My blood boils, words echoing through my head. “What kind of question is that?”
“You’re dangerous, Guthrie. Not like us. Older. Unpredictable. More likethem.”
She nods toward the mountains.
“Where’s Eliza?” I ask, stepping forward.
She shrugs. “No one knows. There are no signs of forced entry. But she’s gone. Heather confirmed it this morning.”
“God,” I huff, shaking my head. I can’t breathe. Can’t think straight. My hands fist at my sides. I’ll rip whoever did this limb from limb. “I have to find her, Mags. If somebody hurt her…” My voice comes out dark and ragged.
“Ash will help,” she says. “I’ll call him… tell you to meet at the Wakefield place. You can look for clues together.”
“If anything happens to her.” Something in me is dying. I can feel it.
We may not be bonded, but nothing matterswithout her.
Her eyes are warm and empathetic. I don’t know what to do with that kindness. “She means something to you.”
“She meanseverything,” I say, storming from the feed store without a second look back.
At Eliza’s ranch, I read immediate signs of disturbance—dry mud pressed with tire treads leaving the ranch. Her truck’s still parked in front of the house.
Inside, the red bouquet still blooms, water sunk halfway down the jar. Upstairs, I find no clues. Not one. The dress she wore to the wedding doesn’t hang in the closet. Like she never removed it. And her bed’s still made.
Downstairs again, I search the living room and kitchen. Then, I lift the cell phone I left behind, finding a business card beneath it. I flip it over. Agent McPherson Clooney with the Department of Homeland Security.
I freeze, heart racing.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Ash says, strolling through the front door. He clenches his jaw, eyes dropping to the card in my hand.
“Government men,” I say, holding up the paper in my hand. “Left their calling card.”
“Dammit,” he says, face falling.
“They won’t get away with this.”
“What are you thinking, Guthrie?”
“You don’t need to worry about that.” It comes out like a growl.
“Nuh uh. Not how this works.”
“That’s exactly how it works.” I start to push past him, but he grabs my shoulder.
I grab his throat, lifting him easily off the ground and slamming him into the wall. “Don’t touch me.”
I let go, dropping him back onto his feet. He grips his neck, eyes round as dinner plates. “You’re stronger than I remember,” he grunts, dragging air back into his lungs. “Or maybe it’s the resonance.”
“No.” It comes out savage. But it’s a lie. We both know it. “I can’t do that to her… no matter what.”
“So, you’ll leave her vulnerable? Unprotected?” Ash snarls.
His words strike something deep and primal. The one part of this I can’t excuse away or ignore. My greatest temptation—not just to claim her—to protect her with every part of my being.
“That why you took your woman? Despite knowing better? Despite everything men like us have suffered for lust?”
“Not lust,” Ash growls. “Love. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to ensure Josephine’s safety and happiness. No matter what. Maybe it’s the same for you and Eliza. Or at least, it could be.”
