“Thank you.” Lachlan took the maps and spread them out.

“Let’s start with one of London,” I said. “Surely he didn’t stay in Guild City. It’s too dangerous.”

Lachlan nodded and unrolled a map. My friends crowded around, along with the same twenty-four guards who’d been standing in my courtyard.

Carefully, I removed the dagger from the bag and unwrapped it. I held the very end of the hilt gently and dangled the dagger over the map. The blade began to spin in a circle, seeking our target.

It finally stopped moving, right over Guild City.

“Still here.” Lachlan unrolled another map and laid it out.

The familiar streets of Guild City appeared, and I held my breath as I dangled the blade over the map. It spun in circles for a few moments, the entire group watching with anticipation.

Finally, it stopped.

Right on the Shifter Guild’s tower.

“He’s here,” I whispered, fear shivering over my skin.

Lachlan’s head shot up, his gaze meeting mine. “Could this be wrong?”

“No. It can’t be.” It pointed right at the tower. Not at a specific room because of the way the map was drawn, but it was clear he was somewhere within these walls.

“Do you have a plan of the tower?” I asked.

“No. The building’s never had one that I know of. We’ll have to search it ourselves.” Lachlan turned to his guards. “Clear the tower of all civilians. Get them into the city center, and use as many forces as you need. The rest will stay here to help us look.” He turned to me. “You need to leave now. It’s too dangerous.”

“No.” I shook my head. “No way in hell. I want to help catch this guy.”

I knew I should go. It was the safest thing. Cut out now. My job was done, right? I’d cleared my name.

But as much as I stood by my secrets, I felt a little guilty about all the lies. They’d been necessary, but I hated what I’d said to Lachlan. I wasn’t going to bail now. “I’m going to help you find him, and it will take you more time to fight me on that than you can afford.”

His jaw tightened, but I could see it in his eyes when he realized I was right.

I looked at my friends. “You guys should get out of here, though.”

Carrow laughed in my face, Mac joining her. Seraphia and Beatrix just looked at me like I’d grown two heads.

“We’ve got your back, dummy,” Mac said. “And it will take you longer to fight us on that than you can afford.”

Despite my terror, a low laugh escaped me. “Oh, you bitch, using my own words against me.”

She hugged me quickly, then pulled back. “Come on, let’s go find a murderer.”

After Lachlan’s troops scattered, he turned to the five of us. “My men are spreading out. We’re going as a group.”

He probably had some chivalrous idea about protecting us in his head. And truth was, I appreciated it. I didn’t think it was entirely necessary, but I still remembered the grip of the killer’s arm around my neck. So I wasn’t going to argue. I wanted my friends safe, and grouping up would help ensure that.

Carrow frowned. “We can split up into two groups. It’d be faster, and we’ll be okay.”

I nodded, fine with it. As much as I wanted to wrap them all in cotton wool, it wasn’t my call. Carrow was the leader of our group, and she was right. Besides, Seraphia was a damned goddess, and Carrow was so powerful, it made my eyes cross sometimes. Mac and Beatrix were no slouches, either.

Lachlan was wise enough not to argue until Carrow gestured for Beatrix and me to join her. He growled low, then grimaced. This time, he didn’t even try to pretend that it was something caught in his throat.

Carrow looked at me, and I shrugged. “It’s fine, I’ll go with him.”

“All right.” She nodded. “Mac’s with me, then.”

Mac nodded and joined her. I couldn’t help but notice that Carrow had put the goddess with me, as if she knew I were at greater risk.

I rubbed my throat, still feeling the grip of the killer. Maybe I was.

Didn’t matter. We were going to catch this bastard and end this.

“We’ll take the third floor, if you want the fourth,” Lachlan said to her. “You’ll see my security team as you search. There will be about twenty of them combing the tower.”

Carrow nodded and took off, her team behind her.

“This way.” Lachlan turned and headed to another set of stairs.

Seraphia caught my eye. “You okay?”

I nodded. “I’m a big girl.”

She grinned. “Then let’s go.”

I might have been a big girl, but I decided to let her take the middle of our little pack. Being too close to Lachlan distracted me, and I needed all the focus I could get.

As we climbed up the stairs, I removed a stunner from my bag in the ether. The potion bomb was a comforting weight in my hand as I climbed. I offered one to Seraphia, but she shook her head, raising her hands to show two tiny vines resting in her palms. In the blink of an eye, she could make them big enough to strangle a man.

We reached the third floor and moved silently down the hall, checking the various rooms and closets. Every now and again, I heard the little charm at Lachlan’s wrist emit a tiny voice announcing various cleared spaces.

Together, we searched room after room. Bedrooms, sitting rooms, kitchens, meeting rooms, every kind of room one could imagine—and they were all empty. I kept thinking that I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye, but whenever I turned, it was gone. The feeling kept getting stronger and stronger, until my hair was on end.

When the attack came, it happened so fast that I couldn’t even scream. One second, I was looking at Seraphia’s back, and the next, a hand was around my mouth, yanking me toward the wall.

Only there was no wall anymore.

A doorway had appeared.

It hadn’t been there before.

Panic tore my mind in two as the killer yanked me into the secret passage and the door disappeared. Everything went black as I heard the sound of Lachlan’s shout.

Frantic, I slammed my potion bomb toward the body that held me in an iron grip. Quick as a snake, he slapped it out of my hand.

It shattered uselessly against the ground.

I thrashed, trying to break his hold, but he just tightened it.

“Calm the fuck down,” he growled, his voice barely human. It sounded almost like he was about to shift.

Totally feral.

Oh, fates. What would happen if he did shift? Would he lose his mind entirely and tear me apart?

I had to be clever. How to play this? No one was coming. If they could have found the entrance to this secret passage, they’d be here by now.

I stopped fighting for the most part, needing to get to my leather cuff. There were potions there that could help me. As he dragged me down the hall, I reached for one, my hands trembling.

“What are you doing?” he growled, clearly sensing that something was up.

I made a muffled noise, trying to sound panicked. It wasn’t hard.

Instead of responding, he knocked my head against the wall so hard that pain exploded like fireworks behind my eyes. A half second later, everything faded away.

18