Marked by Magic by Christa Wick

Author:Christa Wick [Wick, Christa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christa Wick

Chapter Sixteen

"Nice one!" Joelle squeed, holding the door to the medical supply store open for Michelle and Tanner.

After discreetly noting two-inch diameter hydraulic slide bolts inside the heavy metal door and the reinforced receptacle plate in the brick wall, Tanner signaled for the she-wolf to stay posted near the entrance. He then scanned the area for a direct line to another exit, but the sales floor was roughly thirty feet deep. He couldn't spot anything other than the swinging double doors that led to the employees-only area.

In total, the sales floor covered approximately twenty-five hundred square feet. The aisles were wide, but the tall shelving belonged in a warehouse instead of a store open to the public. And there weren't any carts to facilitate shopping.

Reading his mind, Michelle gave him a soft nudge.

"We're not here to browse," she said with her softest voice.

Tanner nodded, but he couldn't shake how the place felt like it was locked down.

A burly male somewhere in his early thirties greeted them from his position on the other side of a long, tall counter. To the man's left was a lower counter area and a cash register. To his right, a closed half door gave him access to the sales floor.

The guy's gaze barely landed on Tanner before jumping and sticking to Michelle.

"I'm Frank," he said, his voice tight and his smile both shallow and phony. "How can I help you folks?"

Joelle left her spot by the door, her gaze bright and her nose faintly twitching.

Suppressing the urge to push his energy at Joelle with a question of what was wrong, Tanner took a slow, deep breath. Among shifters, females had the more sensitive nose and usually made the best scent trackers. With the damage he had suffered at Harrow Mills, Tanner would need a snout full of air to match just one of Joelle's delicate sniffs.

Taking another deep breath, he detected the presence of dried blood a few days old and smothered with bleach. The odor wasn't in the shop area. It seemed to come from beyond the double doors that led to the stockroom.

"I have a list," Michelle said, oblivious to the possible danger as she approached the counter with a slip of paper held forward.

Tanner forced his wolf down when the guy took the sheet. As Frank's fingers grazed Michelle's, a visible shiver crossed his face and his pupils dilated.

"Preppers, huh?" he asked, cheeks heating as he scanned the items. "I've got all this, but it's a lot. And the boss won't let me leave anyone out front alone while I go in the back."

Tanner slid in front of Michelle, edging her behind him as Joelle protectively crowded the latent from behind.

"We'll wait on the sidewalk," he told the man. "You can lock the front door, bring the items out here, and not break your boss's rule."

"Or all of you could come in the back and help me," Frank countered. "It'll get the job done faster and I can give you a ten percent discount.

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