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Caden tried to hide his smirk, but I could see him smiling through his irritation. “You say that like you think we can do it? How the fuck are we supposed to keep ourselves away from her? It hasn’t even been a full day and all I want is for her to be in my arms again. I want to take her home and cook something amazing for her like she is my queen or something, man. You see this crazy look in my eyes? This is love, man! Love!”
I burst into laughter. “Cooking? Really? You can’t be serious! That’s what you’re fantasizing about doing with Sera?”
Caden smiled at me, his face lit up from within, his eyes glimmered with happiness and love. “Oh I am, brother. We really bonded over ice cream and I have some ideas involving pistachios and candied orange that sure as hell will drive her crazy.”
I laughed at him, my eyes tearing up with happiness again. “Whatever floats your goat, demon,” I replied. “If it makes both you and our mate happy, I’ll even buy the nuts.”
Caden reached over and laid a hand on my thigh, rubbing it slightly through my pants as he looked me in the eye. The look in his eyes made my shaft twitch. “And I’d even allow you to bring the nuts,” he said with a smile.
I leaned in and whispered against his cheek. “I like many nuts, but I draw the line at pistachios,” I admitted.
Caden pulled back, feigned horror. “You heathen!”
I inclined my head. “Definitionally.”
We had a good laugh, but it wasn’t long before our mood sobered. I didn’t want to say anything, but every minute that passed that we didn’t see Sera made me more worry more and more.
“I wish we could just walk in there and ask how she’s doing,” Caden said.
“Yet you know Sera asked for some space and we need to be discreet.”
Caden turned toward me and crossed his arms. “You know we’re sitting here in your neon pink car, right?”
I shook my head. “It’s on brand for Velvet and it tops out at 160. Besides, there’s a ton of cars here in the parking lot. We blend in.”
“Said no one ever about our posse. It’s a damn fine ride, Franc, but subtle, this ain’t. If Sera walks out of that door, she’ll definitely see us out here. You know we should have brought an unfamiliar car.”
I groaned, running my hands through my curly hair, and then down over my face. “I get it. You’re right. I should have supported Sera’s wishes for space, but I was just worried about her too much. I want my mate safe and happy. If that means going against her wishes once in a while, then so be it. I’ll take full responsibility and apologize later.”
Caden laughed at me, shaking his head. “You are a piece of work, demi-god, but I love you anyway. You always look out for the others when they need it the most, even when they don’t realize it yet themselves. That said, I think we could both use some time with our mate right about now.” He turned back around in his seat, facing forward as he spoke to me again. “Should we go? We can swing back by later? Or maybe do a drive by on her house? Or not? What do you think?”
I turned my head and met his gaze with my own, then turned towards the front of the car again as I answered his question. “Let’s go inside and see if she’s there; after that we can take a drive by her house and check up on her.”
The matter decided, we locked up the car and crossed the parking lot to Charmed Brews.
I pulled the door open and walked into the shop with Caden right behind me. We looked around, taking in the space. The scent of coffee beans permeated the air. The front room had a counter in an L shape along the right side and across the back with a row of tables and chairs on the other wall. Off to the left the space opened up, revealing table upon table with patrons boisterously drinking the shop’s wares as they played role-playing games.
Behind the counter were shelves stocked with coffee mugs and bags of beans. I didn’t see anyone behind the counter, but there was a door marked ‘staff only’ at the back. Perhaps that’s where Sera was?
I caught sight of the missing person’s poster in the window and walked up to it to get a better look, ripping it as I pulled it off the glass. I read it over twice before I realized what it said, my eyes continually drawn to the picture of my mate on the page. My heart leapt into my throat as I turned towards Caden, who had been waiting for me to finish.
“What does it say?” he asked me.
I held it up for him to read along with me, hoping against hope that maybe I hadn’t understood what it meant the first time through.
‘MISSING: Ms Sera Lowe, beloved member of our community and owner of Charmed Brews. Any information leading to finding Ms. Lowe will be rewarded. She is 5′6″ tall, 155 lbs with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen in the company of one Emrys Tedros and may still be with him or his friends, Franc Lyaeus, Liam Grant, Marcos Wright, or Caden Zagrolun. Anyone with information on her whereabouts or the whereabouts of the men listed above should contact Detective Obras at Garda City Police Department (360) 555-1234 or Ms. Dara Lowe at (360) 898-9922.’
I stared at it for a moment, then looked up at Caden again, unable to find any words to say just then. When I found my voice, I was pretty sure my words came out in more of a whisper than anything else. “If Sera had returned to her shop, would this poster still be up?”
“I don’t know,” Caden replied, rubbing his chin. “Probably not.”
“This means she hasn’t been back here,” I replied. “It’s been a full day. She wouldn’t have just gone home and not to her shop. She loves this place!” I paused, realizing I was ranting. “Oh, this isn’t helping. Let’s figure out where Sera is.”
Caden put his hands on my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. “Hey now, we don’t know any of that yet. We don’t even know if she knows about the poster yet or not. They might have missed taking it down in the hubbub of her return home.”
I took a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. “I just need to figure out where Sera is and confirm she’s okay.” I looked at Caden and nodded. “Let’s find Pepper, the lady Sera left in charge of the shop. She’ll know where Sera is. Then we can figure out our next steps from there.”
Franc nodded. “Okay.”
