Elena noticed his shoes then. Mud was caked on the treads despite his crisp suit. Hospital floors reflected everything, and she saw the red-brown in the polish. The same color she’d scrubbed from the girl’s skin hours ago. “Rough morning?” she asked, forcing casualness. “Oh, just rain,” he said.
The detective took the papers, scanning them under the fluorescent light. “Mind if we make copies?” he asked. “Of course not,” the man replied. “I’m just eager to bring my daughter home.” Valorian’s growl deepened, a low thunder that seemed to come from the floor itself. Every hair along his spine bristled.