Free The Promised One (The Turning Stone Chronicles) by C. D. Hersh

with my lifestyle. You and Baron were alike. Why did you throw away an opportunity like that?”
    Sylvia relaxed into the back of her chair and chuckled, her mouth drawn into arrogant smile. “Now I get it. This isn’t about Baron and me. It’s really about you and your missing love life.”
    Alexi shoved her drink into the center of the table and snatched the photos. “This conversation is over. You don’t know anything about me, yet you have the gall to make suppositions about my life.”
    “I’m a profiler. It’s my job to figure people out. I can read you so easily, so get over it.”
    Alexi dropped the photos into her purse. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears so loud it nearly drowned out the music in the bar. “I think I know why Baron broke up with you. You’re an obnoxious woman.” She stood to leave, and Sylvia seized her arm.
    A shot of electricity bolted through Alexi and set her skin tingling. She glanced down at the hand gripping her arm. The colors in the stone of Sylvia’s magic ring swirled.
    “Sit down, Alexi,” Sylvia said sharply.
    When Alexi didn’t move, Sylvia tightened her grip. A distinct image of a wounded bird trapped by a cat flashed through Alexi’s mind. She shook off Sylvia’s hold.
    Sylvia’s black eyes smoldered and her mouth drew into a straight line. “We’re not finished.” She slipped her wallet out of her purse, pulled a picture from it, and slapped it on the table. “This is why Baron and I broke up.”
    Alexi picked up the picture. A young Sylvia, in a wedding dress, and Baron in a tuxedo stared back at her. Alexi flipped the photo over and discovered her mother’s neat handwriting on the back. “This is the missing picture. But if you were married, then why—”
    “It was a secret marriage. I told you the Council disapproved. When they found out we were married, they insisted Baron get an annulment. They threatened to relieve him of his council duties. He didn’t want to lose his council seat or the respect that came with it. He chose the Society over me.”
    Stunned, Alexi sat. That didn’t sound like the Baron she knew. He’d sacrificed everything to protect her life. Had he walked away from his marriage to Sylvia to protect her, too? Had she misunderstood his reason for leaving?
    “I’m sorry,” Alexi said quietly. “That must have been very painful.”
    “I hope now you can understand why I want to know how he died. Did he mention me?”
    “I don’t know. He was murdered in what we believe to be a mugging.”
    “And his ring?”
    “Gone. I don’t know who has it.”
    Sylvia leaned forward, her voice urgent. “It’s imperative you get that ring back, Alexi.”
    “I know, but I don’t know where to start.”
    “Let me help. I have connections.”
    Alexi hesitated. Having another shifter to work with would make things much easier. She missed Baron’s council. He’d loved Sylvia—she knew that now—but not more than his life’s work. She understood that. She felt the same way about Rhys and her job.
    “Let me help, please. I want to catch the person who killed the man I love.”
    The man she loves. Not loved. If she still cares for Baron, can I trust her? Will that make her motives purer? She laid her left hand over Sylvia’s. The colors in Alexi’s bloodstone ring swirled, and another power surge raced through her arm.
    “Okay. You can help me find Baron’s killer. But when we do, legal justice will take over, not revenge.”
    Sylvia nodded. “Agreed.”
    Alexi hoped they both could keep that promise when the time came.

Chapter 11
    Rhys glanced at his watch. Alexi was running out of time. Five women, who’d gone into the building after Alexi, had already come out. Would he have to go into that hormone-filled office and track her down?
    His mind raced with attack scenarios. Someone had followed her into the exam room. A hit man had killed the doctor and cancelled all the appointments, except Alexi’s.
    He snapped off the radio,