I finished my report, which was just a generic breakdown of events leading up to Val’s death, under the watchful eye of Miles. I managed to ignore him and not spin kick him upside the head when I left. I pushed the episode with him to the back of my mind. I had other things to stress over.
Namely Ren.
The prince.
The fact my womb was a walking time bomb.
I caught a ride over to the warehouse district, to Ren’s place. As I rode the industrial, cage-style elevator up to his floor, I worked through the multiple scenarios of how this could play out. If Ren wasn’t here, I didn’t know what to do next other than scouring the streets for him, but I knew I’d have little luck. After living in New Orleans for three years, I knew the streets could swallow people whole. And if Ren was at his place? Oh gosh, I’d probably just cry out in relief, hug him, and then scamper off. If he was at his place, avoiding David and my calls, he didn’t want to be found.
My heart was bouncing all over as I walked up to his door. My hand froze as I went to knock on it. Fear held me still. Ridiculous. I could face down a pack of rabid fae, but I was too scared to knock on Ren’s door?
I rolled my eyes.
Rapping my knuckles on the steel, I stepped back and waited . . . and waited. I knocked again and waited probably five minutes. Nothing. Either he wasn’t in there or he spotted me through the peephole and wasn’t answering. Either way, I felt sick to my stomach.
I gave up and went back down the elevator. Outside his apartment, I fought to not give in to the panic building in my stomach. I needed to refocus, and since I was close to Flux, I decided that was better than nothing. And it would totally be worth David’s glare when he saw me.
It took me about fifteen minutes to get to the stretch of newish buildings and old warehouses converted into clubs and restaurants. There was no missing the fact that some serious crap had gone down at the club. Blue and red lights lit up the street, casting alternating colors along the shiny windows of the nearby buildings.
My steps slowed as I neared Flux. Yellow police tape spanned the area, roping off the entrance to the club. Reporters were being kept at bay by several police officers. I scanned the crowds but didn’t see David or any other Order member. Remembering the back entrance where Ren and I saw the fae talking with the officers, I skirted around the crowd and cars and headed for the alley.
Walking past the stone benches and potted plants, I stopped and peered around the corner. Several dark SUVs blocked the doors. There was a back entrance where food service and staff entered. One that I doubted would be easily—
“Hey.”
Swallowing a yelp, I nearly came out of my skin as I whipped around. Glenn stood behind me, dark brown eyes wide and brows raised. “Holy crap, are you part ninja?” I exclaimed. “I didn’t even hear you walk up behind me.”
“It’s called being quiet,” he replied, grinning. “I’m pretty good at it.”
“I’ll say.”
He stopped beside me. “Whatcha doing?”
I turned back to the loading area. “I was hoping I could sneak in the back and see what the hell is going on in there.”
“It’s a freaking horror show.”
“You’ve been in there?”
Glenn nodded. “Got here when David put the call out. Haven’t seen anything like it. Seriously.” He lifted a hand, rubbing it over his skull. “You don’t have to sneak. Only members are inside, and a handful of detectives that David knows.”
“Crap,” I murmured. If the police were here and most of them were outside while only members and the cops who knew about us and the fae were inside, this was some serious stuff. “Let’s go.”
Glenn led the way to the doors where the SUVs were parked. “So where are you from?” I asked, realizing I knew very little about him.
He looked over his shoulder at me. “You’re the second person to ask me that.”
I glanced around. “Oh?”
“Yeah. You and Ren.”
“Oh,” I said again, much lower this time.
A handsome grin appeared on his face. “I’m from New York City. It’s taking me a bit to get used to this place.”
“I’ve never been there. Always wanted to see it though.” We walked around one of the SUVs. “I’m originally from Virginia.”
“So the summers are as bad here as I’ve heard?” He opened the door, holding it out for me. “I was expecting it to be warmer by now. Sort of feels like I’m still in the north.”
“Yeah. The weather right now is a little weird.”
Glenn stepped around me and led the way down a narrow hallway with several closed and opened doors. A break room. A door marked “Manager.” A storage room that was open, with liquor bottles everywhere.