his number. Blair did though. Hopefully, her best friend wasn’t with a client. If so, she wouldn’t be able to take the call. Ainsley swallowed a few times to stop from sobbing, but she failed to control the tears. If Eve, the clinic’s receptionist answered, from the sound of Ainsley’s shaky voice, she’d know something was terribly wrong. Ainsley wasn’t sure she could explain to a human why she wasn’t calling 911.
Wait a minute . Elana could get ahold of Kalan. Still in shock and having a hard time functioning, Ainsley fumbled in her pocket for her phone then wiped her nose and cheeks with her sleeve. As she located the Blooms of Hope phone number in her cell, her finger shook. With a press of a button, it rang.
“Blooms of Hope, Elana speaking.”
“Elana, it’s Ain…Ainsley.” She swallowed the next sob. As objectively as she could, she explained what happened, but her voice warbled, and then a fresh set of tears erupted.
“Calm down. Did you say Shamus was dead? Are you sure?”
“Y…yes. Can you contact Kalan?” She gave her directions to the location.
“I’ll call him right away.”
Because Ainsley didn’t have blood on her, hopefully Kalan wouldn’t think she had anything to do with the murder. Knowing she couldn’t leave her friend, she called Mr. Ernst and asked if she could reschedule. Thankfully, he didn’t ask too many questions. Even better, she’d managed to pull herself together for those few seconds while she spoke with him. Given Shamus’s location in the hills, it was possible the Changelings had done this to her dear friend.
She leaned over his body. “Shamus, why were you even here?”
Time seemed to stand still as she stared at the remains of what once was such a wonderfully vibrant man. What seemed like seconds later, someone placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ainsley? I need you to move away from the body.”
Without looking, she knew the voice belonged to Kalan. Four other shifter signatures were behind her. Drying her eyes with her sleeve again, she leaned back on her heels and pushed up, but her legs gave way. Kalan caught her before she landed on her knees.
“Help her to my car, please.”
Ainsley’s senses shot up, and the urge to shift nearly felled her. Jackson was there.
“Come on, Ainsley,” he said. This time his voice was raw with emotion and not accusatory.
While Shamus had only met Blair, Kalan, and Jackson one time when he’d visited as a child, Jackson seemed quite distraught over the family’s loss.
He helped her into the back seat of a cruiser then slipped in next to her on the other side. “Can you tell me what happened?” Jackson asked.
She would have waited for Kalan, but he seemed busy with the coroner. “Poor Shamus. Why would someone do this?” A sob erupted and Jackson rubbed her back.
“Take your time and start from the beginning.”
Of all the times for him to be nice, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to be approachable when she was in such a state of despair. It was easier when he was shooting daggers at her. “I had an appointment with Mr. John Ernst’s father to do some acupuncture.”
“John Ernst?” The sharpness of his tone took her by surprise.
She finally looked up at him. “Yes, he’s a Changeling, but then again so am I. It was a job, okay?”
“Sorry. I’m devastated too. How did you find the…Shamus?”
She sniffled. “I happened to see something that looked like a foot sticking out off to the side of the road, so I stopped. Once I was near, I saw it was Shamus.” The terrible image brought a fresh wave of grief.
“Did you notice anyone nearby?”
She shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Shamus being loaded onto a gurney and had to turn her head away from the gruesome scene. “Why kill him? They couldn’t have known that he fought the Changelings in Scotland,” she said as fresh tears streaked down her face.
“The forensic team might be able to tell us more. Kalan
Wait a minute . Elana could get ahold of Kalan. Still in shock and having a hard time functioning, Ainsley fumbled in her pocket for her phone then wiped her nose and cheeks with her sleeve. As she located the Blooms of Hope phone number in her cell, her finger shook. With a press of a button, it rang.
“Blooms of Hope, Elana speaking.”
“Elana, it’s Ain…Ainsley.” She swallowed the next sob. As objectively as she could, she explained what happened, but her voice warbled, and then a fresh set of tears erupted.
“Calm down. Did you say Shamus was dead? Are you sure?”
“Y…yes. Can you contact Kalan?” She gave her directions to the location.
“I’ll call him right away.”
Because Ainsley didn’t have blood on her, hopefully Kalan wouldn’t think she had anything to do with the murder. Knowing she couldn’t leave her friend, she called Mr. Ernst and asked if she could reschedule. Thankfully, he didn’t ask too many questions. Even better, she’d managed to pull herself together for those few seconds while she spoke with him. Given Shamus’s location in the hills, it was possible the Changelings had done this to her dear friend.
She leaned over his body. “Shamus, why were you even here?”
Time seemed to stand still as she stared at the remains of what once was such a wonderfully vibrant man. What seemed like seconds later, someone placed a hand on her shoulder. “Ainsley? I need you to move away from the body.”
Without looking, she knew the voice belonged to Kalan. Four other shifter signatures were behind her. Drying her eyes with her sleeve again, she leaned back on her heels and pushed up, but her legs gave way. Kalan caught her before she landed on her knees.
“Help her to my car, please.”
Ainsley’s senses shot up, and the urge to shift nearly felled her. Jackson was there.
“Come on, Ainsley,” he said. This time his voice was raw with emotion and not accusatory.
While Shamus had only met Blair, Kalan, and Jackson one time when he’d visited as a child, Jackson seemed quite distraught over the family’s loss.
He helped her into the back seat of a cruiser then slipped in next to her on the other side. “Can you tell me what happened?” Jackson asked.
She would have waited for Kalan, but he seemed busy with the coroner. “Poor Shamus. Why would someone do this?” A sob erupted and Jackson rubbed her back.
“Take your time and start from the beginning.”
Of all the times for him to be nice, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to be approachable when she was in such a state of despair. It was easier when he was shooting daggers at her. “I had an appointment with Mr. John Ernst’s father to do some acupuncture.”
“John Ernst?” The sharpness of his tone took her by surprise.
She finally looked up at him. “Yes, he’s a Changeling, but then again so am I. It was a job, okay?”
“Sorry. I’m devastated too. How did you find the…Shamus?”
She sniffled. “I happened to see something that looked like a foot sticking out off to the side of the road, so I stopped. Once I was near, I saw it was Shamus.” The terrible image brought a fresh wave of grief.
“Did you notice anyone nearby?”
She shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Shamus being loaded onto a gurney and had to turn her head away from the gruesome scene. “Why kill him? They couldn’t have known that he fought the Changelings in Scotland,” she said as fresh tears streaked down her face.
“The forensic team might be able to tell us more. Kalan
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