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Nari looked to Anson. He was asleep on the couch.

A peaceful expression on his face almost made the scrapes and bruising on his forehead appear more like Halloween makeup.

But she knew it wasn’t make-believe. At least she was able to patch him up a bit.

His freckles glowed in the orange light cast by the fire.

He really was the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

And the more he opened up to her, the more she heard about the horrors he had gone through.

No wonder he had trust issues. His sister’s doctor had kidnapped Ariel to use her genetic condition for who knew what.

Nari hoped they weren’t too late to rescue Ariel before Grimm completed his sinister plan with her.

Satisfied Anson was asleep, Nari crept out the front door and into the sparsely treed area of the forest that surrounded the cabin, taking her cell phone with her so she could call in to chat with Grayson.

The soft ground felt spongy under her feet as she walked on a blanket of pine needles and dead leaves.

She kept close to the porch to lean against the banister when a hand clamped down on her shoulder.

Instinctively, she grabbed the person’s wrist, twisting out of their grip.

She was about to kick their feet out from under them when a familiar voice said, “Do you greet all agents this way?” The familiar yet stern tone could be only one person.

“Grayson?” Nari pulled the stranger out of the shadows into the light of the porch, where she confirmed the identity of the intruder and willed her racing heart to slow.

“What are you doing out here? You could’ve warned me.

” Nari was usually a “knock them out and ask questions later” kind of agent when it came to baddies sneaking up on her. Especially after dark.

“You can’t be surprised that we have agents out here watching you. Especially after what happened today.”

She blew out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. Her long hair fluttered in the puff of air. “Were you able to identify the people in the other car?”

“Nope. They exited the same way you did. Shifted and flew.”

Nari raised an eyebrow. “So, confirmed not only were they shifters, but they were avian.” It would be more reason for ASS to push into the investigation.

“Yeah. Your boss is going to love that.”

“Well, he’s not going to love the fact that my mission has taken a turn.” She took a breath before admitting, “I couldn’t pull it off. I told Anson the truth.”

“You told him you’re still an agent.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” She hung her head, ashamed. After the big show she’d made to Director Cooper, she’d ended up failing at her own plan.

“You gotta adjust in the field,” he said with a shrug as if discussing a mundane topic, like what laundry soap they choose to use. “If he wasn’t falling for it, or you felt it would help the investigation to tell him, then that’s what matters.”

It was not the reaction Nari was expecting.

She thought she’d at least get chewed out.

For a moment, she didn’t know what to say.

Was that why she’d told Anson? To build rapport?

She supposed it could boil down to that.

“The way he responded… I think he suspected I never really was on the run the whole time. I hope it helps him to trust me now.”

“What’s done is done. There’s no point talking about it. Especially when there are other things to focus on.” He handed her a nine-by-twelve mailing envelope. “Maybe we should go inside where you can look this all over.”

“Is there anything he shouldn’t know about? He’s right in there, on the couch. Sleeping, but still…”

“No. Actually, I would have asked you for his input on this anyway. We found this at the address you provided.” He was referring to Anson’s house in the soccer-mom neighborhood.

“Hmm.” She found that curious. Anson seemed adamant that there was nothing of importance there.

Though Grayson was known for having a talent for sniffing clues out with his hound nose.

Just because something was found didn’t mean Anson was purposely misleading her.

She’d have to judge that after she saw what was in the envelope.

She led the FUC agent across the porch, the floorboards squeaking softly under her weight.

Grayson’s cowboy boots clacked on the wood as he followed her.

Before she opened the door, she thought to notify Grayson of Anson’s injuries.

“Anson was beaten up pretty badly from the crash. I patched him up best I could, but he didn’t feel comfortable trying to walk to one of the back rooms to sleep. ”

“Does he need a doctor?” He raised an eyebrow, probably in concern.

“I suspect he has a concussion and a broken humerus. He refused to go to the hospital, though.”

“Why?” Grayson asked, a bushy eyebrow raised.

“Seems he has a mistrust of medical facilities, since apparently Grimm worked at one, and that’s how he came to know Anson’s sister. He was one of Ariel’s treatment providers.”

Through the front window, she could see Anson still snuggled up on the couch. She wondered how challenging it was for him to get comfortable. Hopefully his body was healing itself now that he was back to resting. She worried about his condition.

“That’s an interesting tidbit of information,” Grayson brought her back to their conversation.

He rubbed at his jaw as if mulling it over.

Nari opened the cabin door for him and followed him inside.

The warmth of the air took the dampness out of her bones.

She hadn’t even realized how chilly she’d become from being outside such a short time; the cold had tried to settle deep in her body.

Nari crossed the room to the dying fire, opened the wood-burning stove’s door, and added a small log.

Flames licked at the rough bark, charring the wood.

She ushered Grayson to the kitchen, not because she didn’t want Anson to overhear, but more so, he wouldn’t be woken by them.

He needed his rest if he was to get better.

She sat at one of the wooden chairs opposite Grayson at the table.

The manila envelope felt heavy in her hand.

She pushed out the metal prongs holding the flap of the envelope down and opened the paper sides to look inside.

Confused about the importance of the clues, she tipped the envelope to lay its contents on the table.

A small, clear zip-top bag filled with mousy-looking fur, a receipt from a pet store, and another zip-top bag containing a few grains of black dirt spilled out onto the table.

Nari picked up the receipt. It would probably be the only piece of evidence Grayson wouldn’t have to explain.

She figured the dirt had been found at the scene, likely tracked in by whoever had intruded into Anson’s house.

It could perhaps have originated from the floor of one of Grimm’s labs.

As for the fur? It might be from the shifter who was involved, but her paranormal senses wouldn’t be of use in learning more about those.

The receipt, however… She had the brains to help figure that out.

She didn’t need a well-honed olfactory sense for that.

The receipt was from a pet store not too far from Anson’s house. “Anson didn’t have any pets at his house, did he?”

Grayson shook his head.

The receipt was for bird seed—a lot of it—some hanging toys to put into a birdcage, and a small harness and leash for a ferret. “These might be items for the shifters Grimm is experimenting on.” And paid for in cash, so there was no credit card to trace back to its owner.

Grayson nodded and waited for her to continue. She pulled up the bag of fur. The strands were short and thin, brownish in color with grey tips. She looked to Anson sleeping on the couch. It reminded her of his fur. “Shrew fur?” Nari asked Grayson.

“Yes. Except it isn’t his,” he said, nodding toward the slumbering Anson.

“Did you test the DNA?”

“Yes. And while it’s a close match, it’s female.”

“It’s probably Ariel’s then.” While it wasn’t a guarantee that Ariel shifted into a shrew just because her brother did, it was pretty likely. At the very least, it was a female family member who shifted into a shrew. Nari would have to ask Anson to be sure.

Grayson nodded. “That’s our assumption anyway. We didn’t have any of Ariel’s DNA to compare the sample to. I’m hoping you can see what Anson thinks.”

“I plan to.” She looked at the receipt again. “I understand the bird seed and toys. Dr. Grimm liked his birds. But what’s up with the ferret halter?”

“I have no idea. We assumed it may be for Ariel when she’s in shrew form. But whyever would she need a harness?” He shrugged again. “It doesn’t make sense.”

He was right. It didn’t make sense. Hopefully Anson had some answers. Though how quickly they’d be able to go out and investigate the clues was a different story. She glanced at the date on the receipt. “This is from after we already had Anson in custody.”

Agent Stone nodded.

That was curious. Nari glanced over at Anson.

The edges of his light brown hair could just be seen over the arm of the couch.

The blanket pulled up to his neck hid the lump of his body beneath it.

It moved up and down with each even breath as he slept.

“With any luck, he’ll know what it means.

” Nari assumed Anson knew more than he was willing to tell her.

“At least it’s not all a wash. Anson had mentioned that Grimm emailed him. ”

“What did it say?”

Nari grimaced. “He hasn’t offered that information, and I didn’t want to pry too much and risk what little rapport we’d built. I’m hoping he’s willing to share tomorrow.”

Grayson’s brown eyes touched Anson for a brief pause before they settled on the contents of the first aid kit strewn across the coffee table.

Rolls of gauze and packets of ointments were left where they fell when Nari had done her best to patch up Anson, but when she went off to make dinner, she’d never bothered to clean it up.

She thought it a telling sign that Anson was in bad shape that he hadn’t tidied it himself. He usually did such things.

“Do you need more supplies to get ready to move out tomorrow?”

She thought about Anson’s catalogue of injuries.

“Maybe a splint for his humerus. More bandages and antiseptic ointment couldn’t hurt.

I’ve put some ice in the freezer, because we only had the one ice pack.

I could send you a grocery list, too.” Nari added with a tight smile.

If Anson were to heal up, he needed to eat. A lot.

“All right.” Grayson slid his chair back on the wooden floor as he moved to stand up. “I’ll get going on your supplies. Text me a list of food and expect me and Cass at oh-nine-hundred tomorrow.”

At the mention of her peahen friend, Nari shrank. “Does she know about the car?”

Grayson’s smile pulled tight. “Look, Cass will get over it. It’s not like she doesn’t have insurance.” His voice was soft and sympathetic.

She nodded before quickly adding, “Just you and Cass.” Her eyes bounced back to Anson as he stirred with a slight groan. He didn’t appear to fully wake, though. “I don’t think he’d be too keen on waking to a cabin full of agents.”

“You’re probably right about that.” He turned to leave and then paused. “One more thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Try and get some sleep. You look like shit.”

She chuckled quietly as Grayson left the cabin, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

While she wasn’t all that used to interacting with FUC agents prior to this case, she didn’t mind Agent Stone so much.

Nari appreciated his brutal honesty. And at times, it felt like he was taking her under his wing, so to speak.

She crossed the room to add a few more logs to the fire.

If she added enough, there would still be coals in the morning to rekindle the flame.

She glanced to the couch. Anson’s eyes were still closed, so she walked back to one of the bedrooms to get settled in.

They had a lot of planning to do. She intended to be well-rested.

They were going to get Ariel and the others back.

It was a silent vow she intended to keep.

But first things first, she needed to go to bed.

After snuggling under the damp blankets, Nari was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.