Chapter 6

• Oaklyn closed the door quietly and then leaned against it. Getting in was the easy part. To get out might be a little more difficult. She couldn’t pull the fire alarm like she just had for the building next door. It had been the only way she could think to distract the man at the security desk of this building.
• Tucking the pick kit into her back pocket, she took a deep breath and tried to sort out the scents she was picking up. There had been a few people through here. She took off her black hat and set it beside her bag by the door. Those people were shifters and, if she wasn’t mistaken, some type of bear clan. It made sense. Calum had told her that Zain’s apartment had been checked by someone to see if he’d been abducted or had run.
• She moved to the bedroom and stood there looking around the room. She didn’t have the details of why he’d run, but her instructions were to find him and make sure he was safe. Was someone hunting him? She went over to the dresser and looked into the open drawers. Most were still full enough that it told her he only took what he could carry.
• She stood looking at the bed. There was no way in any scenario she was going to go and smell the sheets to see if he had a female friend. Or male, she was liberal with her thinking. Inhaling slowly, she closed her eyes. Sniffin up man smell was not going to happen. Who knew what kinds of odors they emitted in their sleep. Her wolf was right there and prancing like a show pony for some reason. “Not right now, sweetie pie.” She whispered. Opening her eyes, she shrugged. No friends had been here. She walked into the bathroom. It was the cleanest bathroom she’d ever seen. Did a man really live here?
• She should have asked for more detail. Why did he run? Was he being hunted, or was he a bad guy? She understood being hunted very well. It had been around six years since she’d almost been found by her clan. Correction. Old clan. She didn’t have one now. She was a rogue, and the only reason she was allowed to stay in this province was because of a man named Calum Dante. He’d found her when she had been trapped in a ‘borrowed’ car in a river. She had no idea the roads here got as bad as they did in the winter, or she would have traveled in her animal form. Until she came here, she’d only ever seen a skiff of snow here and there, but in this country, they got the snow like nothing she could ever dream.
• When she’d gone and tumped the car in the river, Calum had gotten her out, given her somewhere warm to stay for a short while, and made a deal with her. Somehow, he’d figured out she was hiding from someone, and staying off the radar was important to her. Since then, from time to time, he’d call and ask her to check on something or someone or locate places. So she did. He sent her money each month, called it a retainer, but she knew the man was just a big old softy inside.
• This Zain character had taken basic bathroom items that told her nothing of use. Going back out, she went into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It was nearly full, so he hadn’t planned to take off when he did. What had happened that made him decide to? She’d been told he was the office coordinator for one of the Alliance teams and important to the King of the Shifter Alliance.
• That made him important to her. The end goal in helping Mister Dante was she wanted a place on one of those teams. She had skills that they might find useful, and it would give her the protection she needed if her old clan ever found her. She wasn’t from here, but she couldn’t go back there either. She was country-less, so to speak.
• Zain had made something to eat and left without doing the dishes. She spotted the half-full pot of coffee. Turning slowly, she saw the table where a notepad and pen sat. “So, Zain Sanders, you made something to eat, some coffee, and then sat down right here to plan your trip.” She went over and sat in the only chair that was pulled out.
• A thought occurred, and she looked around the sitting area. There wasn’t a single family photo or any sort of personal decoration in the place. That told her had no personal connections, which she understood all too well.
• “Alrighty.” She put her hands on the table and sat there. “I’m eatin’ and plannin’, probably with a laptop or tablet.” She looked at the notepad. “I’d write down important details, maybe places…” She got up and went over to her bag, squatting down, and opened it. Digging in one pocket, she found a pencil. She looked at it. “They do it in the movies.” She grinned, got up, and went back to the table.
• Lightly, she dragged the pencil over the pad of paper and was almost ready to give up when she finally revealed a number. She kept going. There were three more numbers under it, and that was all that was written. Straightening up, she ripped off the page and looked at it. “Four numbers each.” She bit her lip for a second and then smiled. “Bus or train.”
• Getting her phone, she searched for the nearest bus station. It would be better to just go there and find out if this is what the numbers were for. “Sit tight, Mister Sanders, I’m coming to you.” She smiled and went over to her bag. Putting the pencil back in, she grabbed her hat and tucked as much of her hair under it as she could. Having red hair made her easy to remember. Unfortunately, being a shifter meant dying it wasn’t an option. It rarely held through a shift and was rather tiresome to have to redo all the time.
• Going over to the door, she opened it and looked out into the hallway. Not seeing anyone, she engaged the lock and closed the door quietly. Stairs or elevator? There had to be a back entrance to the building. Before she could decide, an elderly woman came out of the next apartment with an old small dog. With a smile on her face, she went toward her. No one was going to look twice at a young woman helping a senior citizen get down to the lobby with her beloved pet. You can run as fast as you like, Mister Sanders, but I’m gonna be on your tail in no time at all.