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he
had to tread carefully. She had good reason to be wary. “It’s just that I keep
thinking about what could have happened last night,” he explained, his tone
quiet. “Between that and what you’ve told me about your mother, I’m very
concerned you’re in danger. I don’t think last night was a chance incident,
Lana.”
    “I know that, too, Cole.”
    “Let’s get out of here. We’re not
going to find any answers sitting around here doing nothing.”
    “Let me grab my purse and the
keys.” She left the room without another word.
    Cole watched her walk away and
sighed. Her anxiety reached him even as she walked away. He didn’t know what to
do about it, wasn’t sure anything could be done about it at this point.
    As he waited, his mind wandered
back to the wolf. That was one of the big questions he wanted answered. He had
a few people he could call that may or may not have some information on that
front.
    She walked back into the room a
few moments later and he forced a smile. “Ready?”
    “As ready as I’m ever going to
be,” she said. “We just need to get this over with.” She paused on her way to
the door. “I just want you to know I think this is a waste of time. I don’t
think we’re going to find much at her house.”
    He nodded and hoped like hell
that she was wrong. If she wasn’t, then they didn’t have the first lead other
than a wolf with no scent that could disappear and an intruder that had no
human scent. He was sure they were one and the same. At this point, he hoped
they were. One threat was more than enough.
     
    §§§
     
    The Evil One sat on his haunches
beside Lana’s apartment building, his ears perked as he listened to the sound
of footsteps walking outside. The woman and man were so foolish...so human.
    The man might prove to be a small
obstacle, however. He had not expected him to be a shifter. Even with that
little surprise, he did not worry. He would take care of them both.
    He still wondered how she had
eluded him earlier. She could not have done it alone. He had kept his eye on
her for years and knew she had no real power. The mother had not told the woman
about him, he was sure.
    That left the shifter.
    How the man had managed to shield
the woman from his senses he did not know. Even among shifters, that was not
something he had heard of or even believed possible. Puzzling, granted, but
nothing that concerned him.
    He would prevail.
    Soon he would be at full power
once more. He relished the thought of what he would do to humankind when that
day came.
    The world would be his once again
as soon as he rid it of two simple humans.
    After that…the world would suffer
and bow before him.

 
     
    CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Twenty minutes later, Lana sat
quietly next to him in the car, wondering what he expected to find at her
mother’s house. She had been through the house herself, sorting and sifting
through her things. The things that meant most to her mother—jewelry, antiques,
pictures, knick-knacks—had been placed in storage or taken to her own house and
the rest would be, or had been, taken to the local thrift store. Of course,
some things she couldn’t part with, regardless of how useless they would be.
Some things she kept purely for their sentimental value.
    Throughout her search, she didn’t
find anything that stuck out. Nothing that said ‘Here’s the reason the bad
guys are after you! ’ But let him search. Maybe he would notice something
she hadn’t, or maybe he’d find a hidden room.
    “Make a right at the next light,”
she said, finally breaking the silence. “It’s a pale blue house about a half
mile down on the left. You can’t miss it. It’s the only house for about half a
mile.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, she
saw him nod. “Okay, thanks.”
    Cole pulled into the driveway,
put the car in park, and shut off the engine. “Are you sure you’re okay with
this?”
    Good question . Was she okay
with this?
    A minute passed before she turned
her