A Hippogriff for Christmas - Zoe Chant Page 0,58

the corridor outside.

The coast was clear – too clear for Beau’s liking.

He guessed that the fight he’d started downstairs would be well and truly subdued by now, and so he couldn’t rely on the guards no longer being at their posts anymore.

But even when he pushed his shifter hearing and senses to their limits without actually shifting, he couldn’t detect any danger.

But that, in itself, seemed somewhat strange to him.

Within him, his hippogriff shifted about uneasily.

I dislike this.

I know, he told it, as he began making his way down the corridor, pulling Scott with him. But we don’t have another choice right now. Let’s find Annie and go.

This was the most dangerous part of the mission. Up until now, he’d done nothing suspicious. But leaving an area of the house he obviously wasn’t supposed to be in, dragging a man these shifters were obviously trying to hold captive… well, this was the tricky part.

Going down a small staircase leading down from the corridor, they reached a large set of doors, different to the one he’d come in by. Beau paused, cocking his ears to listen. Beyond the doors he could just make out the general chatter of the party and he guessed they probably let out onto the mezzanine above the foyer, directly across from the poker room where Annie would still be playing.

Scott was fidgeting with the hat Beau had disguised him with, until Beau reached up and pulled it down again.

“The only thing you need to do now is keep quiet and act like you’ve had too much to drink,” he said in a low, harsh, whisper. “Think you can do that?”

Scott looked like he might argue for a moment, but then he nodded.

All right. Moment of truth.

He supposed if there was a security guard he hadn’t been able to detect on the other side of the door, he could always tell them he’d just been trying to find a more private bathroom for Scott to throw up in.

Beau gently pushed open the door. No angry face popped around from the other side to demand what he thought he was doing, so Beau continued to ease the door open, until they could make their way out onto the mezzanine.

So far, so good. Now to get Annie and get out of here.

Once they were out of the house, he’d set off the low-frequency signal that would let the Shifter Patrol Corps agents waiting to enter the premises know that they were clear, and Annie and Scott were no longer in danger of getting caught up in things.

I’d like to know more about this ‘boss’, Beau thought grimly as he dragged Scott – who was in fact doing a great job of acting like he was too drunk to walk properly – toward the poker room.

But there’d be time for that later. His job was finding Scott and getting him out of the way. He couldn’t lose focus on that. Anything else he wanted to know he would find out during his debriefing.

Glancing around to check for any security guards who might have clocked them, Beau felt his blood beginning to simmer as he took in the outrageously luxurious surroundings.

He was usually extremely level-headed and easygoing. But the idea that there were some shifters who used their abilities for a life of crime had never sat well with him – and whoever had built this place had obviously had a lot of success in whatever their criminal ventures were.

Obviously, evenings like these would have raked in cash. But Beau was willing to bet that illegal gambling parties were the culmination of this ‘boss’s’ criminal ambition, and they sat on top of a pile of other illegal ventures.

Especially if their go-to solution when it comes to forcing someone to pay their debts is arson, Beau thought grimly.

That didn’t really suggest someone who was new to the game.

I do not care about this ‘boss’, whoever they are, his hippogriff spoke up snippily, ruffling its wings and shifting its clawed front feet uneasily. All I care about it getting our mate out of danger. Nothing else matters.

The hippogriff had a point. Beau’s focus had to be laser-sharp until Annie was out of here, safe and sound.

He arrived at the door of the poker room. The guard posted in the corner didn’t give him a second glance, but the woman who’d welcomed them and changed Annie’s chips for her gave Beau a knowing glance as she looked at Scott’s limp figure.

Beau grimaced, rolling his