Page 10 of The Goblin in the Sink Drain
Twisting in her seat, Sloane studied me. “Do you think he’ll tell you the truth?”
Unable to hold her stare, I turned my gaze out the window. “Why would he start now?”
four
The rideto Springvale was uneventful. And quiet. I had managed to suck all the air out of the cabin with five little words. Even Sloane had gone silent.
“We’re here,” Liam announced ten minutes later as he rolled to a stop in front of a brick building with an immaculate lawn. “Pampered Pooches.”
“The lights are off.” Sloane leaned forward, scanning the area. “There are cars in the lot, though.”
“Call Rochele,” Rían snapped out the order. “Tell her to drive a loop around the block while we check in.”
Not about to get left behind, I climbed out to give him room to unfold like an accordion until he towered over me. “Don’t tell me to stay put,” I warned him. “I’m going with you.”
“Liam underestimates you.” He quirked his lips, his scar thinning. “I don’t have that problem.”
Thanks to Rían’s long strides, he beat me to the front door. That was what I told myself anyway. I was on his heels when he swung it open and a gust of copper-rich air hit me in the face.
Oh no.
No, no, no.
“Move.” Liam shoved me aside, barging into position to flank his cousin. “Bodies?”
“None that I can see.” Caution weighed each of Rían’s steps as he called out, “Hello?”
A tug on my sleeve drew my attention to Sloane, who jerked her chin toward the sidewalk leading to the rear entrance. Nodding, I backed away as the Walshes pressed on, neither of them checking behind them. I was certain that Liam had told Sloane to escort me back to the SUV in the event of an emergency, which explained why he didn’t balk when she snagged me, but I was equally sure Rían anticipated our mutiny.
From the moment I met thevampirebleeding out in the potting shed at GSG, something about him had encouraged my rebellious tendencies. Today was no exception.
I had worked here for months, learning the ropes from the owner before branching out on my own. During that time, Tara had taught me invaluable tips and tricks for working with animals, dealing with unhappy customers, and maintaining the oftentimes fussy equipment. That she hadn’t greeted us at the door with a bright smile and a warm hug would have set my stomach roiling even without the scent of stale blood in the air.
Despite sneaking in being her idea, Sloane wasn’t taking chances with my safety.
Gone was my chatty friend, and in her place prowled the sentinel who had impressed Dad enough to get assigned to my detail. She kept me on her periphery as we padded toward the employee entrance. I had a bad feeling about what we would find inside, but I didn’t hesitate to follow her past the kennel runs.
The silence was deafening when there should have been happy barks and general chaos in the yard.
From what I could tell, the dogs were unharmed, but they shivered and shook in the enclosures.
Sloane took point at the door, letting herself in and clearing the room before waving me on.
Water dripped from a tub faucet, its sprayer limp on the drain. A pair of clippers buzzed softly across the nearest table, hitting the end and clattering onto the floor. The loud noise brought Liam rushing in. Rían, a familiar phone with a pink case in his hand, trailed him.
“I found this on the front counter.” He offered the cell to me while Liam went to turn off the clippers. “Tara answered a call from Mindy fifty-five minutes ago, right before we left Brentwood.”
“So, whatever this is happened after that.” I punched in her code and unlocked her phone. “I always told her it was reckless to give people her password.” I hesitated with my thumb on the message app button. “Past tense because I’m a former employee, not because…”
“We didn’t find any bodies.” Rían rested his wide palm between my shoulder blades. “There’s not much blood either. I’m not sure what happened, or why, but we’re going to figure it out.”
The timing bothered me. It was too precise. Whoever was responsible had gotten in, gotten out, and gotten gone within an hour of our estimated arrival. Sartori eyes would be on me, but that didn’t mean they would piece together our plan and destination when the details had been up in the air until the last minute.
“Hold on.” A faint memory clicked in place. “Fayne told me Dad forged alliances with the other packs, clans, and prides with territory around Brentwood. That he forbade them from granting you permission to cross their lands while you were moving in.” I watched his face, hoping to read the truth there. “Does this have anything to do with that?”
Had Tara, a human, gotten tangled up with pack politics when she agreed to shelter my animals? Sartori sentinels had shadowed me while I worked here. Were they to blame? Had I caused this? Again, I had to question how they had known when to strike. Unless there was a Walsh mole feeding Dad information?
“I’ve negotiated a temporary truce with the others,” Liam informed me. “They won’t go against Sartori, he’s too vindictive, but they’re willing to look the other way if we travel through their territory as long as we don’t stop without clearing our agenda with them first and stick to the main roads.”
