law before heading to the wooded area behind the school where the pack shifted. But tonight he’d have to go straight there.
After closing and putting away his computer, Nick’s mind drifted back to Brandee. Again. It was probably a good thing he had no time to chat with his brother before the shift. Now he wouldn’t have to tell him about finding his true mate, only to screw up royally. He’d wait until he’d repaired things with Brandee. A little voice in the back of his mind said, If you can patch things up.
He squashed that thought. He had to fix this. Roses, candy, holding a boom box playing a romantic song under her window…he’d do whatever. Hell, if he had to confess all his secrets—including his paranormal identity—to earn back her trust, he’d do it. Mother Nature and the Council be damned. But did he dare take the chance of scaring Brandee to death? He was almost positive she was his one true mate. No one had ever affected him the way she did…and he doubted anyone ever would.
***
Brandee had managed to talk Sadie into letting her stay in the bar after-hours to watch her communicate