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doing?” he asked as if he had to, but didn’t want to.
    “Fine,” I knew I’d said it too quickly the moment after it left my mouth.
    He looked me over, top to toes, with a hard eye. “Where are your glasses?”
    “Seems I don’t need them anymore,” I shrugged casually looking away from him, down at the magazine in my lap.
    “Oh really. Any other recent advantages then?”
    “Nope.”
    “Violet, look at me.”
    Like a guilty child, I moved my eyes slowly up to his face, keeping my chin low.
    “What else?”
    I sighed and shifted in my seat. “I’m not afraid of heights anymore,” I said, thinking it was inconsequential and he couldn’t read anything dark into it.
    But he leaned forward with that ever increasing furrow between his brows. His hands clasped out in front of him, he asked, “What else?”
    “I ran down the street to catch the ice cream man and didn’t get winded.”
    “How far?”
    “A hundred yards.”
    Chaz grunted and looked away. I didn’t like it when he did that, it made me nervous, made me very aware of the four dark shadows still down my left shoulder.
    He looked up from his hands, a determined jut to his soap star jaw. You have to see the Shala. She’s the only one who can help you.”
    I just laughed. “Right.”
    “She is, Violet. She can guide you through this. We should go tonight; the full moon is less than a week away.”
    I stood and he mirrored my new position. “I can’t just leave, Chaz. Some of us have responsibilities to actual people. Have commitments. Did you know that I have to work three jobs in order to pay my mortgage?”
    “And keeping you safe isn’t a full time job?” he snapped back. The muscles clenched in his jaw and my skin grew a hotter as my temper flared.
    “Made it through the first twenty-seven years just fine.”
    Storming off, I threw my magazines back on the rack as I walked for the door. He caught my arm and spun me around harshly so we were practically nose to nose. I was awash in that scent that had haunted my dreams.
    “You don’t understand. You are changing, Violet,” he said in a low tone, almost a growl. “And if you don’t get it under control, they will not hesitate to control it.”
    I tore my arm away from him and glared furiously until I fully understood what he was saying: If I couldn’t get whatever was inside me, running through my blood, under control, he would shoot me, like he shot that thing in the alley.
    I ran; the fight or flight response kicking in like it had never done before. My hand was on the door handle of my Miata when I saw a familiar sports car sitting across the street. The driver wasn’t visible.
    Chaz ran into my frozen figure. “What?”
    His eyes followed mine to the car without the driver.
    “I’ve seen it before. He’s one of yours, right?”
    Chaz grunted. “They don’t pay us enough to have BMWs.”
    He moved around the front of my car, his eyes never moving from the car across the street. “Go home,” he ordered.
    Chaz was gone in the blink of an eye. Nothing figurative about it. Just gone, like The Flash minus the red tights. His scent lingered around me as I got into my car and quickly turned on the ignition. I heard the squealing of tires and the sports car was gone too.
    I’d never driven that fast before. After what Chaz said, after seeing that other car following me around, there was no way that I was going home.
    My car sort of steered itself to the only safe place that I could think of.

 
    Chapter Six
     
    J essa opened the door with the phone attached to her ear. “I’ll call you back,” she said slowly as she dropped her cell phone from her cheek and the blood ran out of her face.
    “Is it that bad?” I forced a smile.
    Jessa stepped aside and I dragged my feet as I entered her perfect apartment.
    “What’s going on? You look terrible.”
    “Don’t I always?”
    Jessa ushered me into her flawless flat. She was the only person I knew who had actually hired a team