Page 24 of Corbin (Wild Wolf Pack from the world of Gallize Shifters #2)
Swiping wet hair off her forehead from a run in the misting rain after dark, Eirene slowed to walk through knee-high weeds as she watched for trouble.
She’d left the land between the building and the highway entrance, forty yards away, overgrown on purpose.
With no For Lease sign in view, most people dismissed it as a forgotten property in decline, which was true.
The young man in Wisconsin who had inherited it had no interest in spending his valuable career time traveling to South Carolina to clean up an old building to sell it. He’d been happy to receive the rent she’d offered with the understanding she might purchase it at the end of a year.
A simple deal executed online and out of Leszek’s sight.
The path she’d taken from her apartment building had been two miles as the crow flew, so to speak, but three when she wove through areas with sparse trees. Not a strenuous run for a shifter and one she’d normally enjoy, but she’d had little sleep in the past five days.
One good night and she’d be in top shape again.
She listened for any unusual noise even though the light rain sometimes dulled telltale signs. Time to find out how her two female shifters were doing.
At the four-inch-thick steel rear entrance door, Eirene keyed in her code and entered, pulling the door shut behind her. She’d hidden her females upstairs on the only other floor. Lowering her backpack to the floor, she pulled out a towel to dry off.
She pulled off the wig and hat to toss aside, then had just wiped off her legs and hooked the towel over a nail in the wall when the mobile phone in her backpack buzzed.
Snatching it out of a pocket, she swiped to the video feed from the outdoor cameras visible to only this phone.
Her jaw dropped open. This can’t be happening.
She had snuck out of her apartment building dressed in camo running shorts, a black bra, and a dark gray short-sleeved shirt. A ragged ball cap covered a brown ponytail wig.
No one should have recognized her leaving the building after the many times she’d dressed this way to get out in the past. No one.
Even so, she stared at a man on her camera who had the determination of a dog chasing his own tail.
He’d obviously tracked her here.
She had no idea how and no time to find out. He had to go. Right now.
Leaving her backpack filled with supplies for her ladies inside, she stepped out and remained under the rusty canopy where water leaked, but it was better than nothing.
He’d been working his way around this side of the building.
If he stayed on course, he’d appear in front of her in five, four, three, two. There he was.
She stepped out of the dark corner. A human wouldn’t see her. A shifter would catch her scent before any noise.
His tall figure stopped moving. “Why are you hiding out here?” He’d spoken quietly, and she did as well.
“What is it with you following me after I told you not to, Corbin?”
“I’m trying to keep you safe. What are you doing running around this time of night and in this area?”
She grabbed her head. “What does it take for me to have one freaking private moment?”
He got quiet.
Losing her grip would not help, but she desperately wanted to run around in the rain screaming at the top of her lungs. Instead, she said, “I do not need security. I am within my rights to be here and have no interest in explaining why. Is that simple enough?”
“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on so I can help you?” He flipped on a flashlight with a red filter, which he pointed at the ground.
She stepped out from under the canopy to draw his attention away from the door hidden in the dark. “You’re starting to act suspiciously like a stalker after all. For someone who doesn’t like being detained by the police, you should go before I call for help.”