Had she taken a nap? Maybe she’d been worn out. Between her early mornings and their hot nights, they hadn’t gotten much sleep in the past few days.
Instead of heading to the kitchen as he usually did, Seth moved to her room. Gray and Amber asked her to keep her rooms locked, whether she was inside or not. No one wanted guests wandering into her space.
Amber had ordered door signs that matched the ones on the guest rooms for most of the doors in the building. The one on Mara’s door read “Private.”
Seth knocked, but when she didn’t answer, he called out. He didn’t want to wake her up if she was catching up on needed sleep, but worry was clawing in his gut. “Mara? You in there?”
No answer.
He pulled out his phone and sent a text. He didn’t hear anything beyond the door while he waited for an answer. None came.
Maybe she’d hear a call. Nothing.
Hell. The door was locked, so he hurried through the main floor, but she wasn’t in the lobby or any of the guest spaces.
Back in the kitchen, he found Amber and Gray cleaning up, with Boomer snoozing in the corner. “Have you seen Mara?”
Amber shook her head. “Not since lunch.”
Gray frowned. “Not in her rooms?”
Seth shrugged. “She’s not answering my knock. Or my texts. Not even my call.”
“Did you two have a fight?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m worried.”
Amber pulled out her phone and made a call. “She’s not answering me either.” Then she left a message asking Mara to call her. Boomer rose to his feet and moved to Amber’s side, where she stroked his fur.
“Do you have a key to her room? Maybe she’s deeply asleep, but I need to check.”
Amber nodded and grabbed a keyring from her pocket. “I still have mine.” Her voice shook, and Boomer leaned into her side.
Gray took the key from Amber’s trembling fingers. He and Seth moved to Mara’s rooms.
Seth’s gut was screaming at him to hurry.
Gray called out. “Mara, it’s Gray. We’re coming in to check on you.”
As soon as he opened the door, Seth shoved past him and into the space. No Mara in the living area.
Fritter yowled from further in the suite, and he followed the sound.
The bed was neatly made, with no Mara napping on top. Or anywhere else.
Another yowl had Seth moving to the bathroom, eyes and body alert. “Mara?”
No answer. He eased open the door in case she’d passed out behind it, but the only living thing there was a very pissed off cat who shot by Seth’s legs and into the room.
The shower had a clear door, so it was immediately obvious she wasn’t anywhere in there.
Behind him, Gray called out that the rooms were clear.
Seth was about to leave when a shiver of dread ran through him. His army training had his brain automatically searching for anything that didn’t fit or make sense.
It took only a moment for him to find what had triggered his senses.
In the mirror, he saw a note pinned to the back of the door.
