Marie Harte - Entranced

April Fools Day

Munich, Germany

Nope. Havent seen her. The plump saleswoman behind the counter smiled and gestured to a rack of handmade scarves next to her. But I knitted these myself. You find your friend and come back, and Ill give you a discount. And see Gustav down the street. You need to eat more, young man, or the wind will knock you right over. She laughed.

Jack had no trouble understanding her southern German dialect. Born Jonathan Keiser, hed been raised by second-generation German immigrants and had spoken German as a first language. His accent impeccable, he thanked her and left, tugging his jacket around him.

The wind whipped and brought tears to his eyes. He put a hand into his pocket, retrieved a photo, and stared at it. Again. For two weeks now, hed been searching for Heather Fucking Stallbridge. Owens sister had become as big a pain in Jacks ass as her domineering older brother. Jack couldnt stop staring at her damn picture, and hed tried. He had to hold it, keep it close. Hed found himself memorizing her features, wondering what she thought, how shed look when she smiled, if she tasted half as good as he imagined

Fuck. A woman had almost been the death of him once, and hed vowed never again. But he had a feeling this one would prove more dangerous, because he couldnt get a bead on why she got to him. Why he thought about her all the time. He understood his dick getting hard. Heather Stallbridge was a knockout, no question about it. But something inside him softened when he thought of her, that part of him hed worked so hard to build into an impenetrable shield. Hed never admit it, but his insane attraction for her worried him. This hold sheher picturehad over him wasnt normal. She fucking enthralled him, and hed never even met her.

He swore again and shook his head. Fortunately, his skin itched, distracting him, and he knew it was almost time to change back. He hadnt been a young man in more than fifteen years. Though thirty-five, at times he felt three times his age. Life had been hard for a long time now, but at least he no longer questioned why he fought to stay alive.

Shrugging the bony shoulders of a young man much too frail to withstand the cold, Jack pocketed the photo as he walked back to his room. He passed a young man and quickened his step when he saw a flash of recognition.

The young guy called out a greeting. Carl? I thought you werent coming back until Friday.

He wasnt. Jack coughed and ducked into his coat. Came back early, he muttered and walked faster. Talk to you later, he called over his shoulder as he turned down the street, then made a left and raced through the cobblestone alley leading to Carls small loft, a handy spot to change, undetected, between alter egos.

All this cloak-and-dagger shit to find one headstrong woman who refused to come when called. A lot of nonsense he had little time for, not with his squad of psychics at home in Oregon no doubt going off the deep end without him.

Once inside the building, he ran up the stairs to Carls loft. Panting because of the cold and the out-of-shape body hed assumed, Jack used the key hed borrowed, entered, and locked the door behind him. After a quick look around to determine no one had been inside while hed been gone, he released a well-deserved sigh and stripped naked, trembling with bone-deep cold.

Too much distance between me and that picture. He knew it made no sense, but he delved into the pocket of the pants hed been wearing anyway, pulled the thing out, and stared at her photo. For the second time in ten minutes. The woman looked enough like Owen to clearly identify them as siblings. She had the same ash-blonde hair, emerald-green eyes, high cheekbones, and stubborn chin. But whereas Owen was handsome, Heather had stunning beauty.

Jack kept his gaze on her while his body returned to normal. His bones lengthened, and his muscle mass returned to the density it had been before. Blood raced, tissue expanded, and his organs slowly reshaped themselves to reflect a man of incredible stamina, health, and speed. Jack healed quickly. Shifting formswhat had once been a traumatic, painful experience in his youth now occurred without incident. He could assume different faces and body types with ease. But because Carl had been so unlike Jacks normal frame, it took him a few minutes to get all the kinks out.

Finally. His deep baritone relieved him. Carls vocal chords had given him a high pitch, and the voice had annoyed Jack more than the kids tiny body had. Hed been Carl on and off for a week, staying in Carls loft and wearing Carls clothes.

Ian, the most ill-disciplined but well-connected member of Jacks PowerUp! team, had actually managed to give him a decent cover in this city. Ian hadnt fucked up an assignment for once. Go figure.

Jack shivered and told himself to stop dicking around. He put his own clothes back on, relieved to feel decent underwear, denim, a thick sweater, and a leather jacket over his six-five frame. He threw on socks and stepped into his boots, then donned his gloves. Grabbing Carls clothes, he shoved them into his bag, not wanting to leave any traces of DNA behind. Then, after pocketing Heathers picture, he took another look around the living space. Having left no visible hint of his stay, Jack put the spare key back on the key ring by the door and left with his bag in hand, closing the locked door behind him.

He passed two older women, who gave him a wide berth as he left. Friend of Carls, he muttered, and they scurried up the stairs behind him.

Once outside, he got into his rental and drove away from the city on the only lead he hadnt yet followed. A week ago, when hed arrived in the borough, an old man had walked right up to him and told him to head toward the ZugspitzeGermanys tallest mountain.

Toward? Jack had asked.

Yes, and around, and behind. And in. The old man had winked. Youll find what youre looking for not on any map. But youd better hurry before the truth comes out. Then hed tipped back another beer, belched, and laughed before staggering away and rounding a corner.

When Jack had tried to follow to ask more questions, hed found that the old guy had vanished.

So now, the great Jack Keiser, leader of an elite band of psychic investigators, had nothing better to door a better lead to investigatethan to follow a drunken mans ramblings. At least the view would be decent. He drove for an hour out of town, south toward the majestic mountains. Snowcapped and tucked into a verdant forest of spruce and fir, surrounded by crisp air and nature enthusiasts, the Zugspitze commanded attention with a majesty Jack appreciated. Often compared to a mountain of muscle himself, hed accepted that bigger sometimes did mean better. And he took his responsibilities to heart. As he drove closer to the Wetterstein Range, he realized he hadnt taken a vacation in over six years.

Odd time to have some fun, looking for a missing woman, a paranormal book, and trouble he could almost taste in the crisp, mountain air.

He continued toward Grainau, another town on the way toward the mountain and Lake Eibsee, a few miles away. The lake itself attracted a fair share of tourists, so maybe Heather had headed there? She wasnt in Munich. Hed scoured the places his resources couldnt and had found no hint of the woman. The town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen had a small enough footprint that, in a matter of days, Ians contacts had reported no sign of the womans presence there either. Maybe Grainau?

At this rate, Jack could cross southern Germany off his places to see list. Hed been to Germany before, but mostly on ops in the northern, more industrial cities: Frankfurt, Berlin, Hamburg. His Audi had no problem traversing Southern Germany either. Jack saw a sign for Lake Eibsee ahead, but his attention caught and held on a distinct dirt road coming up on the right. Some instinct told him to turn off the state road onto the dirt road, one barely wide enough to fit two cars side by side.