He lifted his head, and the wide, mischievous grin he wore spoke of an adolescent swaggering down a school corridor after his first conquest.
She shook her head. “I'm on the Pill. It's ninety-nine percent reliable.”
“You're in heat, honey.”
“I can't be.” She took the Pill with her OJ every morning. Gasping, she met his stare.
Sorcha hadn't thought it possible for his smile to get any wider.
“You forgot to take it, didn't you?”
Not able to bear his I-told-you-so look for another minute, she fixated on the throbbing in the hollow of his throat. Toying with the dark hairs surrounding his nipples, she said, “I guess I'm going to have to marry you sooner rather than later, then.”
Every muscle in contact with her skin bunched, and he went absolutely still.
He tipped her chin, and when his eyes met hers, she melted; her limbs turned to jelly, and she knew fairy-tale endings did exist.
“Will you accept me as your mate in front of my family?”
“Yes,” she said without a second's hesitation.
“I love you, Sorcha McFadden, and I pledge my body and my soul to your happiness, to your protection, and to the happiness and safety of our cubs.”
She burned his words and the look on his face into her memory for all eternity.
“And I pledge myself to your happiness and safety and that of our children.”
All at once, he slipped out of her warmth. She looked down the length of their bodies. “What happened? Why did the locking end so soon?”
“You're in heat, honey. Your body needs to mate as often as possible.”
“I thought you put a cub in me already.”
He licked the seam of her mouth.
Her pussy clenched, and desire thronged through nerves to tingling and sparking extremities and settled at her center; her labia throbbed and swelled.
The swaggering grin captured his mouth again, and he waggled his eyebrows.
“Neither of us is going to get much sleep tonight.”
She loved proving him wrong. Neither of them slept a wink.
As dawn broke, he cupped her face and asked, “How about a swim? You're going to be tender, and the cold water will help soothe your pussy.”
“A swim sounds perfect,” she replied. “But I think you're going to have to carry me to the lake. I don't believe my legs are capable of holding me up.”
“Deal.”
“Omigod,” she yelped and clapped a hand to her forehead.
“What, honey?”
“In all the confusion yesterday, I forgot to tell you about Miss L's will.” Her sexual high vanished entirely.
“I figured she must have left you a bundle after I did the math yesterday.”
Sorcha shook her head. “She left most of her money to the Wolf Preservation Foundation. No, she left me her cottage.”
“What are you going to do with it?”
“I don't know. Her lawyer gave me the key. I'm toying with the idea of asking your sister Melanie to take the store while I set up office where Miss L lived. What do you think?”
“It's a great idea. Your office will be a five-minute walk from mine. We can have quickies at lunchtime.” He winked.
His cell phone vibrated on the coffee table, and he groaned.
“Don't answer it,” she suggested.
“Have to, honey. It's in the rules.” His eyes flickered to the screen, and he frowned. “It's Susie.”
Reaching over, he grabbed the phone, flipped it open, and said, “This is a little early for you, sis.”
Sorcha frowned when she realized Susie was yelling.
“Slow down, slow down. What do you mean she's gone?”
Sorcha knew something terrible had happened from the anguish spilling out of his eyes as he listened to his sister.
“We'll leave in five minutes.”
“What happened?” she asked as he snapped the phone shut.
“Taylor's disappeared.”
Chapter Fifteen
“He has her, doesn't he?”
Gray so wanted to reassure Sorcha. “My logic says yes. My wolf instincts say no.”
“We have to leave immediately.” She sprang to her feet and jogged to the bathroom. “Susie must be frantic. Where is Joe? Why didn't he call?”
A three-hundred-pound weight landed on his chest as he realized the implications of her questions. They finished dressing in silence. He tried to communicate telepathically with Joe but met a blank void, a mental black hole.
The overhead light clicked on, his eyes swept the bedroom, and he found her as she stepped into the bathroom.
Sorcha turned and faced him as she grabbed her toothbrush from a pottery holder. “I can be ready in five minutes. We're taking Kumar and White.”
He cocked his head and studied her belligerent stance, legs wide apart, chin jutting, Washington blues flashing defiance.
“Do I look like I'm arguing?” Gray frowned, trying to figure out what was behind this sudden flare of anger. “Kumar will travel on your shoulder, right?”
Her mouth full of toothpaste and the brush, her eyes narrowed, but she nodded.
Anxious to get to his sister's, he tabled the matter for future exploration and grabbed his gun from the alcove. Shrugging on his jacket as he walked into the living room, Gray called, “Honey, I'll be outside. You almost done?” Hand on the doorknob, he waited for her answer.
“Five minutes aren't up yet.” Sorcha's terse, sharp reply echoed her mood.
Setting aside his natural inclination to brood over his mate's uncharacteristic sourness, he strode outside to the Durango and checked the weapons and tools stacked into a metal box in the rear. Mentally cataloging the container's contents—spare pistol, ammo, ropes, nylon netting, flares, a generous supply of plastic explosives, and two rifles, one given to him by the county's SWAT team's crack sniper—he then took the maps from the glove box and tucked them into a clip attached to the underside of the box's lid.
Kumar on her shoulder, White at her side, Sorcha jog-walked the graveled path to the Durango less than two minutes later.
“Are you okay?”
Roses stained her already pinkened cheeks. She nodded. “Sorry I snapped. I'm so scared, and I feel so powerless.”
“It'll be okay,” he said and dropped a quick kiss on the tip of an icy nose. “All set?”
“I packed clothes for you and me just in case,” she replied, holding up a feminine version of a gym bag, same shape but with more zippers and straps. Frosty air puffed from her mouth with each word she uttered. Cheeks pinkened by the icy spring air, she hugged her arms, and asked, “Do you think Taylor's disappearance could be connected to the child who went missing in Spokane a few days ago?”
Crap. His mind raced through the recent cases of missing children in the county. “I don't see how. What makes you ask that, honey?”
“I'm not sure. I stayed the night in Spokane on the way here. That case was all over the news. They were comparing it to the English case—you know, the Madeleine thing—because the parents were both professionals on vacation, and they'd left their toddler sleeping in their room while they had dinner in the hotel's restaurant.”
“About the only similarity I can think of is that the child was around the same age as Taylor.” A nerve in the back of his neck leaped and sparked. As he helped Sorcha into the passenger seat, Gray tried to isolate what about her question made every instinct rocket. “I'll call the precinct and have someone fax the case info to the farmhouse. Honey, do me a favor and call Susie and ask about Joe. I'm going to phone Chad and Mike and have them meet us at the farm.”
“Okay,” she said, snapping her seat belt into place.
On autopilot, he started the Durango, shifted the gear stick, and stepped on the gas while releasing the clutch. Thick fog impaired visibility; even his wolf vision couldn't penetrate more than three yards ahead. Highway 20 proved deserted. Gray slipped his headphones on and hit
400 on his speed dial.
Edie answered, “Boss, why're you calling on your day off?”
Loath to describe the situation until he'd spoken to Susie and examined the scene, Gray replied, “Checking in, Edie. Things quiet?”
“We're two less than a full team. Other than that, it's as boring as the minister's Sunday sermon.”
Short-staffed by two? Gray shifted in the upholstered driver's seat and wriggled his shoulders as if the action would allay his growing unease.
“Put me through to Henry.”
“He phoned in sick earlier.”
Probably fucking hungover. Gray gritted his teeth.
His earlier conversation with Sorcha came to mind. “Put me through to Wicks.”
“He left early. Stomach flu.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Who's acting deputy?”
“Ted.”
Gray's foot slammed the accelerator. “Ted, then, ASAP.”
After asking Ted to fax the details of all children under three reported missing statewide for the last six months, he disconnected.
They arrived at the farmhouse at that instant.
Dense gray mists shrouded the SUV; minute droplets winked, eerie and sinister, dimming and brightening in the faint rays of the headlights. Rectangular halos of windows lit from within, straight lines blurred by waving clouds of fog, glowed not ten feet in front of the car.
“Has it gotten darker?” Sorcha whispered.
“Yeah. I think we're in for a doozy of storm. Stay there, honey. I'll come and get you.” Air condensed onto his nylon coat the second he stepped out of the Durango. His long hair trapped moist vapor, and by the time he'd completed the five-second journey to the passenger side, every exposed inch of flesh oozed slickness.
His nose tingled. A snaky prickle wrapped around the base of his spine, tightening and slithering weblike as it crawled up his back and across his chest, constricting his lungs.
“Let's dash, honey. This fog's worsening by the second.” He helped Sorcha out of the vehicle and curled an arm around her waist. Kumar sidestepped on her right shoulder edging closer to her head. Growling, teeth bared, White hopped down and stood at attention, tail stiff, ears pointing to the midnight clouds blanketing the sky horizon to horizon.
“Heel,” Gray ordered, his hand at the small of Sorcha's back urging her forward. A stench arose. The foul aroma smothered and absorbed all the oxygen in the atmosphere. His lungs blistering, Gray held his breath.
White snapped and gnashed his canines.
“I know it's just my imagination,” Sorcha whispered, “but it seems as if the trees are moving toward us.”
As he turned to reassure her, she gasped. “Your eyes are glowing. That thing's here, isn't it?”
“Close,” he answered, nerves flickering and sparking. Fear washed acerbic and pungent over the roof of his mouth, coating his tongue. He had to get her inside, had to keep her safe.
Lengthening his stride, Gray consumed the thirty feet to the front entrance, grabbed the ancient door handle, and pulled.
Locked.
Fuck.
He stabbed the doorbell. “Susie, open up right now!” he roared. The desperate need to get into the house fueled a spiking rage.
“Just a second,” his sister shouted.
Metal on metal worked and twanged, and the door opened.
Pushing his mate inside, he spun around, and the nanosecond the Lab cleared the entrance, Gray slammed the heavy steel door shut.
When Susie and Joe had refurbished the farmhouse, they'd left the twin sets of old-fashioned iron bars on either side of the door in place, and Joe had had new steel blades made to fit into them. Gray hefted one bar in place, then the other.
The house, a perfect rendition of a nineteenth-century pioneer dwelling from all outward appearances, boasted steel-reinforced walls, a state-of-the-art security system, strategically positioned exterior cameras, and two backup generators.
“Thank God you're here.” Susie launched herself at him and wrapped her arms around his waist, dislodging his grip on Sorcha's wrist.
His mind jumping from tangent to tangent, Gray hugged his sister and then gave her shoulder a little shake.
Obeying the silent command, Susie took a step back and met his gaze.
“Joe?”
“Gone. I can't sense him,” his sister replied, her rising alarm pitching her voice higher and higher. “Oh God, Gray. My baby's gone, and my husband's missing.”
“Susie. Listen to me. Panicking won't help.” Gray captured his sibling's hand and squeezed. “I need you calm and using your strengths. Take a few deep breaths. That's it. Now, where is Ariel?”
“In the TV room.”
“Bring her here. She and Taylor sleep in the same room. She must have heard something.”
Kumar's wings fluttered, and he sailed off Sorcha's shoulder and flew across the room to a standing grandfather clock opposite. The cockatoo hopped on one foot and curled his opposing toes around the carved edge of the mahogany wood.
Gray motioned for Sorcha to sit on the couch.
“I should help Susie,” she protested.
“Leave her be, honey. Focusing on Ariel will keep her calm.” Picking up a throw from another chair, he jutted his chin at the sofa.
Shooting him a dark look from under half-hooded eyes, she sat.
Kneeling in front of her, he tucked the chenille fabric around her legs. Enfolding her hands in his, Gray trapped her eyes. “Honey, things are going to get crazy around here. Once the others arrive, I need to focus on the situation. I need you and Susie and Ariel glued together at all times. That means if one of you has to go to the bathroom, all of you go. Leave the door open. Keep a conversation going. Can you do that?”
“You think this…this black wolf is capable of taking one of us?” Under his thumb, Sorcha's pulse jumped.
“I don't know. It's more a case of taking the extra precaution in the face of the unknown.” Gray prayed she didn't notice the dread creeping into his pores. His knowledge of black wolves came from legend and lore; he had no idea how to wage war and win against this particular enemy.
Tail swishing, White sat beside the sofa.
“I need you to do anything you need to do to make the girls stay put. Got that, honey?”
“Beg, bitch.”
What?
Gray froze.
“I beg you not to do this, please. Don't hurt us.”
“Kumar,” Sorcha whispered.
Gray's eyes swept the room. He focused on the cockatoo atop the grandfather clock.
“That's my mother's voice.”
Her mother? A thin layer of sweat coated his forehead.
“You had your chance.”
The man's voice the parrot mimicked seemed so familiar. Gray struggled to recall where he'd heard it, but the memory hovered at the edges of his mind.
“He knows what happened that night.” Sorcha's voice wavered.
“I think you're right.” Keeping his eyes fixed on the bird, he rose.
“Knock, knock,” the parrot chirped.
He and Sorcha exchanged glances. Gray raised an eyebrow and angled his head to Kumar.
“It's no use,” she said, sotto voce. “He's lost interest.”
“Try,” Gray urged.
“Who's there?” she asked.
“Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.”
Sorcha rolled her eyes. “See what I mean?”
“What are you two doing?”
Gray hadn't heard his sister approach. Rotating, eyes narrowing, he located Susie and Ariel standing five feet beyond the couch.
“Uncle Gray,” Ariel squealed. She shook her mother's hand off, ran across the room, and hurled herself at him.
Dropping to one knee, arms wide open, he embraced his niece. Dire and sinister though the situation, Gray couldn't stop the wide grin curving his lips.
“Hi, brat.” Holding Ariel six inches away from his body, he raked the lit
tle girl's face. Her features showed no sign of distress.
“Are you going to find Tay?”
“You bet.”
“Why did the man make her thleep?”
“What man, brat?” Gray kept his tone light, but his lungs refused to draw oxygen while waiting for the girl's answer.
“The man in the newthpaper.”
He hadn't seen the newspaper for the day.
“I'll get it.” Susie snapped to her feet and raced in the direction of the kitchen.
“How did he make Taylor sleep?”
“An ouchie.” She touched a finger to Gray's shoulder and mimicked someone giving an injection. “I didn't want one, tho I hid under the bed.”
Susie skidded to a halt next to her daughter. She stooped, the folded Okanagan Tribune dangling from her right hand. “Was it nighttime when the man gave Taylor the ouchie?”
Sticking her thumb in her mouth, Ariel nodded.
Gray swallowed once, twice as the implications of her answer zipped bile up his gullet. The son of a bitch had at least a three-hour head start on them. Three hours alone with Taylor.
A muffled wail jerked Gray's attention to Susie. His sister's face crumpled; he recognized the borderline hysteria ebbing and flowing across her features.
Taking the newspaper from his sibling's hand, he laid each section, one by one, on the coffee table. “Do you see the man who gave Taylor the ouchie?”
“Him.” Ariel pointed to a photo of Bruce and Tonya Hazard on the front page of the Tribune.
Whaaat?
“Bruce Hazard?” Susie's shocked exclamation mimicked Gray's astonishment.
Ariel broke into a sparsely toothed smile. “He took Tay to the Abyth.”
Abyth?
Quirking an eyebrow, he met Susie's bewildered glance and lifted both shoulders. “Translation?”
“Abyss,” she replied.
“Abyth,” Ariel repeated.
Abyss? What the fuck did that mean? Forcing a brief smile, he quipped, “Was that your tummy growling? How about I persuade your mommy to let you eat in front of the TV?”
Susie caught on right away. “Want to watch a Barney video, sweetie?”
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