The sun hadn’t even fully cleared the New York skyline when the buzzer to my apartment shrieked, slicing through my caffeine-deprived brain like a serrated blade.
I was currently in a state of high-alert panic, standing in front of my hallway mirror in the cramped confines of my Upper West Side flat, trying to convince myself that my neck didn’t look like a crime scene.
"It’s just a shadow," I whispered, tilting my head to the left until my vertebrae popped. "Poor lighting. A localized skin irritation due to... extreme professional stress and the unforgiving New York humidity."
A low, cynical chuff sounded from behind me.
I spun around. Ranger was sitting by the front door, his tail giving a single, mocking thud against the hardwood. Beside him, Soldier was leaning against the coat ra
