Page 44 of Hextreme Measures

He didn’t appear. She didn’t hear a growl or roar from anywhere else in the garage either. It was as if he’d fallen off the face of the earth.

Panic she didn’t know she was capable of feeling had her heart skipping 10 beats. Then it started pounding in conjunction with his name.

Zach.

Zach.

Zach.

She opened her mouth to yell his name — she didn’t care who came running — when he appeared in front of her. The big black cat padded softly between vehicles and stopped directly in front of her.

“I almost had a heart attack,” she complained as he shifted back to his human form. “Were you trying to freak me out?”

“Um … no.” His expression was hard to read. “I was trying to track the banshee.”

“Did you find her?”

“She would be dead if I found her.”

“Did she run?”

He nodded. “Right after we sensed her, I think.”

“So, it was a test,” Ofelia assumed.

“It sort of feels that way,” he agreed. “Either that or she was trying to get to Angelique.”

Ofelia sat straighter, and she darted a look toward the door that led to the building.

“Go,” Sully ordered as reality set in for both of them. He was naked and could run into a bar patron or random tourist at any turn. He had to get back into his clothes, or more likely the extra clothes he kept in the backseat of his truck. “Get to Angelique,” he ordered.

Ofelia didn’t wait for him, even though she hated the idea of leaving him. She shoved her way through the door and hurried to the elevator. Thankfully, she didn’t see any construction workers. They were either working a few floors up or had left for the day. None of them would have had as much as an inkling that a banshee had just been in the parking garage. She wanted it to stay that way.

Her anxiety continued to climb as she rode the elevator up. The ride was short, and yet it felt as if it would never end. When she got to the floor she was looking for, she hurried around the corner and then allowed herself to run. She didn’t see anybody until right before she arrived at Angelique’s suite. That was when Ben swung out of his room, heading in her direction, and almost bowled her over.

His eyes were wild, his face sweaty. He looked as if he’d been crying.

“Angelique.” That was all Ofelia could say. Was her friend already gone?

“She’s sick,” Ben said, his voice surprisingly strong. “She’s running a fever. Her arm looks infected.”

Ofelia absorbed the news. “Why didn’t you call?” she asked, hating herself even as she said it for blaming him.

“I didn’t realize.” He shook his head. “She was tired earlier, but wasn’t any different. Neither of us slept much last night, and we agreed to take a nap. We were going to watch a movie after dinner. I woke up and went over to see what she wanted me to order. That’s when I realized she wasn’t waking up.”

Ofelia pushed past him and into the room, not stopping until she was next to Angelique. The siren didn’t stir, and he was right, the wound on her arm was angry and red. It wasn’t from infection. Or, well, not from the sort of infection humans suffered from.

“She’s turning into a banshee,” Ofelia said just as Sully appeared next to Ben in the doorway.

Sully’s face didn’t register shock. That’s when Ofelia realized he’d come to the conclusion it was going to happen regardless. Deep down, they both had.

“What do we do?” Sully asked evenly. “Think it through.”

Ofelia fell quiet for several seconds. She already knew the answer to that question, she realized. “Dora. I’m going to get Dora over here.”

Sully didn’t question her response. He just nodded. “Dora it is.”

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