Page 24 of Follow Your Instincts

Natalie nodded. Her blonde hair was fading to gray, and she looked like she was fading away completely, too. I was almost as worried about her as I was about Greta.

Back at the precinct, I asked Officer Fraser to look into registered packs with Russian surnames in the city, particularly ones starting with “B”, but I wasn’t hopeful. Stephan didn’t seem like the smartest guy, and there had to be dozens of packs with Russian names. Not to mention unregistered packs. But a lead was a lead.

I’d gotten a list of Greta’s acquaintances from her mother, but when I called them, they said they didn’t see much of Greta anymore.

“She’s too busy with school,” one girl said. “I don’t blame her, though, FADA was her dream growing up.”

She was a student at the Fairview Academy of Dramatic Arts, pursuing a degree in Theater Tech & Stage Management. It was a prestigious school. When I called asking about Greta, they said she had missed her classes that week, but they didn’t keep closer tabs on students that didn’t live on campus.

This was not looking great for her.

I was sick of beating my head against a brick wall, so I packed up for the day. I stopped in Harcourt’s office on the way out.

“Hey, Cap, you gotta second?” I said, leaning in the open doorway.

“Sure, Detective,” she said, closing her laptop lid halfway. “Any progress on the Heitzig case?”

“Maybe. Still can’t find the primary witness, so I tracked down her family. They haven’t seen her either. Said she’s been seeing a new pack. They could be involved somehow,” I said, and stepped further into the room. “Mind if I close this door?”

Harcourt frowned in confusion, then nodded.

“I wanted to ask about Officer Carter. She okay?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. I spoke with the director of the Center she’s at, and she said she’s adjusting well, but who the hell knows what that means. I’m going to send Rosie out there to see her soon.”

I nodded. I’d met Rosie a few times. Harcourt usually invited the detectives at the precinct over for dinner around the holidays. Her Omega was warm and welcoming, and they seemed to balance each other.

“I wanted to meet with her, see if she remembered anything from her conversation with Greta that might lead to something. You think that’d be okay?”

“Maybe. I’ll have Rosie talk to her about it.”

“And Phillips? What’s his status?”

“He’s on administrative leave for now. Paid administrative leave, unfortunately. Internal Affairs has opened an investigation, and once that concludes, the DA will decide whether to press charges. IA should be scheduling an interview with you soon, so keep an eye out,” she said, and opened her laptop back up. “Now, stop focusing so much on Officer Carter and get your shit together on the Heitzig case. I’m going to put someone else on it if you don’t get results soon.”

I knew a dismissal when I heard one. “Captain,” I said, and left the room, leaving the door open.

No matter what Harcourt said, I was finding it impossible not to think about Carter. I wished I’d asked the Captain for her first name.

On the ride home, I considered Ben’s weird idea that the Omega we were meeting with was her. The memory of her smell had faded, but the image of her from that night was still seared into my mind, even if it made me feel like a creep.

I shook my head; the universe didn’t work that way. We’d be meeting with another Omega that week and she deserved to have my full attention. I needed to forget Carter.

Chapter 9

Ben

“Lachlan, I swear to god if you aren’t down here in 30 seconds I’m going to come up to find you and you will not like it,” I yelled up the stairs. Our pack leader was dragging his feet, probably to make us so late for the meeting at the Omega Center that we’d miss it entirely.

Lucas clapped a hand on my shoulder. “You need to chill, we have plenty of time. You know this is hard for him,” he said.

We’d all taken the afternoon off, except Lucas, who had every day off if he wanted, for the meeting out in Brookwood. I’d been obsessively checking the time all day. Luckily, my morning client on Thursdays was Lucy, a wealthy older woman who seemed more interested in watching me demo her exercises than actually doing them.

I shouldn't have skipped my own workout that morning. Maybe then I wouldn’t have been so antsy.

“Someone should go up there,” Soren said, looking at Lucas. Lucas was the most relaxed and equipped to deal with a Lachlan brooding session, but I was sick of this shit.

“I’ve got it,” I said and stormed up the stairs to get our pack leader down, no matter if I had to drag him.

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