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I anticipate Pierce coming after me, but he doesn't. He knows it's best to let me do my own thing, and sometimes he does because coming after me makes more of a scene.

And right now, it definitely would.

I'm feeling antsy, and I don't fucking like it.

The woman behind the desk looks up at me with a kind smile, like I'm any other customer.

“Hi, can I help you?”

I flash my badge, but her expression doesn't change. The kind smile stays on her face, and she blinks once.

“The woman who just came in here. Raewyn Forester. Is she planning on staying?”

“I'm sorry, Detective, but I can't confirm whether someone is a patient here.”

“I just watched her walk down that hallway.” I point to it.

“I'm sure you understand that we take our patients' privacy seriously.”

I narrow my eyes at her. I don’t know what I expected coming in here, but I’m not surprised that she’s not handing her over to me.

“She's involved in an active homicide investigation,” I explain. “I need to know how long she'll be here.”

She pauses a moment, blinking but otherwise still looking at me like she couldn’t care less who I am. “I understand, but unless you have a warrant or she's given us permission to share that information, I can't help you.”

“Christ,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair.

Fine. If she won't tell me anything about Raewyn, I'll find out what I can about this place and piece it together myself. I try a different tactic.

“Say an omega comes in here for her heat. How long does she usually stay?”

“That depends on the individual. Most stay until their heat has passed.”

That’s very unhelpful. She’s being difficult, but she’s doing it with a smile on her face. If this were another situation, it might make me smile.

“And they're allowed to leave whenever they want?”

“No one is kept here against their will, Detective. This isn’t a prison.”

Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but she’s not wrong.

“What kind of security do you have?”

“Excellent security. Our patients' safety is our top priority.”

“That's not what I asked.”

“It's the answer I can give you, and I know you know that.”

This woman is going to give me a headache.

I glance toward the hallway Raewyn disappeared down. At least she's here. She's somewhere we can keep an eye on her, and if she's going into heat, she won't be leaving anytime soon.

“What's your best room?” I ask.

The woman blinks. “Excuse me?”

“Your best room. The most private one you've got. The one people take and don’t want to leave.”