Talia DuPont deals in secrets. Hell, it’s practically a requirement in her line of work. And she’s not afraid to get her hands dirty to find the answers she seeks. But now Talia has a secret of her own… One she knows will change the course of her life forever. Before Talia can drop this bomb, she’s got one last mission to complete help her oldest friend track down a man with no face and no name. To make matters worse, she’ll have to do it at The Monster Ball, the most exclusive party in the supernatural world. A place where no weapons are allowed and the attire doesn’t exactly lend itself to combat. But if anyone can hunt down a stranger with only her wits as a weapon, it’s Talia. After all, how hard could it be to hunt down a shadow in the middle of the ocean on an unsinkable ship? Surely, not any harder than holding onto the secret she’s been carrying. Either way, by the end of the night, she’s determined to be done with both. **originally published as part of The Monster Ball anthology