Reaching out, I wrapped my fingers around the polished silver and waited for the soft click. No turning back now. I stepped through, nodding curtly at Squirrel Butler before I dipped down the rear hall. I took a roundabout path, stopping in random rooms, checking for people. No one seemed to be here, or at least not on the lower levels as I crept into the downstairs hallway. I paused outside the mine door to extend one of my claws. Picking the lock was the work of ten seconds.
Another minute and the bottom of my boots met the stone floor of the mines. The scent of sweat now mingled with the earthy smell I had grown used to. Everything felt off down here, and I wasn’t talking about the unusual pull on my stomach. Even the stone walls seemed to understand that something terrible was going to happen. I swallowed hard and crept along. No voices echoed from the mining chambers, no click of heels resonated from Jocelyn’s pacing. Everything was painfully, unnaturally silent.
I could see relatively well in the dark. Well enough that I wasn’t concerned about light as I slunk into the dim lab room. The password warning flickered brightly from the computer in the corner.
“I’ll deal with you next,” I muttered.
Having a plan made me feel better. My chest tightened when I paused, so I simply kept moving. Tried to focus on my task. The fight with Tarik taunted my thoughts, images and words replaying in waves. I shoved them away roughly. Tarik’s split second of hesitation before his final words to me pushed to the forefront, words he apparently thought I deserved.
That was goodbye.
My throat closed, a knot wedged in the middle. I tried to swallow and choked instead.
Focus. I needed to focus. The medicine cabinet was on the far wall. I moved forward and studied the case, rapping a finger against the glass. The tiny sound echoed, louder than I had expected. I stilled, listened. Silence. The glass was thick, and the lock didn’t have a hole to pick. I drummed my fingertips across my forehead, whispering, “There has to be something.”
My eyes slid to the small metal hinges that ran down the side of the cabinet door. I pulled in a sharp breath. This could be risky. I scanned the shelves. Everything Benji’s mother would need was here—vitamins, pain medicines, supplements.
Dark, auburn curls and amber eyes flooded my thoughts. Skipping feet, a joyful laugh. My jaw clenched.
I had to do this.
But I wouldn’t make the same mistakes as before. I wouldn’t get caught.
Benji wouldn’t become her.
With only a second of hesitation, I watched as my index finger shortened, a long claw extending from the end. I raked the point down the metal of the first hinge. The steel resisted, so I turned to the screws holding them in place. My nail was pointed enough that, with my shifter strength, I could twist the large screw loose. This was going to take a while.
I took my time though, one screw after another, carefully holding the door with my free hand. When the final hinge slipped loose I almost sighed in relief—until the full weight of the door shoved against my arm and I slipped.
The glass shattered.
Air froze in my lungs. My pulse flew to a thundering rhythm, drowning my thoughts. Echoes of the crash still reverberated through the room and caverns surrounding. I waited, positive that Squirrel Butler must have heard the crash. Seconds passed. Minutes, maybe. Then I heard them. Heeled shoes clacking across stone. I grimaced, searching the room.
The shower—bunched white curtains trailed the tile floor. I moved as quickly as I dared, pulling the sheet around me. The stifling scent of new plastic overwhelmed my senses. My heart raced as the heels stopped outside the room. Lights flicked on. I slowed my breathing, tried to still my arms and legs as they shook with adrenaline.
“What the hell—” Jocelyn’s heels clicked closer before they faded into a soft shuffle—like she was on her toes. Silence fell, then a frustrated sigh. I didn’t dare move.
More small shuffles reached my ears, and the clatter of glass shards, then the heels retreated from the room. This was too easy. All I had to do was grab what I needed and get out.
But the footsteps returned before I could move, and she wasn’t alone this time.
“. . . was coming to get you, sir.”
“What happened?” Fresh waves of fear washed over me at the second voice. If Mordecai heard me, if he saw me . . . I begged my heart to be a little quieter.
“This cabinet door fell. I don’t know how.”
Glass crunched. More swearing. “Who installed this unit?”
“Um, I’m not sure, but I could check with the installation staff.” Jocelyn’s voice trembled.
“Fire anyone who had a hand in these cabinets. Execute one, make the others watch. Sloppy handiwork will not be tolerated in my city.”
No . . .
A shifter would die for this? I swallowed the bile that raced up my throat. Damnit. This was the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.
“Yes, sir. I’ll have one of the maintenance staff come down here in the morning and clean up the glass.”
Mordecai’s footsteps retreated a bit, then paused. The rapid tap of computer keys filled the silence. “See that you do. And order a replacement door.”
“Yes, sir.”
He left and a weight fell off my shoulders. The terror that had risen in my chest faded. Jocelyn was at the computer now, her fingers skimming over the keys. She was silent otherwise; apparently Mordecai made her more nervous than she cared to say. Or maybe she hated that he had appointed her to pick a shifter for execution. An innocent employee.
And, since an Enforcer was required to be at executions, I would be the one to oversee it. Mordecai liked to remind
