Page 42 of Nick
Una appeared first, her tiny frame almost swallowed by the oversize cardigan she wrapped around herself.
“Have you seen Sarah?”Nick asked her.
She shook her head.
Javier trailed behind her, clutching a stuffed wolf, its fur matted from too much love.Their expressions only amplified the growing knot in Nick’s stomach.
“Hey, Javi.Where’s Mommy?”Nick asked, crouching down to Javier’s level, trying to keep his voice even despite the dread lacing his words.
Javier’s little brow furrowed, his gaze searching Nick’s face for answers he didn’t have.“Don’t know.”
Nick stood, running a hand through his long dark blond hair.He peered out the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sarah returning.
“Did she say anything?Did you hear anything unusual?”Nick pressed on.
Una shook her head, her eyes wide and filling with tears.“No.I heard her tell you she was going to the Jeep.”She, too, opened the door and looked outside.“She was just here.And then…she wasn’t.”
“Shit,” Nick muttered.A cold fist clenched around his heart.This wasn’t right.Sarah wouldn’t leave without saying something, without some explanation—especially not to Javier.
“Stay inside, okay?Lock the door after me,” he instructed, masking his rising panic.He could feel the beast within him stirring.
With one final reassuring glance at Una and Javier, he stepped into the night, his senses heightened and alert.
You should have been out here with her.You should have protected her.
The words echoed through his mind.
A growl rumbled deep within him, the sound more felt than heard, as his gaze followed a trail of disturbed earth leading away from the home.He knelt to examine it.
Scuff marks in the dirt told a tale of struggle.One where Sarah had been unwillingly swept off her feet?
Nick’s heart hammered against his rib cage, his wolf pacing just beneath the surface, snarling at the delay.
He allowed his wolf to take over, crouching in the dirt as he shifted, kicking his clothes aside as his limbs flowed into the form of a wolf.
Finally, he rose, casting a look back at the trailer where Una and Javier waited.His nostrils flared as he searched for any trace of Sarah’s scent on the night air.He followed it until it disappeared.And then there was nothing.
Without hesitation, Nick set off at a sprint toward the motel.
According to the message they’d sent earlier, Ryker and Bronx should be back by now.
Dust kicked up behind Nick.The wind howled through the sparse vegetation, whispering warnings and weaving doubts through his mind.
Sarah was strong, fierce even, but Vincent…
Vincent was a force unto himself.
A dark thought crept in, slithering like a snake.Had Vincent already sunk his claws into her?
The possibility drove him faster across the desert.
He would not allow her to be harmed.
The neon sign of the motel flickered in the distance.As Nick approached, his vision tunneled, every fiber of his being focused on getting there.
He had to find Sarah, had to ensure she was safe.
To fail would be to break the unspoken oath he’d made the day he recognized her as his mate.
