Jim woke in a cold sweat, his heart pounding and hands fisted in the bed sheets. He looked down to discover he’d shredded not only the quilt and one of the pillows, but deep gouges were visible all the way through the mattress top.
He jerked his head to the left, fearful that in his lurid state he might have hurt Lillie. Usually the presence of a warm, soft body in bed with him was enough to keep the nightmares at bay.
Nothing but a cold pillow and tousled sheets.
He swung his feet to the floor and sat for a moment, slowing his breathing. Head hanging in his hands as he fought for control.
He was glad she hadn’t witnessed his attack, but where the hell was she?
The floor underfoot was cold to his bare feet as he made his way to the living area. The curtains at the window were blowing, and he shuffled over to see if she had gone out on the balcony for some strange reason, but no one was there.
The haunting memories that had woken him were replaced by frustration and confusion, rapidly followed by disgruntlement.
She’d vanished, completely. What the fuck?
She needed to be gone by Friday, anyway, his ambition reminded him.
Shut up. It’s only Tuesday, and I was having fun.
Jim stomped to the bedroom and jerked on an outfit, ignoring everything in his rush to get down to the casino. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, and he didn’t even have his damn phone. He was tempted to ignore Damon’s ruling and get someone to drop off his new one immediately.
Best place to start, though, was in the shifter section of the resort. Worst-case scenario, if she wasn’t there, and he couldn’t find Damon, he’d hire a couple of wolves to track her.
As agitated as he was, Jim couldn’t help but glance at his surroundings with a sense of contentment. The glitz and glamour of Vegas might be old hat, but he never got tired of it. Privilege had also made the experience that much more exciting. With his family’s reputation, and his money, Jim had discovered all the ins and outs at an early age, including the secret places to go.
Especially the sections of Vegas that catered to the shifter population.
Even at this early hour, the shifter lounge was filled with others of his kind. People with both animal and human sides, who enjoyed life spent part of the time in a furry state. Shifter existence remained mostly hidden from the human world, a task that took a fair bit of secrecy, a healthy dose of luck and some calculated spin doctoring to maintain.
Fortunately, most of the time when there were incidents, they tended to occur where too much drink on the part of the excited humans could explain away their claims of seeing packs of wolves wandering the halls.
Still was nice to have specific spots they could get away and let their hair down.
He headed toward the bar to ask the man there if he’d seen anyone when one of the majordomos he was familiar with stepped forward, dipping his head politely.
“Mr. Halcyon. I have a message for you, sir.”
He slid over a tip before snatching the envelope from the man’s hand, turning away to tear it open.
If you’re wondering where Goldilocks went, I found her. Figured you might like me to keep an eye on her. ~D
Jim turned over the business card the note was written on to look closer at the name of the shop. It was a modest clothing store in the nearby casino mall. She hadn’t had a bag with her last night—and suddenly all sorts of questions rose to mind.
He felt like a shit for not having thought of it sooner. For not asking more about her. She must have a room somewhere in the hotel.
It took a while to reach the shopping plaza, but he found his way unerringly to the store, hanging back in the doorway as he eyed the clothing racks. Comfortable garments, jeans and sweats. He spotted a shirt that would go perfect with her hair, stroking it to make sure the fabric was soft enough for her skin.
“It’s not your colour,” Damon taunted, stepping beside him.
“Where is she?” Jim demanded.
“I think that’s the first time you’ve ever had a woman give you the one-night-stand treatment. Don’t you usually have to pry them out of bed with trinkets?”
Jim was ready to peel his friend like a banana until he talked. He snapped his head to the side and finally noticed Damon was pointing at a change-room stall.
“How’s she doing?”
“I found her hiding in a flower arrangement. She was staring at that banker’s check as if it was about to bite her.” Damon folded his arms, his face creasing with concern. “She’s being secretive about something. I couldn’t convince her to grab breakfast with me, although she did agree to let me join her shopping.”
“Being shy isn’t a crime.”