Exactly! Corbin said. Now you’re catching on.

By the way, I thought you said you weren’t going to pop into my headspace, she quipped.

This isn’t your headspace. This is the hallway.

Ah, she said with a laugh and opened her eyes to snap back into the Sanctuary. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You’re going to need to master this skill, Sarah Beth. Locating is one of the most important things we do,” Corbin said, meeting her eyes. “So let’s go again?”

Sarah Beth nodded.

“Now, I want you to find your other roommate, Elizabeth, but this time no cheating . . .”

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

AGR SHIPPING WAREHOUSE

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

2242 HOURS LOCAL

Maria pulled into the abandoned parking lot outside the dilapidated warehouse and wondered if she’d driven to the correct address. She left the engine running, transmission in drive and foot on the brake, while she scanned the property for signs of life. The building itself was windowless, save for a small, dark porthole in the metal door next to the loading bays. Knee-high weeds chased the perimeter chain-link fence, and a pile of discarded wooden shipping pallets formed a haphazard and unsightly rubbish heap off to the side of the entrance. The gate had been hanging open upon her arrival, a rusty chain and unclasped padlock dangling from the crossbar.

“Hmm,” she murmured, fetching the hand-scrawled address on the slip of paper in her armrest cup holder and checking against the one she’d entered in the navigation app on her phone. “Looks like this is the right place.”

With an annoyed exhale, she shifted the transmission into park, turned off the engine, and climbed out of her car. Her right wrist brushed against the Glock 23 she wore holstered on her hip. There’s nothing to be afraid of, she told herself, but fear gripped her regardless. Despite its abandoned appearance, this place felt intrusive and ominous. She steeled herself with a deep breath, put on her I’m a cop, so don’t mess with me face, and marched to the half flight of concrete stairs that led up to the building’s only door.

A low-slung shadow darted across the loading dock right in front of her.

She gasped and belatedly pulled her weapon. Heart racing, she scanned over her pistol until her gaze met a pair of neon-yellow cat eyes staring back at her from a safe distance at the corner by the third bay.

“Nasty little thing,” she said to it.

It hissed at her, then disappeared around the corner.

She hated black cats . . .

Feeling like an idiot, she holstered her weapon, took the stairs, and walked up to the door. If Victor had asked her here, it wasn’t to kill her, right? He could do that anywhere, using his legion of Dark Ones.

Or kill me from inside my head or make me crash my car, even shoot myself.