the watchful eye of the Bureau. Because he knew for a fact that the woman had a way of getting what she wanted.
He swore under his breath as he followed her and Tony to the car. It had taken him a good portion of yesterday to get his head to a place where he could push all personal thoughts about his ex-partner to the back of his mind and focus on the case. He’d be damned if he was going to slip up and get distracted again. He was here to do a job, and once he did it, he was leaving. End of story.
He had to admit the previous night had been like old times, though. He was never as sharp and instinctive as when he was with Danica. She had a unique way of suggesting possibilities and ordering his thoughts that made him better at his job.
Damn, he’d said he wasn’t going there and yet he was doing it again. Thinking about her, letting her invade his every thought. Why the hell was he doing this? This was a one-time deal. He’d do fine once she wasn’t around, just like he had the last two years.
Clayne distracted himself by watching Danica and Tony argue over who was going to drive.
“You drove yesterday,” she pointed out.
Tony put his hands on his hips as he squared off against her. “I didn’t know we were keeping track.”
“We always alternate.”
“Since when?”
She lifted her chin stubbornly. “Since now.”
Clayne resisted the urge to chuckle as the fed shook his head in obvious exasperation. Besides coming up with a list of potential victims last night, Clayne had also come to the conclusion that Tony wasn’t the asswipe he’d pegged him for. The guy was okay and seemed like a good agent. It wasn’t his fault he was Danica’s rebound partner.
The longer Danica and Tony argued, though, the more amusing it got. Clayne couldn’t remember her ever caring about who drove when they’d worked together. He’d driven and she’d navigated. But what’d worked for them obviously didn’t work for her and Tony. Clayne was just about to grab the keys and say he’d drive just to put a stop to the argument when they solved the issue with a game of rock, paper, scissors. Danica won.
But before they could get in the car, someone across the parking garage called Tony’s name. He muttered something under his breath. “Hold on. I’ll be right back.”
Clayne’s phone rang as he opened the back door of the car and got in. It was Kendra.
“Hey, Clayne. I continued working on the list of prey suspects I gave you this morning, hoping I could narrow it down.”
“Hang on and I’ll put you on speaker.” He thumbed the button. “Go ahead.”
“I think I have something, but I’m not sure,” Kendra said. “Regardless, it’s really weird. All the victims had the same rare blood type—AB. Can you think of any reason a shifter would select his prey based purely on what kind of blood they had?”
Clayne swore. “I can think of a really good reason. AB blood smells better.”
In the front seat, Danica arched a brow. “Shifters can tell one blood type from another by scent?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s just something I never thought about. But if all the victims had AB, I can almost guarantee it’s because it matters to the killer.”
“How would he even know what blood type they have?” Danica asked.
“I don’t know,” Clayne said. “Like you said, AB blood is really rare. Maybe all these guys were on a blood donor registry.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Kendra agreed. “Anyway, if you think this is a good lead, it’ll narrow your list of names to less than twenty people. In the meantime, I’ll see if the victims were on a donor list and see who had access to it. It might help find the killer.”
Clayne circled the names of the AB blood types as Kendra read them off. She was right. There were eighteen people to focus on now. By the time Tony got in the car, he and Danica had already worked out the order in which they would talk to them. They filled Tony in on the new lead and
He swore under his breath as he followed her and Tony to the car. It had taken him a good portion of yesterday to get his head to a place where he could push all personal thoughts about his ex-partner to the back of his mind and focus on the case. He’d be damned if he was going to slip up and get distracted again. He was here to do a job, and once he did it, he was leaving. End of story.
He had to admit the previous night had been like old times, though. He was never as sharp and instinctive as when he was with Danica. She had a unique way of suggesting possibilities and ordering his thoughts that made him better at his job.
Damn, he’d said he wasn’t going there and yet he was doing it again. Thinking about her, letting her invade his every thought. Why the hell was he doing this? This was a one-time deal. He’d do fine once she wasn’t around, just like he had the last two years.
Clayne distracted himself by watching Danica and Tony argue over who was going to drive.
“You drove yesterday,” she pointed out.
Tony put his hands on his hips as he squared off against her. “I didn’t know we were keeping track.”
“We always alternate.”
“Since when?”
She lifted her chin stubbornly. “Since now.”
Clayne resisted the urge to chuckle as the fed shook his head in obvious exasperation. Besides coming up with a list of potential victims last night, Clayne had also come to the conclusion that Tony wasn’t the asswipe he’d pegged him for. The guy was okay and seemed like a good agent. It wasn’t his fault he was Danica’s rebound partner.
The longer Danica and Tony argued, though, the more amusing it got. Clayne couldn’t remember her ever caring about who drove when they’d worked together. He’d driven and she’d navigated. But what’d worked for them obviously didn’t work for her and Tony. Clayne was just about to grab the keys and say he’d drive just to put a stop to the argument when they solved the issue with a game of rock, paper, scissors. Danica won.
But before they could get in the car, someone across the parking garage called Tony’s name. He muttered something under his breath. “Hold on. I’ll be right back.”
Clayne’s phone rang as he opened the back door of the car and got in. It was Kendra.
“Hey, Clayne. I continued working on the list of prey suspects I gave you this morning, hoping I could narrow it down.”
“Hang on and I’ll put you on speaker.” He thumbed the button. “Go ahead.”
“I think I have something, but I’m not sure,” Kendra said. “Regardless, it’s really weird. All the victims had the same rare blood type—AB. Can you think of any reason a shifter would select his prey based purely on what kind of blood they had?”
Clayne swore. “I can think of a really good reason. AB blood smells better.”
In the front seat, Danica arched a brow. “Shifters can tell one blood type from another by scent?”
He nodded. “Yeah. It’s just something I never thought about. But if all the victims had AB, I can almost guarantee it’s because it matters to the killer.”
“How would he even know what blood type they have?” Danica asked.
“I don’t know,” Clayne said. “Like you said, AB blood is really rare. Maybe all these guys were on a blood donor registry.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Kendra agreed. “Anyway, if you think this is a good lead, it’ll narrow your list of names to less than twenty people. In the meantime, I’ll see if the victims were on a donor list and see who had access to it. It might help find the killer.”
Clayne circled the names of the AB blood types as Kendra read them off. She was right. There were eighteen people to focus on now. By the time Tony got in the car, he and Danica had already worked out the order in which they would talk to them. They filled Tony in on the new lead and
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