“If you wouldn’t mind giving us a moment to talk?” I said quickly.
“Of course not. Please, consult your...friend.”
Okay, that seemed unnecessarily pointed...
However, Paul hauled me away before I could get stuck on it, whispering in my ear once we were far enough. His tone was so urgent that I knew he’d gotten my signal.
“What’s going on?”
“Look, I don’t want to unnecessarily alarm you, but I figured you should know, that woman has no em—psychicenergy signature.”
His eyes went wide, and he looked past me to stare at her with a mix of shock and hatred so strong, I had to grab his face and pull it back toward me.
“Oh! Hey now, none of that. Play it cool. We don’t know for sure it was her, and even if it was, we’re on her turf, so we don’t want to tip her off.”
Paul’s chest rumbled ever so slightly, and I got the impression he was containing the growl he wanted to let out.Fair enough, but I really needed him not to eject the cat out of the bag.
“So, you think we should follow the possible murderer of my family into who knows where? What if she knows exactly who we are, and this is all a trap?”
The longer we took, the more likely the woman was to get suspicious or withdraw her offer entirely if she was genuine.
“I know it’s risky, but we don’t know that she is the killer, and this might be the best way for us to find out. And if she’s not, do you really wanna give up the only lead we’ve managed to get on who this Whisper guy is?”
He stared at me for an achingly long moment, and after a few breaths, I was sure he was going to tell me to kick rocks. Eventually, he sighed and nodded.
“I suppose finding out who put the hit out on Jackson is worth it,” he hissed, an impressive amount of heat making it into his voice despite how quiet he was being. “But if it is her, I’m going to rip her head from her body at the first chance I get.”
“Fair deal.”
Although I wasn’t a part of this world, it didn’t mean I couldn’t figure out that something being too easy meant it was likely dangerous.
“Why would you want to help us strangers?” I asked when we reached her.
“Because the Whisper’s help is expensive, and I get a cut from any work I bring them. You could consider it beneficial to my pocketbook.”
“Sounds like a good enough reason to me. Lead the way!”
“You agree so readily.”
I let my smile at the woman grow even more sweet. “Is there a reason why I shouldn’t?”
She gave me an equally saccharine smile. “No, of course not. Right this way.”
We did indeed start to follow her through the increasingly empty bazaar. I was hyperaware of her every movement, bracing myself for a sudden attack.
If there were any other shifters around, I was sure they could hear how much my heart was thundering. In fact, judging by the tension I could feel radiating from behind me, Paul was acutely aware of the drumline going on inside my chest.
But he kept on a veneer of calm—at least, that was what I assumed, since the woman didn’t turn around and tell us to beat it.
Granted, she wouldn’t if she was leading us into a trap.
Ugh, I’m gonna be sick.What happened to risking it for the biscuit?
Think I’m about to puke up that biscuit!
It’ll be fine!
Sure, because following a possible killer deeper into an illicit bazaar where criminals find contracts, feed kittens broth, and tune guitars is a typical Tuesday!