Nick chewed his bottom lip pensively.
“There have been several cases of female shifters disappearing…or even being murdered recently. There is something sinister going on, but I’m not sure what. Lucy’s disappearance might have something to do with this case.”
Lana’s heart jumped out of her chest. It was beating a million miles an hour and felt as though a jack hammer was pounding on it.
Nick correctly predicted her thoughts. “She hasn’t been found among the dead, and there are several female shifters who are simply missing. We may have a collector on our hands. If so, then Lucy will be alive. We’ll find her,” Nick promised.
After they had talked for a couple of hours, Nick bought her some food and took her to a nice hotel room. He paid for a couple of nights for her.
He showed her how to use the key card. Then, he handed her a cellphone and showed her how to contact him.
“If you need anything, call me. I’ll be here within fifteen minutes. I only live a couple of blocks away.”
He looked deep into her eyes. “We’ll find Lucy. I promise.” Then, he left.
Lana looked around the room, feeling antsy.
I need to be out there looking for Lucy. However, she didn’t know where to start. Nick promised to help her and something in her soul told her that she could trust Nick.
Not sure what else to do, Lana decided to take another shower. She really liked how the warm water felt as it cascaded over her body.
Images of Nick’s face arose unbidden while she was standing under the hot water. His chiseled features were arresting. His entire body commanded attention. Her fingers itched to spread across his powerful chest. She licked her lips, wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
Then, Lana stopped her thoughts.
Where had they come from? Lana had never so much as looked at a male in that way. Now, all of the sudden, she was acting like a lovelorn teenager.
The cold air hit her as she stepped out of the shower. She remembered to dry off instead of shaking the now-cool water droplets from her body.
Wrapping herself up, she made her way to the soft bed and plopped onto it.
The bed was so soft and seemed to envelop her. Soon, her eyelids were so heavy, she couldn’t hold them open. She was just about to sleep when a strange noise woke her.
She looked around the room and saw a light coming from the phone that Nick had given her. She pushed the green button and his voice came through.
“Can you meet me out front of the hotel? Another shifter has been found,” he said.
Lana nodded, and then realized he couldn’t see her.
“I’ll be there.”
She hurriedly dressed and, remembering to slip the room key and the phone into her pocket, she hurried downstairs.
Nick was waiting in one of the roaring beasts with wheels.
He opened the door for her, and she slid in beside him.
“I shouldn’t be taking you to a crime scene,” he said. “But something tells me that this has something to do with your sister.”
They sped through the streets, arriving faster than Lana could believe. Nick told the officers on the scene that Lana was with him.
“Her name was Carrie,” one of the officers told him. The officer was a shifter and had recognized her type. “She was a spotted deer shifter.”
As Lana stared at what was left of the young woman, her heart broke. She hastily wiped away the couple of tears that trekked down her cheek.
The once-beautiful deer had been ripped to shreds, her body burned.
“This looks like the work of a dragon shifter,” the same officer said softly.
Lana agreed.
Nick said, “This is the third one in less than three months that we’ve found like this.”
“Whoever is doing this has to be stopped,” the officer said.
Lana reached out to hold the hand of the girl, wanting to comfort her in the afterlife. Nick gently grabbed her hand.
“Don’t touch anything. There might be some evidence left that we could use to find out who the monster is that would do such a thing.”
Lana bit back her protest, but understood. She didn’t want to do anything that would keep them from stopping the dragon shifter who murdered this beautiful creature.
Nick spoke with the officers for a while and organized a search for evidence. However, he, like everyone else, knew that they wouldn’t find anything. The dragon shifter was clearly smart.
“Everyone makes mistakes, though. I will catch you when you do,” Nick said to himself.
Lana looked at him, hearing his words. She could feel his pain and anger over what happened to Carrie. That made him even more attractive than he had been before.
After an hour, Nick took Lana back to the hotel.
“Lock your door and don’t let anyone, except for me, in here. By now, whoever has your sister likely knows you are here,” Nick said.
He hesitated, as though he were going to say something else. Then, he kissed her on the cheek and left.
Lana locked the doors behind him.
She was now more frightened than ever. Did the monster who hurt Carrie have her sister? If so, how long would Lucy be kept alive? Why would the monster kill some of the shifters and not others, if they were still alive?
A million thoughts ran through Lana’s head, until exhausted, she fell asleep, her head on the feathery pillows.
She was dreaming about dragons, deer, Lucy and Nick, when the phone went off again. It was Nick again.
Drowsy, she answered the phone. “Hello. Nick? Please tell me there hasn’t been another one.”
“I’m sorry to wake you. There hasn’t been another death, but I found out some information you
