EMILY POVWe got on a plane for St. Louis. Snap had managed to pull video of every stop and review footage. We saw her get off in Mount Vernon, but she got back on ten minutes later. He almost missed her getting off in St. Louis. She waited until everyone was off and then she slipped out. Snap watched footage until the bus left but we didn’t see any sign that she snuck back on.We were going off the assumption that she didn’t want to be found. From my conversation with the witch, we knew she didn’t have a memory, nor did she have money or other resources. I knew that Addie was used to living on her own without anything, but I also didn’t know how much of that life would be instinctual and come back to her. We needed a place to start, and St. Louis was going to be it.When we landed, we split up. Bruce and I were heading to the bus station to see if anyone remembered her, and Snap was taking James’ black Visa and heading to one of the nicer hotels on the river. Nicer hotels t
ADDIE POVThe hotel wasn’t as bad as I initially thought it would be. I dropped into bed, fully clothed, and slept off my headache. I had a memory come back but my migraine was so bad I couldn’t process it.The next morning, I took a shower and put on the black slacks and burgundy top that I wear to the grocery store. I rinsed out my second set of clothes in the sink, using the rest of the tiny bottle of shampoo that was provided. I checked the cash I had in my wallet and decided to go through the clearance bins at work and see if I could find some shampoo and maybe laundry detergent. I hung up my clothes and then left, locking the door behind me. I just had a short walk to get to work. It was closer than Jenna’s apartment had been to the grocery store but in an opposite direction.I thought while I walked. I realized that something had happened when I spoke to the front desk clerk. I used a firm voice and was very specific about what I needed, and to my surprise, he agreed.
ADDIE POVI wasn’t paying attention when I walked back to the grocery store, and I was surprised when a man stepped into my path. I growled at him.“You need to get out of my way. Messing with me isn’t a good idea right now.”He grinned at me. “I know. I saw. I followed you because I thought I’d need to help you. I was wrong.” He tipped his head to the side. “Where did you learn to fight like that?”I shrugged, pushing past him. “Here and there.”He reached out and grabbed my shoulder. I angrily turned, ready to fight again. He backed off, raising his hands up.“Whoa! I’m not going to hurt you. Quite the opposite. I want to offer you a job.”I put my hands on my hips. “I have a job.”He nodded, looking at my now dirty uniform. “Yeah, I see that. Probably pays, what? Ten an hour?”“Twelve.” I was curt. “I’ll pay you twenty.” He pointed. “Look. I’m not some weirdo. I own a kickboxing gym that’s at the end of the strip mall down there. I also teach self-defense c
JAMES POVToby’s plan was solid. We had to move fast because we had just one day head start. And our first step was to make sure that everyone thought Alice was dead.I wanted to get her out of the picture immediately and just put out word that she had a heart attack or something, but both Toby and Bryon nixed that idea immediately. We got Alice on the phone and explained to her what was going on. She agreed that it needed to look like Zoe was the one who managed to kill her or it would be too coincidental.We had the advantage that we knew Alice was going to be poisoned. We didn’t know if it was going to be through food, or maybe someone would ambush her and inject her. Both Toby and Bryon thought it would be through food. Easy to do, little risk, and would be easy to try again without suspicion if unsuccessful. We also knew that someone was on the inside working with Zoe and Danny. They were going to do something to our surveillance system to make it so that we don’t see
ADDIE POV I dreamed of my wolf last night. In my dream I was on one side of a fast flowing, deep river and she was on the other side. I called and called to her, but she only looked at me sadly, the wind ruffling her beautiful, golden fur. I woke up with tears running down my face. I was so lonely. I missed my wolf. Having Talia nearby would help heal that huge hole that I felt every time I tried to remember my past. I got up and dressed in my new workout gear and headed into the gym. It was the second day of my job, and I was getting along with the clients and other staff well. I enjoyed it and it helped me to relieve some of the frustrations I felt. Not having my memories is almost physically painful. I was constantly frustrated, and I could now relieve it by kicking and punching a bag. Tonight, I was planning on making some serious cash. Monday nights Wolf ran an underground fighting club where people can place bets and fighters can win some money. He and his frien
EMILY POVI feel like we’re wasting time in St. Louis. We hacked into the traffic cameras and watched hours of video on fast forward. Snap found footage of Addie waiting to cross a street. Unfortunately, we found the footage five days after it had actually happened, but it was confirmation that she was heading east.We started going into businesses and showing Addie’s picture and asking around. We stuck to main roads and just kept working our way east, hoping that someone would have seen her, somewhere. We weren’t having any luck.I talked to Toby every night and Facetimed Gracey. She was cooing and waving to me, and I loved every minute of it. I miss that little baby girl and my team has convinced me to fly back on Wednesday after the theatrics we are hoping will take place. Today was Monday. We were hitting the streets again and hoping to get lucky. I also had my phone on me, waiting to hear updates of the plan that was in place. First plan of action was that Alice was go
ADDIE POVI got dressed in my new outfit. Wolf was right, it wasn’t leather. It was actually really soft and really stretchy, and it felt good on my body. The boots weren’t exactly my style, but I could fight in them. They were a square heel, like a combat boot, and laced up my calf. `They were definitely sexy in an industrial sort of way. I put on the hood with the mask and only my eyes showed. I tucked my braid behind everything so that no one could grab it. I was ready, so I left the locker room and met Damian and Wolf out on the floor.Wolf seemed to be having second thoughts and Damian was soothing him. “Dude. You said this girl could fight. So let her fight.”“The guys she was fighting were wimps. She’s going to be up against real fighters.”“She has a wolf,” Damian countered, trying to calm him. Wolf frantically shook his head back and forth. “No, her wolf is hurt. She can’t hear her.”I stepped forward. “I’m ready. And I’ll win. I know I’m a fighter. I feel i
EMILY POVI mind linked Troi to join me in the gas station. “This guy knows Addie. Says we have to come back tomorrow to talk to someone named Jenna,” I told Troi. “Oh, too bad,” she cooed. “We’re not going to be here tomorrow. Could you just give us her address? We can stop by and talk with her.”The clerk shook his head. “Nope. Don’t know it, don’t want to. Jenna is mixed up with some crazy dudes. Definitely don’t want any part of that.”I looked at Troi and then walked out. I knew she had ways and that she would get any information he had out of him.Five minutes later she sauntered out of the convenience store, red hair flashing in the light. She handed me a piece of paper with some numbers scrawled on it. “Jenna’s phone number. It’s all the info I could get.”I looked back at the store and saw the clerk looking out the window at us. He looked terrified. “Should we go?”Troi looked back at the clerk and sighed. “Yeah, probably. He might be thinking about calling