"That's not her car?"
Luca shook his head. "She doesn't drive."
Well, that answered that question.
Randal gave Luca a quick smile and a gentle hand squeeze. "That's probably it then."
It was a good thing Luca was human or he'd know Randal was lying through his teeth. Randal didn't know what was going on, but he was a pessimist. It wasn't going to be good. He just knew it deep down in his bones.
Rob parked in front of her house, turned the truck off, and then turned to look at the front of the cute white and blue cottage. "Harvey, Jeb, after we head for the front door, I want you guys to get out and circle around back. If there's something going on, I want to hit it from both fronts."
"Just be careful, little brother," Harvey said. "We don't know what we're walking into here."
"Same to you," Rob replied. "Mom would be mighty pissed if she arrived here and either of us was hurt."
Randal's eyebrows shot up when Harvey shuddered. Was their mom that bad? Randal's memories of his own mother were bittersweet. She had been the type of mom every little kid dreamed about, but that had been tempered by Randal's fear of his father. He'd always been too afraid to spend too much time with her in case his father grew angered.
Now, he wished he had spent more time with her. He missed her something fierce.
Randal climbed out of the truck and then held the door open for Luca. He shut the door as quietly as he could and then reached for Luca's hand. Not only did he need that connection to his mate, but he was afraid if he didn't hold on, Luca would go running for the house.
He tried to take his cues from Rob, waiting by the truck until Harvey and Jeb hurried off around to the back of the house before walking toward the front steps. His stomach knotted with each step he took. He prayed nothing was wrong for Luca's sake, but everything in him said they were walking toward their doom.
He almost pulled Luca back toward the truck.
When they got to the front door, Rob paused and turned to look at Luca. "Do you knock or..."
"I knock and then open the door."
Rob turned back, knocked, and then opened the door before stepping into the small house. Luca practically dragged Randal inside behind him. Randal gasped as soon as they stepped inside. The place looked untouched, but there was a strong smell of blood hanging in the air.
"Nana?" Luca called out in a voice laced with panic. He pulled away from Randal and raced into the next room. "Nana, where are you?"
"You'd better go after him," Rob said.
Randal had no problem with that order. He could hear Luca calling out for his nana so it was easy to follow him. He caught up with him just as Luca came running out of one of the bedrooms. Luca ran right into him. Randal wrapped his arms around Luca to keep him from running off again.
"Slow down, mate."
"She's not here, Randal," Luca cried out. "I can't find her."
"That doesn't mean anything bad happened to her, Luca." He prayed he wasn't lying almost as much as he prayed Luca couldn't smell the blood in the air. "Maybe she went for a walk or something."
Luca quickly shook his head. "She doesn't do that."
Randal's eyebrows lifted. "She doesn't go for walks?" He'd never heard of a bear shifter who didn't go for walks. They loved the great outdoors.
"She doesn't like to go out much," Luca said. "A lot of people harass her because of me so she chooses to stay home unless me or one of her friends is with her."
Randal frowned. "I know for a fact that Alpha Kersey accepted humans into the clan and all the humans here in town know about shifters. Who harasses her?"
Luca winced, and Randal knew. "It was my father, wasn't it?"
"Your father and brother and a couple of the guys they hang around with."
Randal growled.
"I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, but I just didn't know how."
