by Mills, Julia
Just as their lips were about to touch, the PA overheard broke them apart. “Dr. Malone, Code Amber, Room 212. Dr. Malone, Code Amber, Room 212.”
Without another thought, she spun from Lance’s arms and raced out of the room. “What the hell’s happening, Doc?” she heard him call after her, but there was no way she could answer past the fear that felt like a weight on her chest. The loud speaker had just announced that Sydney was missing!
CHAPTER FOUR
Lance caught up with Sam as she entered the stairwell. The waves of fear radiating from his mate would have crippled a lesser woman, but not his Sam. He wanted to make her stop and tell him what was happening, but knew from the look on her face and the way her muscles were drawn tight that he would most likely end up with her knee in a very personal part of his body. Instead, he kept pace and pushed as much of his strength as he thought she could handle through their very new, very weak mating bond. As she threw open the door marked with a large number two, she worked hard to school her expression and throw on an air of professionalism. The woman he recognized as Charlie came rushing towards them, talking in hushed tones, stopping Sam in the middle of the hall. “The nurse had just checked on her not more than ten minutes before. Sydney had asked for more red Jell-O. When the nurse returned, the child was gone. No one saw her, and nothing in the room has been disturbed. It looks like she simply got up and walked away.”
“She has to be somewhere. She couldn’t have gotten out of here without someone seeing her. She told me she was going to the children’s room after lunch. Did someone check there?” Sam inquired, and he could tell she was holding on by the skin of her teeth. The need to touch her was alive within him, but he also recognized her need to remain independent and professional.
“They’ve looked everywhere. You were paged when it was determined she was not in the hospital.” Charlie answered, taking on a completely professional tone he was sure she used in an attempt to keep Sam calm.
“We have to look again. There’s no way she would’ve gone anywhere on her own. She knew I was coming back before heading home and had talked about something she needed to show me.”
Sam walked around her friend and headed towards what he now knew was the child’s room. Lance followed closely behind, sending a mental message to Royce and Devon, who were presently camped out at Kyndel’s old apartment. He explained the situation and asked them to meet him at the hospital ASAP. He also grabbed the cell phone from his back pocket and sent a text to Max to meet him where he stood.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as they entered Sydney’s room. Rage caused his vision to blur. Andrew, that traitorous little fucker, had been in the room. From the power of his scent, he had been there within the last fifteen or twenty minutes. In an effort to hide his anger, he called out to his brethren again, “Royce, Dev, you close?”
“Less than five minutes out. What’s up?” Royce answered immediately.
“Andrew’s involved in this somehow. I’m in the child’s room, and his stench is everywhere.”
“What the fuck?” Devon’s anger flared through their link.
“How long ago did this happen?” Royce was just as angry, but much better at keeping his composure, always looking for a solution to the problem.
“Less than thirty minutes from the scent,” Lance answered. He scanned the room and listened to the conversations all around, looking for any clue that would help locate the missing girl. He glanced at her chart and sent the image of her angelic face to both men.
“We’ll start with the Emergency entrance and work our way around. Devon’s calling Aaron. He was already on his way to the apartment. We’ll find her, Bro.”
“Yeah, I know, but it needs to be sooner rather than later. Doc is about to lose it, and then what the hell am I gonna do?”
“You’re gonna man up and take care of your mate, you giant pain in the ass,” Royce ordered, and Lance was grateful to his elder brethren for trying to ease his tension, even if it did mean he got his own shit thrown back at him. Fucking paybacks!
Not to be outdone, he answered as only he could. “Yeah, Old Man, I’ll man up. You just try to keep up.”
“Keep up hell! I’m always at least three steps ahead of your pansy ass.”
“Okay, ladies, you’re both pretty. Now, let’s find this little girl.” Aaron chimed in, apparently getting close the hospital. “And kick my little brother’s ass while we’re at it.”
“Hell yeah,” they answered in unison.
“Everybody keep in touch. We’re outside the hospital now,” Royce stated.
“Be there in just a minute,” Aaron responded.
“Thanks,” was all he could say as Sam turned, and for the first time, he saw true fear in the eyes of someone who was claiming his heart faster than he could’ve ever imagined.
Putting the conversation his brethren were having at the back of his mind, he opened his arms, and without hesitation, she walked into them. He held her close and realized he had been a fool to ever think he could stay away from his amazing mate. Even facing the horrible situation unfolding around them, it just felt right to have her in his arms. He inhaled, taking her scent deep into his lungs, calming not only himself, but the dragon within, who was threatening to burst forth from the pain, fear, and torment radiating from their Sam. He was just about to tell Sam that his brethren were outside looking for Sydney when Max appeared in the doorway. Lance watched as the incredibly observant King of the Cats scanned the room and took a single, deliberate breath. Max’s green eyes glowed and met Lance’s with instant recognition. One nod of the head, and Max disappeared. It was one of a handful of times Lance wished he could communicate mind to mind with the werepanther as he did his own kin.
Sending a quick mental message to his brethren that Max was on the way, he began quietly questioning Sam, deciding now was not the time to disclose that he was sure he knew who was responsible for the child’s disappearance. “What was security able to tell you?”
“Only that they’ve checked everywhere, and she’s not in the hospital. They’ve even looked in the basement and all the ‘employee only’ areas. The police have been called and should be here any second. They waited to call them because they were sure she had just wandered down the hall.” He could hear the anger and frustration in her voice as she spoke into his chest.
He wanted nothing more than to rush out and help with the search for the child, but could feel deep in his soul how much Sam needed him, so instead of rushing into battle as was his way, he told her what he hoped would ease some of her pain. “I called my brothers while you were talking to Security. They’re out scouring the grounds and surrounding area for Sydney right now.”
She slowly lifted her head, raising her hands at the same time and pushing against his chest, trying to look anywhere but at him, thinking she could escape his grasp. He had wondered how long it would take until she realized she was depending on him and try to get away. Refusing to be shut out, he tightened his grip on her waist with one arm while using the thumb and forefinger of his opposite hand on her chin to bring them eye to eye. He saw himself reflected in her deep, dark eyes, along with all the fire he expected from his strong, determined mate. Before he could say what he intended, Sam was already off and running, “Dammit, Lance, let me go! I’m going out there to find her myself. There is no way that little girl left this hospital by herself, and there is absolutely no way you’re stopping me from looking for her.” She ended her declaration on a low, ominous tone, with her teeth gritted and her fists drawn tight against his chest.
He waited for her to take a few breaths while he decided how to keep her from running straight into danger, without telling her things he wasn’t prepared to share. Sam was smart, way too smart for his own good, so he decided the only way she was going to listen to him was to be logical. “I understand you’re scared, Doc. I know Sydney means a lot to you. But you can’t go running out there half-cocked. We have to have a plan. My bro
thers are searching, and they’re very good at what they do.” He watched as she considered what he was saying but didn’t give her time to raise the objection he saw brewing. “Let me call them and see if they have any leads, and then you and I can decide what our best move is…Okay?”
She worried her bottom lip with her teeth until it was red and swollen. Under different circumstances, he would have loved to kiss all her worries away, but now was not the time, no matter what his mind and other much more persistent parts of his body were telling him. He had heard stories of the potency of the mating call, but never in his wildest dreams had he ever imagined what it would be like. He was having a hard time thinking of anything but Sam’s lush body spread naked before him. With a hard-fought restraint he didn’t know he possessed, he pulled his errant thoughts back to the problem of finding the missing child, and more importantly, keeping his amazing mate safe.
Releasing the hold he had on her and moving towards the window, he took his cell phone from his back pocket. He hated deceiving Sam in any way, but how the hell would he explain that he could actually speak directly into the minds of his brethren and they into his? He pretended to dial, lifted the cell phone to his ear and called out to the other members of his Force, all the while speaking into the phone the words he was sending directly into their minds. “Any news? I have one very antsy doctor up here that’s ready to run out and start looking on her own.”
“We’re getting close. Andrew’s gotten refueled with black magic since the shit storm in the woods. There were a few false trails, but they were weak and evaporated quickly. Luckily, he wasn’t able to hide the little one’s fresh clean scent. We finally located his path and are closing in,” Royce growled, more than a little pissed off.
“I swear to the Heavens when we catch this son of a bitch, I’m taking him out where he stands. Fuck the Elders, and fuck the Tribunal. This bastard needs to die!” Usually the most quiet and serene of all his brethren, Devon was practically screaming through their mind speak, proving that this shit with Andrew was wearing on all of them. The stupid douche bag had just gone farther than any of them would have thought possible by taking a child.
“No can do, Dev. The little fucker is mine.” Aidan countered. Lance hadn’t even known he was there.
“Not if I find the piece of shit first,” Aaron seethed. Well damn, almost the whole crew was there.
“How the hell did you two get here so quickly?” he asked the twins. All the shit they had endured for almost a year had hit them the hardest of all. Andrew was their younger brother, blood of their blood. How the hell they kept their sanity was beyond him.
“Aar was at the house looking over some of the information Grace dug up on ‘The Auctioneer’ when we heard you call Royce. We headed over to see if we could help find the little girl and kick our brother’s ass,” Aidan answered. The fury at the brother he had devoted so much of his life to, caring for and training, only to have him betray all of them and their way of life, had to feel like a dagger to the heart.
“The son of a bitch has gone too far this time. Whoever finds him needs to kill him. END OF STORY! No one hurts a child, NO ONE!” Devon was literally screaming fury.
“Okay Dev, you’re right, but don’t pop a vessel before we find him. Woosah, Bro, woosah.” Lance chuckled even though he didn’t feel it, in an effort to calm his brethren; them going off half-cocked was what Andrew was hoping for. The dirty little traitor wanted them to make mistakes so that he could keep spreading his special brand of crazy.
“I know, Dude, but a child? Really? What the fuck? This shit is making me crazy!” Devon answered. Lance could hear him trying to calm down and regain his focus.
“I know, man, I know. Now we have to find her before his crazy ass loses it all together. Let me see if I can get the doc to chill and then I will come help you search,” he answered, wondering how in the hell he was going to keep Sam from going with him.
“Do what you can, man, but I can tell you from experience, you might as well just give in. Your girl is gonna win the argument every time,” Aidan chuckled, and all the others followed suit.
Before he could think of a witty comeback, Royce chimed in, “Ya know, Pain in the Ass, I can’t wait to watch your mate kick your ass. She doesn’t seem like someone who’s gonna take your shit lying down.” The roar of the laughter was almost more than he could stand. He knew he deserved everything they were throwing at him, but damn, it stung!
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Old Man, yuck it up. Your time’s coming.”
“I’m sure it is, but I’m not the one going through it now, and I’m not the one that said he would never have a mate. Sucks to be you, Pain in the Ass, sucks to be you.” If possible, the laughter from his brethren grew.
“All right, you assholes, let me see what I can do up here, and I’ll be down when I can. Find. Sydney.” He shook his head as their laughter died down. “And thanks.”
He kept the conversation between his brethren in the back of his mind as he closed his cell phone and turned to locate Sam, not looking forward to the discussion he knew was to come. The room had cleared some while he had been talking to his Force. The atmosphere in the room was sad and desolate. He looked from person to person trying to locate the only face that mattered to him. Not seeing her, he approached her friend, Charlie. “Hey, where’s Sam?”
“Oh hey, Lance. She went to the ladies’ room. She’s really worried about Sydney.” Her brows furrowed, and she tilted her head to the side like she was thinking. Then she looked at her watch. “You know, she’s been gone longer than I’d realized.”
She turned towards the door, still wearing a befuddled expression. Deciding he needed to check on his absent mate, he reached out and stopped Charlie’s progress to the door. She looked over her shoulder, and he could see why she and Sam were such good friends. They definitely shared strength of will. “Let me go check on her and see if there’s anything I can do help. Why don’t you check with the police to see if they have any new information?”
He watched her inner debate and saw when she resigned to letting him handle the situation. “Okay,” she said hesitantly, and then reached out and grabbed his arm, squeezing for emphasis. “But you better take care of her or you’ll have to deal with me.” She looked directly in his eyes, and he saw with all certainty that she meant every word she said.
“Yes, ma’am, you have my word.” Before he could say anymore, she released his arm and spun on her heels, obviously satisfied with his response.
Without another thought, he headed out into the hall following the scent of his wayward mate. As he passed the nurse’s station, he asked if there was a doctor’s lounge nearby and was told there were only the restrooms next to the elevators. He looked towards the end of the hall and realized that Sam’s scent was heading in the exact opposite direction, towards the stairs. A bad feeling slithered down his spine as he headed towards the door, picking up the increasing intensity of Sam’s scent. Damn her! He was immediately pissed with himself. He never should have taken his eyes off of her.
Racing down the two flights of stairs using some of his enhanced speed, but not wanting to draw any attention from all the people searching for Sydney, he called to the men of his Force, “Doc snuck out while we were talking. I’m following her scent, but keep an eye out.”
“Told you she would get what she wanted one way or another,” Aidan chuckled. “Which exit did she take?”
“Side exit next to Emergency. I just came through the door,” he growled, ignoring the dig from Aidan.
“I’m closest. I’ll circle around the backside. She already knows me so, if I see her, she won’t freak out,” Royce responded.
Lance could hear the smile in his voice and thanked the Heavens that he didn’t comment any farther on the whole ‘mate thing’. He couldn’t resist messing with the elder Guardsman, even though getting Sam back was his priority. “And the Heavens know she’ll be able to see your pretty hair from a mile away.”
> “Afraid she’ll like my pretty hair more than yours, Smartass?” Royce laughed, and Lance felt the instant jealousy that came from the mating bond once again. He knew he had nothing to fear from his long-time friend, but the need to have Sam in his arms and mark her as his damn near brought him to his knees. As soon they found her, he was going to kiss her silly and then swat her ass until she couldn’t sit for a week. Just the thought of her luscious rear end caused his cock to jump in his jeans. Damn! This mating shit just did not let up! To make matters worse, his dragon was right on board, feeding the erotic images racing through his mind and riding him hard to take action.
“Whatever, Grandpa. I doubt she’s into carrot tops.”
He missed everything that Royce said as he rounded the corner of the hospital and looked across the parking lot. There, standing across the street, holding the little blonde haired beauty while she licked an ice cream cone, was Andrew. With no other thought but to rescue the little girl and kill the bastard holding her, he tore across the parking lot, yelling through mind speak to all that could hear.“Andrew’s across the street holding Sydney! Get your asses around here!”
As he reached the last grassy area before the street, a city bus passed in front of him. His next look showed Sydney standing alone on the sidewalk still eating her ice cream cone. He raced across the street, stopping as soon as he stepped onto the curb, not wanting to scare her. His brethren were shouting directions to one another through their link as they ran across the crowded parking lot. Aaron and Aidan had taken off to the right, Royce and Devon to the left in an effort to track the traitor. He walked slowly towards the child who seemed to not have a care in the world and was seriously enjoying her ice cream. She stopped and smiled. “Are you Lance?”