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“I don’t remember you being such a smart ass before,” he says, grinning at me as I glare at him. “But, to answer your question, I’m looking for some gems. They’re not exactly small, but I tossed them into a container that had flowers in it or some shit floating in it. I’m also missing a flash drive.”
I think of the gemstones I bagged the other day, and realize I had stolen goods under my very nose…again. “I’m surprised you didn’t find them then, because all the glass vases have been packed, which means the contents were also packed up in the boxes,” I reply. “As far as a flash drive goes, you’d need to be a bit more specific because Tressa uses them as well, so if I found one around the house, I either tossed it into the container she had on her desk that’s full of them, or I flung them inside of my purse. Can’t really say for sure, though.”
“You’re just deliberately making things harder for yourself, aren’t you?” he asks, hitting me again. I can taste blood from where I bit the inside of my mouth; that metallic, coppery, icky feeling now has me wanting to throw up all over Jeremy.
“No, actually, I’m not,” I reply. He may not think I’m being truthful, but I typically don’t lie. It’s not worth it to me to have to remember what lie I told and to whom so I can cover my tracks. It gets confusing to keep the fibs straight. I just don’t feel as though Jeremy is being one-hundred percent truthful; he claimed if I got him what he was looking for, he would let me go, only the way he’s acting, I think my time is measured. He’s not going to let me walk free and have a witness on the outside that could put him away behind bars. The gun he keeps waving around doesn’t help my sense of unease, either.
“Please, realize I’ve been gone too long and come looking for me,”I chant over and over as I continue to work on loosening the rope’s bindings.
“Fine, then we’re going to your place to get the stones,” he decrees, snatching me up and practically dragging me toward the door. My feet hardly touch the floor which makes it ten times harder to keep up with his long strides.
“There’s probably going to be people there,” I warn. “You figured out we’re moving, which is probably why you’ve ramped up your efforts to find your stuff that’s actually not yours, is it?”
“Guess they’ll let me in and won’t mess with me when I show them this,” he states, waving his gun around yet again. I’d wish him luck, but I don’t want him to have that on his side. My only saving grace is that he’s not aware of the existence of shifters. They have the upper hand over him because projectiles have nothing on sharp teeth that could shred a human’s skin in zero point three seconds, and the speed of four paws that makes them faster than a speeding bullet.
Instead of answering, I simply shrug. I feel pretty confident that Stealth and his club brothers will be able to handle a bullet if they’re even remotely like the shifter stories I’ve read over the years. It’s another one of those questions I tuck away to ask Tressa once I’m safe at home.
He shoves me into the passenger seat of myowncar, but doesn’t buckle me in, which makes me nervous because he’s not a safe driver to begin with, but I keep my mouth shut once again. I silently pray the pedestrians on the streets have the good sense to avoid him.
As he heads toward my apartment, I send up a silent prayer that if Tressa is there, Chaos keeps her protected and no one gets in Jeremy’s way. I’d rather be the one who gets injured if it means my best friend stays safe and sound.
Stealth
“Brother,didn’t think y’all would get here this soon,” I say as soon as Chaos hops down out of the driver’s side of the box truck.
“Yeah, well, when my mate heard what was going on because she waseavesdropping,” he says, stressing his words while giving her a playful yet scathing look that has her mirthfully grinning from ear-to-ear, “we had no other choice. Where’s Nicole?”
“Hell, she should be back by now. She went into town for some pastries and coffee for everyone,” I reply.
“Oh, I bet she went to DeFilippos!” Tressa exclaims, while doing some crazy-ass dance with her arms up and fingers pointing to the sky. “God, I love her so much! Their muffins and donuts are freaking phenomenal.”
“How far away is it?” I question, still concerned about the fact she’s been gone for well over an hour now. This town isn’t big enough for the lines to be that long and the streets here are never congested.
“Uh, it’s just in town, so maybe a few minutes away… max, depending on traffic. How long ago did she leave?”
“Close to an hour and a half ago,” I answer, shuffling my feet.
“Something’s wrong, Chaos. It shouldn’t take her that long to go there, buy out the place, and come back,” Tressa insists, tears beginning to form in her eyes. “I mean, she won’t buy out the place exactly, but she’ll definitely get a decent variety of their awesome pastries. Please, can we go look for her, Chaos? Her being gone this long has me anxious.” When she admits that, my protective instincts roar inside of me. We can’t give her more time, we need to verify that she’s okay and no harm has come to her. And if it has, I’ll burn this motherfucking town to the ground until I locate her. Then the fucker who dared lay a finger on her, will wish for an easy death… which he won’t receive.
“I’ll take my bike, y’all take the truck. Wait, where are the rest of the brothers?” I ask.
“About an hour behind us at this point. Tressa just couldn’t wait, so Fox sent us on ahead of them because he said she was giving him a headache.”
“Hurry, please?” Tressa asks, moving toward the box truck. “Something’s not right, I can feel it.”
* * *
When Tressa hearsthe clerk say that Nicole left with Jeremy, she turns so pale that I worry she’s going to pass out. Since the clerk couldn’t say which direction they headed in, and Nicole’s vehicle isn’t in the parking lot, but it’s not at home either, we’re heading back to the house to come up with a game plan to find my mate. Personally, I’d be fine with driving around until I found her vehicle or scented her, but that’s not exactly logical, even if my wolf demands it is, because they could be in his vehicle for all I know. Neither is me shifting into my wolf so I can track her down using his senses, which was my other idea, as well as his. I try to soothe him so I can think clearly, him howling inside of my head isn’t helping matters. We’re both on edge and could snap in the blink of an eye if I’m not careful and give him my skin.
All I know is I feel my anxiety rising which is not normal for me. I may be a moody bastard most of the time, but I’m typically calm and laid back. When we pull into the parking lot, my wolf goes wild, instantaneously on high alert which has me wobbling and nearly has me laying my bike down instead of putting the stand down to stabilize it, shutting it off, then getting off like a normal person in control would.
“She’s been back,” I whisper, stalking toward her car which is now parked in her assigned spot. Looking inside to scan the contents, and to see if there’s been a struggle, I notice there are big bags full of various pastries, but the cup holder carrying the coffees has been knocked over and has spilled all over the interior. My heightened senses pick up her fear, as well as Jeremy’s rage-filled stench that’s always adhered to his person. “And she’s scared, but why?” I vocalize aloud.
When we get inside, I see two boxes have been reopened and realize thatJeremywas looking for something specific when he came into their house. Unfortunately, she’s not still here, although I’m picking up a metallic, coppery scent mixed in her essence, which means she’s hurt. My fists curl, my claws break through my skin, and I don’t even try to stop the howl that erupts past my lips; that fucker will die by my hands.
“She’s not here!” Tressa calls out from the back of the house, having checked all the rooms while I followed Nini’s scent. “But she’s been back inside, you said?” she asks, looking at me.
“Yes. I need to find her, she’s hurt,” I reply, heading toward the front door once again. I will find her, and Iwilleliminate the threat to her.
