Free SHIFT (Mackenzie Grey #1) by Karina Espinosa

wasn’t. I knew I shouldn’t have done what I did but I just had to know. I took off my gloves and touched it.
    It wasn’t paper—it was skin.
    Shit.
     
    Michaels emerged from the building looking exhausted and annoyed, which meant I couldn’t joke with him right now.
    “Let’s go, Grey. This was a waste of time,” he said as he went around to the driver side of the car.
    “We can’t,” I said as I stood on the sidewalk. “Garrett—”
    “Mackenzie, I don’t have the patience for this right now, get in the car!”
    “Shut up and let me finish a goddamn sentence!” I barked and could feel my face turn beet red in anger. It was no easy feat to keep a werewolf temper down. “I found something and you need to call it in.” I lifted the plastic bag that held the evidence I’d found.
    “What is it?”
    “It might be John Hancock—it’s skin.”
    His eyes widened a fraction and he reached for the radio in his pocket to call for backup.
     
    It took over two hours for the troops to canvas the area and re-interview the crazy bitch upstairs who I learned was named Jane Hancock. John was her son. She’d given a wacky story to Michaels about how her son was taken by a shape shifter. I was starting to understand why he’d gotten so frustrated—the lady had a couple screws missing—which sounds absurd coming from a shifter but her whole story was nuts. She said her son was part Fae, in other terms, he’s a fairy.
    “What’s going to happen to Ms. Hancock?” I asked Detective Michaels as we waited for CSI to finish cleaning up.
    “They’re taking her in for a psych evaluation. They didn’t find any drugs in her apartment so she might have a mental disability. We’re still not sure if she even has a son, it could be all in her head,” he said and looked to me. “Good catch today, Grey. I guess there might still be hope for you in the force.”
    I snorted.
    “But the next time you tell me to shut up, I’m dropping you from your internship.” With that he walked away and left me to flick him off. The jerk.
    “I saw that, Grey. Now go home and enjoy your holidays.”
     
    It was late in the afternoon when I made it back to James apartment where I found Amy sprawled out on his couch waiting for me. Her flaming red hair was picked up in a messy bun and all her tattoos were covered up by her winter clothes.
    “It’s about time your ass came home. You can’t avoid me forever, Kenz.”
    “I’m not trying to avoid you, we had a break in the case today and I found it!” I was so giddy I was about to jump out of my skin—no pun intended.
    I took off my coat and pushed Amy’s legs aside so I could sit beside her.
    “Kenz, I’m happy for you, really,” she started and I steeled myself for what was coming, “but when were you going to tell me James was coming home with us? You don’t owe him shit. Don’t do the bastard any favors.”
    “I know, but—”
    James burst into the living room where we had been sleeping for the past couple days and he was out of breath and sweating—which would be fine if it wasn’t cold outsides.
    “What the hell—”
    “Kenz!” he yelled when Jonah, Jackson and Sebastian barged into the apartment behind him, filling it with their oppressive frames. I wanted to giggle but had to swallow it. James looked like the nerd he was in high school standing next to these guys. But right now was not the time to be thinking about that.
    “I swear, the bad guys always get you just as you’re about to make your getaway,” I said as I threw my hands up in the air. This was total bullshit. I was not even two hours away from leaving this damn city.
    “Who the heck are these guys, Kenz?” James squealed and Jackson grabbed him from the collar of his coat.
    “We wouldn’t have found you if this loser didn’t reek of your scent. Is he your boyfriend?” Jackson asked. I didn’t answer right away because I was watching the reaction of the other two werewolves in the room.