Page 35 of Touched

“I know how much you want this, LeBlanc, but your informant gave you bad intel.”

The fuck he did. I’m sitting here staring at them!

If they’re not going to help me bring the Trahan brothers in, I guess I’m doing this on my own. I’m not letting them slip through my fingers, yet again. I check the chamber of my Glock… I’m locked and loaded.Ready.I snap, “Fuck this. I’m going in.”

Moving from the safety of the midnight shadows into the warehouse floodlights, I brandish my weapon and keep my head on a swivel. “Police! Drop your weapons!” I call out. Chaos rings in my ear, muddling my clarity, so, I yank the earpiece free, hoping the rest of my team will follow suit, once they realize I’m the only one with eyes on these bastards.

A warning shot whips by my head, so close it ruffles my hair, and my heart thumps erratically. But I keep my cool as I approach. Once again, I scream out my warning. “You’re surrounded! Lower your weapons! Now!”

There’s a large piece of metal machinery near the center of the warehouse. Acting swiftly, I take up position behind it, taking cover to protect myself from any more stray shots that may come my way. My new position still gives me ample room to see them and maneuver, if I have to, while remaining protected.

The first brother, Derek, stands at the rear end of the box truck as I take up position, leveling my gun at him. He pauses his unloading, a crate still in his hands, to stare at me with surprise in his dark, fathomless eyes. He growls, actually growls, something to the person standing directly to his left. I’m unable to see who it is, but instinct tells me it’s another brother… The unloading abruptly stops.

Trahans number one, two, and three all step into the light. The shadows they cast against the wall directly behind them give the illusion they’re eight feet tall. As I study their rigid, almost inhuman movements, I realize, that may not be an overestimation of their massive size. These guys are huge and are stalking straight toward me at lightning speed.

Whoa! What the hell?

I easily squeeze out three consecutive shots at the middle brother.

He continues his persistent pace in my direction, completely unfazed. I know I hit him with a close grouping straight to the chest.

I didn’t miss.

I never miss.

Have my shots gone straight through this guy? What is he on, in order to not have even felt a sting?

What the hell did I just get myself into?

The closer they get to me, the more horrific the scene becomes. These men— if I can call them that— don’t look like men anymore. They’ve changed shape right in front of my eyes. They’remorphing.Before I can grasp what the hell is going on, the one I’ve put three rounds into stops just short of where I’m taking cover.

He… no,itsniffs the air, like some kind of animal. “Sylph,” he growls low, baring sharp teeth that aredefinitelynot human.

What the…

Growling again, he takes two more long strides in my direction. His huge hairy fists clench at his sides.

What the fuck are they?

Taken aback, I fall backward, landing heavily on my ass and elbows and losing my grip on my Glock. It slides, almost in slow motion, across the concrete.

Blinking rapidly, I try to focus as I scurry backward, out of reach of this…thing. It morphs between human and animal with every blink, reminding me of the Glamor Aeris told me about. It’s as if they’re trying very hard to cover their true forms and remain human, but I can see right through it. Their shields are faltering.

Am I the only one who can see the Trahan brothers? Is that what’s happening?

Is my team seeing this right now?

No, they aren’t. That’s why they called off the bust.

Are the Trahans… Fae? Like Aeris?

No, these bastards are something different entirely. I’m just not sure what.

All I know is I can see through their Glamor. I can see whatever they are as clearly as I see anything else.

And now they know it, too.

He called me a Sylph.

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