And that shouldn’t have happened.

Maybe it just boiled down to sexual infatuation. There was no denying Naya had feminine curves that made a man’s tongue want to measure the length of her body. She kept herself groomed. She had an exotic face, long lashes, and the most intense brown eyes he’d ever seen. She never wore ponytails or dressed down in sneakers. Naya polished her nails, waxed her legs, kept her hair in silky brown curls, and looked flawless with or without makeup. Even small touches like toe rings and anklets had never escaped his attention. Not the kind of woman he’d ever been with before. Someone so in control, so perfect and clean—untouched by the evils that lurked in their world.

He tossed the pencil on his desk and studied the tattoos on his arms. They weaved a long and silent story of his dark past.

A knock sounded at the door and he tensed.

“Got a minute?” Reno asked from the hall.

“Give me a second.” Wheeler fumbled with his glasses and hid them in a drawer. He crossed the room, stretching his back before he opened the door.

Reno gave him a flat look. “Mind if I come in?”

Wheeler returned to his desk chair and swiveled around to face the bed. “Shut the door. ’Preciate ya.”

Reno closed the door and took a seat on the edge of the bed. “I’ve got a case I’m working on and need to pick your brain. Remember when you had me look up a name that was coming up on wire exchanges for Sweet Treats back when the owner was still alive?”

Wheeler recalled the details immediately. Lexi’s old boss, Charles Langston, had died and left her the business. Wheeler had sorted through the files and discovered he’d been sending wire transactions to a man named Maddox Cane. Maddox had not only turned out to be a Shifter, but a loan shark as well.

“I remember,” Wheeler said.

Reno lowered his voice. “Maddox was one of two loan sharks circling April at the time. The other goes by the name Delgado. Sound familiar? Same guy Izzy’s ex was dealing drugs for. He’s been a problem that I want to solve, if you get my meaning.”

“What’s one thing have to do with the other?” Wheeler straightened his long legs and crossed them at the ankle.

Reno glanced at the news website pulled up on Wheeler’s laptop. “Did you hear about the Shifter who went missing at the strip club?”

“A sock goes missing, Reno. A woman is taken.”

“Yeah, well… semantics. Turns out Delgado owns that club. This guy seems to appear whenever there’s a hurricane. I don’t like it. From what I know, he’s a human.”

Wheeler sniffed out a laugh. “How the hell do you know that?”

Reno brushed his hand across his short hair and it made a bristly sound. “April still keeps in touch with Maddox.”

“Ah, the pet owner,” Wheeler said with disdain.