The Wolf Within Read Free Page B

with my coffee.
     
    ***
     
    Two and a bit hours later my head was throbbing with renewed vigor and my stomach churning. But I couldn’t blame it on the hangover or the painful hour I’d spent with Elena Anderson trying to pry info from her that would help me track down her soon-to-be ex’s money. No, this time, the pain was all about the rest of my day and what I was about to do.
    Revisit the past I’d run so hard from.
    The Taskforce has its headquarters in one of the nondescript, don’t-even-think-about-a-government-agency-being-here buildings that the FBI has around Seattle. It was gray and square and boring. As long as you didn’t notice the high number of cameras pointing at you as soon as you walked in the door or the higher than usual number of guards manning the lobby.
    I made it through the scanners, submitted my briefcase and purse for inspection and then walked to the reception desk.
    “Ashley Keenan. I’m here to see Daniel Gibson,” I said, not knowing if that was the right way to ask. Was it Agent Gibson? Or Special Agent Gibson?
    “Yes, ma’am.” The guy behind the desk had a crew cut and a suit stretched uncomfortably over a body built like a bulldozer. “I’ll call you through.”
    He picked up a phone and a few minutes later an icy looking blonde emerged from one of the elevator banks and made her way over to me. “Ms. Keenan?”
    I nodded.
    “Come with me please.” She pivoted neatly on her three-inch heels and, without looking to see if I was following, headed back to the elevators. She moved with the kind of innate grace that made me think she wasn’t human. But as I hurried after her, I didn’t quite get close enough to judge whether she was vamp or were. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know.
    She was beautiful whatever species she was and I was busy telling the tiny part of my mind that was all “Daniel works with her ?” to shut the fuck up. And thanking the stupid side of me which had tried on about five different outfits this morning before settling on my favorite don’t-mess-with-me-I-do-designer suit. And the heels that brought the top of my head just about up to Amazon girl’s chin. And I’m five nine in the heels.
    But once we were in the elevator, heading down rather than up, it became perfectly obvious she was a were of some kind. She wasn’t still enough to be a vamp and standing next to her made my skin tingle in the way I associated with shifters. Something to do with their aura or magic or whatever it is that lets them change or perhaps their revved up metabolisms means weres tend to give off energy. Some people feel it and I’m one of them.
    If I’m not careful, it can result in a kind of contact high. Dealing with Dan with a buzz on wouldn’t be the brightest thing I could do. I shifted half a step further away from her and her head turned.
    “You can feel me?”
    I nodded again.
    She frowned. “But you’re human?”
    “Lots of humans can feel weres,” I pointed out.
    “Most don’t feel me.”
    Probably because they were too busy gazing in lust—or envy if they were female—at the perfection of her face, all high cheekbones and large dark blue eyes. I squished down the little green monster. “Lucky me.”
    She looked annoyed. I have no idea why. I hoped she wasn’t one of the weres who thought humans were inferior. It was going to be bad enough working with Daniel without adding a snippy alpha bitch to the bargain. Or maybe she was a feline. Werewolves are most common type of shifter in the US but there are a few groups of big cat weres. I’d never met one but if they were going to show up anywhere, the Taskforce seemed likely.
    The elevator came to a smooth halt and the doors slid open. There was a brief flash of red that told me I’d just been subjected to a full body scan, then Ms. Blonde moved forward. “If you’ll follow me, Ms. Keenan.”
    I stepped out, trying to scan my surroundings discreetly. I’d never had any actual involvement with