“Damn right I would’ve, but that’s not the blasted point.” His tone held a note of remorse. A vamp and a wolf would be a hard pairing, even if their personalities seemed well suited for each other. “I still don’t want to witness all your lovemaking. I’m of a delicate nature, and seeing it makes me cranky.”
I chuckled as I turned back to the window and focused on Rourke, watching him move around my building wearing Tyler’s T-shirt, which was stretched to a comical degree over his huge body. He moved gracefully, like a predator. My wolf growled. Yes, we get to taste him soon. “We’re going to see Naomi soon, you know,” I said, glancing at Danny. “Maybe you can ask her on a date.”
Danny let out a strangled sound before he answered. “Yes, I just might just do that.”
I peered at him, curious about the reaction, but he had turned away from me.
We’d arranged to meet Naomi at Rourke’s cabin in the Ozarks in a week’s time, it being the only secluded place to rendezvous that we could come up with on short notice. If Ray survived the transition, Naomi said he would need space away from any humans. It might be risky to return there, but it’s where they least expected us to be, so it was a unanimous decision.
I leaned forward in my seat. “Look, someone just walked into my office.” My office was situated on the corner nearest to where we were parked. The figure started rummaging through my desk. “Hey! What is she doing?” I peered closer. “At least I think that’s a woman.” I edged up to the window. “Seems too delicate for a guy, right? Could be a kid.” It was hard to tell because the figure was short, no more than five feet tall, and had a black skull cap pulled down low over their face. “There’s Nick!” Before I knew it, I’d opened the door and shot out of the truck so fast I couldn’t hear any protests. The brief thought skittered through my brain that I really shouldn’t be racing through the night toward an obvious problem not knowing who or what this threat was, but my body didn’t seem to care. That was my best friend in there. My wolf growled in agreement, urging me on.
I skidded to a stop just outside the building door, an arm catching me around the middle before I bounded inside. “Jess,” Rourke purred into my ears. “Taking it a tiny bit slower might be a good idea. Wouldn’t hurt to use a little more caution.” I turned around in his arms. He was grinning and his scent washed over me for the millionth time. My wolf yipped in delight.
“Someone’s in my office with Nick and we need to get in there,” I argued, facing him. “Whoever’s in there is having a party with my files. There can’t be that much danger if Nick’s up walking around and not tied up in the back room.”
“Whoever’s in there with him is extremely powerful. I smell witch and a very strong one at that.”
“Witch?” I inhaled, forcing air over my tongue. It prickled with the residual power left in the air from a recent spell, likely the one that had opened all the locks and blasted on all the lights. I also scented heavy rosemary and herbs, similar to Marcy’s signature, but not exact. I tilted my head up at him, since he was almost a foot taller than I was. “I think we might have a problem. Nothing feels very dangerous to me. I taste the power, but it doesn’t seem to register. I feel no urgency and very little fear.” My wolf yawned to accentuate the point. “I’m sure the witch in there is extremely powerful, but it’s not sparking my warning bells.”
Rourke growled. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t feel a threat. You still can’t take risks that could get you killed. I rarely feel any real threat from any supe, but you learn to be cautious all the time no matter what. They can still be tricky.”
Tyler and Danny rushed up behind us. “What’s going on?” Tyler asked. “There’s a big signature out here.”
“I smell a witch,” Danny said, turning in a circle. “And it smells a bit familiar.”
“It smells like Marcy,” I said grimly. “And that can mean only one thing.”
“There’s a blood relation inside,” Rourke said, releasing his arm reluctantly from around my waist.
“I think that means something’s happened to Marcy,” I said. “I’m starting to get a very bad feeling. We need to get in there.” I started to pull open the door.
Three fierce growls rent the air.
“I’m going first,” Tyler said, grabbing the door and edging in front of me. “If this is a trap or we get cut off, head to the Safe House. We rendezvous there. Clear?”
“Clear,” I said. I wasn’t going to argue. “I’m right behind you.”
In a line, with Rourke so close he was like a second skin, we all crept quietly into the building hallway and to our front door. Hannon & Michaels was painted on the front in block letters. The firm had been started under my alias, Molly Hannon, and had run successfully for the last five years.