Page 9 of Blades of Ice

“Love you too,” Lydia and Cailín replied in unison.

Cailín started the car. “Let’s check the surrounding area and find a good place to park the car later.”

“You mean we aren’t stalking Boyd in broad daylight?” Lydia joked. She jerked back when Cailín pretended to slap her.

“No, we’re stalking him in broad moonlight. Or… Shit. You know what I mean.”

Lydia did, but she still took the opportunity to give her friend some shit. In that moment, she was glad Cailín was with her. This trip was just getting started, but it was already proving to be good for her soul.

Chapter 4

Beck rushed alongthe waterfront after having lost Boyd. He kept his eyes peeled for Lydia, the need to see her again an itch he didn’t understand. His Bear was trying to get loose so he could search for her. She and the redhead weren’t where he left them, so he continued toward the office. Delaney didn’t answer the business phone, and her cell phone went to voicemail. He tried Chloe, but she didn’t answer either. He slowed his steps as he entered the building. The office door was open, and the phone was ringing. Beck strode toward the desk. “Laney? Chloe?” When neither responded, he reached for the phone. It stopped ringing before he could answer.

Grabbing his hair and pulling, Beck blew out a breath. He walked behind the desk to see if Delaney’s purse was in the bottom drawer, but before he had a chance to bend over, a moan sounded from the bathroom. “Laney?” Beck’s long legs ate up the few steps to the door. He eased it open, and his sister was pushing herself up from in front of the toilet. “What the fuck did he do to you?” Beck knelt, checking Laney over for injuries.

“What did who do? I’m sick to my stomach. That’s all.”

Beck lowered his voice. “You’re a shifter. You don’t get sick.”

“I do if I’m pregnant.” Laney pushed past him to get to the sink. She opened the top drawer of the cabinet and pulled out a toothbrush and paste.

“Pregnant? How? I mean I know how, but who? You aren’t dating anyone. Are you?”

Laney ignored him as she cleaned her mouth. After spitting the foam, she cupped her hand under the water and rinsed. Tapping the excess water from the brush, she stared at him in the mirror. “Just because I don’t date doesn’t mean I don’t have sex, Beck. You should know all about that. Instead of badgering me, why don’t you help Chloe find Mom?”

“Laney, I’m not badgering you. You shocked me is all. Are you happy about the baby?” He wanted to hug his sister, but she wasn’t an affectionate female.

She pushed past him to get to the desk. “Ask me again when I find out the gender.” Beck shouldn’t be shocked. He understood how males were viewed in their society, and his sister was no different than their mother. “Now, who did you think hurt me?”

“Boyd. He ran out of the front door like his ass was on fire.”

“What the hell was he doing here?” Delaney didn’t have the same loathing for Boyd as Beck did, but she wasn’t close to him either, not as far as Beck knew.

“No idea. I chased him, but he got away.”

Delaney chewed her bottom lip, looking across the room. “I didn’t see him.”

“Fuck. What if he’s the reason you haven’t heard from Amara?”

Delaney snapped her eyes to Beck’s. “He wouldn’t—”

“He absolutely would.” Beck reined in his anger and softened his tone. “Valerie turned him loose, and there’s no telling what scheme he’s come up with this time.”

“How do you know that?”

Beck paced over to the window and gazed out. “Have you heard from Chloe in the past couple of hours?” He wasn’t going to tell her about Dooley and the cryptic messages. At least not yet. Beck didn’t trust his sisters where their father was concerned.

“No. She has a helicopter tour in thirty minutes, so I’ll talk to her then.”

Beck turned away from the window. “I’ll take over looking for Amara since I have time before my next flight. Call me if you hear from her.”

“Beck, how did you know about Dad and Valerie?”

“I may have left my friends in BC, but I’m still in contact with some of them.” Beck figured a half-truth was better than an outright lie. When he got to the door, he glared at his sister. “If Boyd does contact you, be careful. You have my niece or nephew to worry about now.” Delaney jutted her chin and glared right back. Being female, she didn’t like being told what to do, even if what he said was for her own good.

Beck strode down the hallway with a bad feeling stirring in his gut. Why would Boyd run from the building without speaking to Delaney? Why run at all if he weren’t up to something? As much as Beck wanted to hunt the male down, he had an Empress to find. Having forgotten his cookies, he jogged down to the seaplane and grabbed the bakery box, eating one of the treats while making his way to his truck. Climbing in the cab, Beck started the motor, letting it warm up a few minutes before driving off. As he waited, he pondered where his mother might be. Beck had no idea if she was seeing someone since he wasn’t privy to her private life. Having an heir, Amara didn’t worry about producing more offspring. She needn’t bother with shifters if she didn’t want to, but he couldn’t imagine she would entangle herself long term with a human, not while in charge of their pack.

Pulling out of the parking lot, he took a couple of side roads to Highway 9 and headed north. He turned right onto Nash Road. Amara’s place was almost directly across the bay from the office on twenty secluded acres. The house itself wasn’t anything spectacular, but the scenery was the draw. Since hewasn’t female, Beck didn’t get the same perks his sisters did from the business, so he saved every penny hoping he would have somewhere similar to call home one day.

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