Cloaked (6 page)

Huffing, I wrapped my arms around the basket and carried it to my office. If everything was turning to shit, then I might as well do it while admiring gorgeous flowers.

Half an hour later, Vasile stepped into my office. “Daciana, another bear cub was taken, this time from the local zoo. It was the injured one we found in the woods a few weeks ago.”

Ghostly fingertips traced down my spine, and goose bumps coated my arms. Another cub kidnapped?

Vasile rubbed his mouth. “I've told Connell you'll go with him to the zoo. Maybe you can pick up on that scent you mentioned from the night the cubs were stolen? No one else seems to be able to detect the leathery odors you did. Connell said you seemed to have a keen sense of smell. Plus, with your animal knowledge, you might notice something else the rest of us have missed.”

So, Connell asked to work with me, huh? Wonder what that meant. Immediately on my feet, I seized my handbag. “Of course.”

“Let me know if you find a clue,” Vasile said. “The inspector is waiting for you outside in the parking lot.”

I didn't waste time and rushed to the black Audi parked behind the building. The air shifted around me, rustling through my hair, cooling the heat that scaled up my neck.

Inside the car, Connell's spicy cologne teased my nostrils, unlike Anton's stifling aftershave. I buckled up, and we were soon driving down the track away from the institute.

“Thanks for agreeing to help.” Connell didn't glance my way. His sight remained fixed on the road, his hands squeezing the steering wheel.

Someone was tense today. Gone was the flirty expression in his eyes, the softness of his voice.

Shards of sunlight pierced the greenery and woods as we passed. My recent transformation poured through my thoughts. Fresh breezes through my fur, the adrenaline of chasing rabbits and wild boar, and the rawness of being in wolf form. No need to please anyone, watch my words, or worry about humans seeing me during the full moon. The opposite of living in the city. Yet, the attraction to Braşov weighed heavy on my mind, stinging each time I contemplated leaving it behind forever. So, in the long run, Connell pulling away was a blessing in disguise. But a part of me still yearned to get closer, bathe in his kiss. Geez, I longed to have a bit of fun, but what if I couldn't walk away after?

We bounced in our seats as Connell drove over the curb at the end of the woods. Back on the smooth asphalt, we sped into the city. After a long, silent ride, Connell entered the back gates of the zoo and followed the narrow path that ran along numerous white sheds. He swung into a parking place with the number four printed on a signpost. Another police car was parked a few spots away. The entrance to the place had police tape crisscrossing it as if it were a crime scene in a movie.

“Hope you don't mind me giving you some advice.” Connell's words cut our silence. “Be careful around Anton.”

While I had no intention of bonding with Anton in any way, I was curious to discover why the guy upset Connell so much. “Why's that?”

“It's not my place to spread stories, but be cautious around him. That's all. He's not the person you think he is.”

I slouched and brushed away a green leaf that had attached itself to my pants from Anton's roses. “Thanks for the heads-up, but I can already tell what sort of person he is.”

A tiny lift at the corners of Connell's mouth had me admiring him so much more than I should have. “So, you're not interested in him?”

“Why do you want to know?” I shifted to face him. My attempt at sounding sultry came out barely a whisper. Connell stared at me, and his chocolate eyes made me melt into my seat.

He shrugged and climbed out. “Just curious.”

Oh, he was sly, acting all nonchalant. I got out of the car and rounded the hood, approaching him. A barnyard type of stench hit me instantly.

“You know that old saying about curiosity killing the cat?” I asked.

He laughed, deep and throaty, and my body responded with tingles. “I thought you were more of a wolf person?” he asked.

His words froze me for a split second until I realized he was referring to our wolf discussion in the tanning store. “I stand for all animals equally. Someone has to.”

His quick nod said so much. I followed Connell into a narrow footpath between two of the buildings, the silence punctuated by the click of my heels. He accepted me for my animal love, admiration, and respect, and probably for seeing through Anton. Or so I thought. But I couldn't understand why the two inspectors disliked each other, besides because they were opposites. Maybe it wasn't any of my business. Neither was admiring every move Connell made.

Then, as if my mind and mouth had a will of their own, the next words flew out. “Are you dating anyone?”

Heat rushed up my neck, and the blush on my face was instant. What was wrong with me?

He stopped near the corner of the building and turned to me, wearing the most mischievous grin. “You're not shy, are you? No, I'm not dating anyone.”

My heart beat so loud in my ears, I swore the wall of the shed was also thumping.

“Are you?” One of his eyebrows arched.

“No.”

“Good to know.” He rounded the corner, and we emerged into a small grass clearing.

In the distance stood a long wooden fence, but beyond it, tufts of trees sprawled, forming a canopy over the enclosure. Dozens of animal sounds echoed on the wind. The scent of monkeys, wild cats, birds, and other animals tightened around me until I had a difficult time focusing on any one smell.

When I first moved to Braşov, I'd visited this zoo, but after seeing all the animals in their small, confined spaces, I'd promised myself to never return unless I fancied my heart torn to shreds with agony. Every animal deserved the right to freedom. If it were up to me, zoos, pet stores, and circuses would be banned forever. Not to mention hunters, trappers, and poachers.

“This way.” Connell waved me over to the back door of a cement-fibro shed.

Inside, a surgical odor mingled with the air, along with the earthiness of bears. I stepped deeper into the room where a metal table was overturned in the center. The counters beneath the window on the back wall were bare. A computer lay in the corner on a desk. Next to it, on the ground, I noticed an empty cage. A girl in jeans and a white T-shirt, with a police badge around her neck, was dusting for fingerprints on the metal table. I stepped around her, careful not to bump into her or intrude on her activity, and took deep inhalations. In the back, I caught a whiff of a leather stench. The same one. Oh, we were dealing with the same culprit, all right.

Connell stepped closer, his arm lightly brushing against mine. Tingles spread through me, and with the way he glanced my direction, I swore he felt it too. But this was a crime scene, a chance to find the cubs. Not a time for flirting.

“Find anything?” he asked.

“It's here.”

He leaned toward the empty cage and inhaled. “I'm not picking up anything leathery, though I get a faint animal smell. You sure that's not what you're recognizing?”

I shook my head. “Nope. This is the same acidic tanning smell. You know, if you work with certain chemicals long enough, people have been known to take on some of the odor.”

Connell sniffed the area further. “I don't know why I can't detect it.”

I shrugged, unable to stop staring at his stubbled jawline, the perfect line of his nose, not to mention the loose strands of blond hair I considered pushing behind his ear.
Great way to look desperate.
“Doesn't the zoo have security cameras?”

“Only outside. Two hooded figures were filmed cutting the locks on the back gates we just entered, before a white van entered and parked outside this building. Two people were in and out in less than a minute. The alarm went off, but the thieves were already gone with the bear cub by the time the guards arrived.”

“And the plate on the van?” I asked.

“Removed.”

Of course it was. These weren't amateurs.

Connell sighed. “They knew what they were after, and it tells us a lot, since both thefts were of cubs found in the woods by institute staff.”

My thoughts went to Vasile and the friend he told about the cubs. Maybe he'd shared the news with someone else, too?

“Vasile told me you were interviewing his friend. He, or a friend of his, has to be connected here.”

“You'd make a great inspector.” When he smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkled. “We're following a few leads from the interviews already. And I doubt it's Sam's Tans. This morning Anton found one of the backyard tanning places we've been observing with several stolen dogs from the neighborhood. They could be hiding the cubs, too.”

“But I smelled them at the store.”

“Of course you did. The same chemicals would be there as Sam's Tans.”

How could I convince him the store was hiding something?

“You've got that look in your eye, Daciana. The one that tells me you're going to break the law again.”

I glanced up at him and placed a hand on my chest. “Me? Never.”

CONNELL

Anton's voice streamed from his office, two down from mine. No secrets in this station where the walls did little to conceal conversations.

“Oh, okay, I see. Well, if you change your mind, I know a quaint little cafe open until midnight.”

Must be a smart girl dumping his sorry ass.

“Of course. All right then, speak to you later, Daciana. Maybe we can talk over coffee soon.”

I stiffened in my seat. The bastard was still trying his luck.

Anton strolled past my office door, hands in his pockets and shoulders curled forward. I should have kept my mouth shut, let it pass, but my ego had other intentions. “Rejection stings, hey?”

He backed up into my doorway and threw me a scowl. “Fuck you.”

I reclined in my seat as guilt struck. His reaction shouldn't have had that effect on me. Hell, this buffoon deserved to experience the torment of losing someone. But then would I be any better than him?

“You're twenty-nine, like me. Time to grow up. So unless being an asshole is your life's intention, maybe rethink your approach.”

Anton's glare twisted his features, and his narrowing gaze hooked into me. “She didn't reject me but said now's not the right time.” His voice dipped and morphed into a gravelly sound. “With the case going on, you know.”

I shook my head. “You were rejected, man. Listen, maybe if you stop behaving like a caveman, constantly tugging on your dick, you might get some respect at the precinct and with the ladies. We were friends once, and somewhere inside you, there's the decent guy I once knew.”

His shoulders shot back, and his hands curled into fists. “Piss off, you and your perfect life, your British accent, your righteousness. Don't pretend you know me at all.”

I pushed myself to my feet, walked around the desk, and closed the distance between us, lowering my voice to avoid the chief overhearing us. “I will never forget what you did to me. I have no more time for you.”

A blistering anger awoke inside me along with the memories I'd lost, the future I'd planned. That part of my life was over, Michaela had bailed, and while torturing Anton would bring me the greatest satisfaction, that wasn't me or whom I wanted to become. At least I'd finally realized the type of woman Michaela was—with her demands for weekly gifts, pressure to move to a larger city, and her constant sulkiness. I must have had lust on the brain not to have seen through her.

And if she hadn't gone with Anton, some other guy would have come along and pulled her away. What if it had happened after tens years of marriage, with kids? Maybe it was better off I discovered it when I did.

“Actually,” I said, “I wanted to thank you for showing me what sort of person Michaela was.”

Anton's anger warped into a tangle of frown lines across his brow. He turned and stormed down the corridor.

Time to head home. But first I'd swing past Sam's Tans. There was something about the way Daciana had stared at me earlier that hinted she might pay them a visit again. I adored her tenacity but doubted she'd back down from trouble. She reminded me of myself in a few ways … Or at least the way I used to be. I seemed to have lost that part of me somewhere during the last year.

With keys in hand, I strolled out to discover Anton back in his office, flicking through files on his desk. For the first time, a new future lay ahead of me, and Anton was in the past. If I kept telling myself this, all the positive affirmation mumbo-jumbo might kick in. One step forward in letting go of the past.

Outside, the winds had picked up again, and the cold night prickled across my skin. I drove through traffic, heading to the other side of the city. Except, up ahead lay Daciana's place.

Without thinking, I made a hard right onto her street, spotting her apartment window from the street. I should check that she got home safe. Then I'd return to my place. Tonight was pizza-takeout-with-a-cold-beer night.

Slowing to a crawl on the narrow street with cars parked bumper to bumper on either side, I noticed Daciana's apartment had no lights on. Maybe she'd gone to sleep already? At least she wasn't on a date with Anton.

I sped down the curved street, knowing it looped around to the main road. A figure sprinted down the footpath in the same direction as me. Even with the hood and black clothes and the seemingly familiar running rhythm, I might have figured it was only a jogger. Except, I recognized Daciana's cute ass right away. I laughed, unable to hold back how much I loved her spunk.

With no cars behind me, I slowed alongside her and pushed the button to slide down the window. “Want a lift, or should I wait for you at the store?”

Daciana halted and turned my way, pushing the hood back off her face. She frowned. “Isn't stalking against the law, officer?” Even with her labored breaths, the inflection in her tone bordered on flirting.