didn’t
have to go back there. “I can try.”
Dirk leaned over and kissed
her. “Clay will be your shopping guide today.”
While she needed shoes, only
now did it occur to her that Dirk was walking straight into danger. Her heart
seized.
Chapter Six
Clay tried to convince Dirk
to let him go to the warehouse district instead.
No.
I need to get out of here. It’s for Elena’s own good .
Last night had changed
something in him. Dirk had slept with a lot of women, but none as special as Elena.
Her level of trust turned him inside out. He never dwelled on how his father
walked out on his mother and never returned, nor did he have the desire to find
out what happened to the old man, but he did yearn for a family.
Other than Clay, he hadn’t
allowed himself to get close to anyone. He loved women and enjoyed their
bodies, but he hadn’t made a connection with any of them like he had with Elena.
As much as he wanted to go slow, his body kept prodding him to speed up. Twice
his fangs had extended and his bones had cracked, and twice he’d had to force
his mind to the Colters to stop the change.
He almost regretted going
into the bathroom this morning. He knew she was in there. He’d heard the shower
running. What the fuck had he expected to find—Elena standing at the sink
fully clothed? She must think he only wanted her for sex. Walking out of the
bathroom wasn’t cool either, but he hadn’t trusted himself.
Dirk left and then relayed
Elena’s description of the warehouse location to headquarters. The general
asked if he needed help.
“I’m only there to find the
right spot, not to capture a bunch of Colters.”
“See that you don’t stir up a
mess.”
As he drove down Seaside
Drive, he slowed to check out the area. The seaport was expansive and dotted
with a ton of metal buildings. If there were two windows on one end of Elena’s
warehouse, it was possible she was housed in a building attached to another. Shit . This wasn’t going to be easy.
Dirk drove up and down
Seaside Drive until he spotted a building with red lettering. Across the road,
set far back, was a lone warehouse that fit the description. He parked and got
out with his camera phone in hand. Tourists wouldn’t come here, so he needed to
be as discreet as possible. He videoed both the building
across the street and the potential warehouse where Elena might have been held.
Unsure if she’d recognize the
building from the side, he strode toward the warehouse for a better angle.
While there were no fences or no
trespassing signs, he didn’t want to attract attention by walking right up
to it. Instead, he headed to an area a few buildings down. If he came in from
the rear and took the picture from there, his chances of being spotted were
slimmer.
As he inched closer, his
senses shot to high alert. A werewolf was near. Many wolves, both good and bad,
worked the docks, so he couldn’t conclude this one was a Colter. He slipped his
camera phone in his pocket and acted as if he belonged there. Several vans were
parked in front, and cranes sat two buildings over. A large tug was in dry
dock.
He got within three feet of
the side door and sensed a werewolf inside. He moved closer and tested the
door. It was locked. Fuck .
Time to retreat . He stepped behind one of the vans and kept an eye on the
exit believing the person would investigate his handle jiggling. While he
waited, he emailed the video of the area to Clay. He’d show it to Elena. He also texted the werewolf’s presence.
Time seemed to slow the
moment the door to the warehouse squeaked open. The werewolf would know another
member of the clan was nearby, but hopefully he wouldn’t assume it was a member
of the Pack. Best case scenario, he’d conclude Dirk
belonged to Hood’s team.
As soon as the large man
stuck out his head, Dirk snapped a picture and sent it to Clay. This guy could
be her Russian guard. The question was if he worked alone. Colters often
recruited humans