Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (11 page)

In order for their plan to work, they would need to be seen getting on the bus to Vegas, sneak off, and then board the Oklahoma route undetected. So much was riding on this part of their plan; they couldn’t afford any mistakes.

Vincent squeezed her hand, as if sensing her unease.

“Ready?” he asked.

“I think.”

“Remember, cameras are by the door. We want our faces visible, but we don’t want them to know we are purposefully being obvious,” he reminded.

Well, when he put it like that, it seemed so simple, she mused to herself. Maybe she was overcomplicating things.

“We got this,” he grinned. “Ready to board?”

Sarah nodded, not trusting her voice to come out evenly.

“Come here,” Vincent said, playfully tugging her closer, and wrapping his arm around her.

Together, they started toward the gate. Sarah blinked her eyes, forcing her frazzled nerves to calm.

“Lean in closer,” Vincent instructed.

She tilted her head and inhaled his musky scent. He smelled good, a blend of trees and rain. His embrace was safe and her muscles loosened slightly at the realization.

“Look up now!”

Sarah glanced up, meeting the cameras red beam for a split second. She ducked back down and rested her head on Vincent’s shoulder.

Vincent kept his hand wrapped around her as he handed the tickets to the doorman.

“I’m sorry. You’ve got the Vegas bus. Oklahoma is over there,” the man stated, pointing.

“Oh, my bad,” Vincent said with a groan. He turned, his chin grazing over her head. “My girl’s feeling a bit under the weather. I’d hate to have to wait in line again. Would it be possible to get through here?”

His girl?
She knew Vincent hadn’t meant anything by it, but the idea of it wasn’t completely awful. In fact, she was curious what he’d be like.
No! I’m not dating again. It hurts too much. Why am I even thinking about this?

“Thank you. I really appreciate it,” Vincent replied, pulling her along through the gate.

Sarah stumbled slightly at the unexpected movement. Clearly, she needed to pay better attention. She’d just missed half the conversation between Vincent and the station worker.

“Our bus is this way.” Vincent pointed. “Take the hat and sweater off. Just in case there are more cameras out here.” When he pulled away, she instantly missed the contact.

Flustered by her body’s reaction, Sarah took the cap off with a huff and quickly let her locks down. She whipped the sweater over her head and tucked it in the crook of her arm.

“This way.” Vincent took her hand again and led her along the edge of the building. “Our chariot awaits,” he said, dramatically gesturing to the large stagecoach.

Sarah grinned. She both loved and hated how he could get her to smile.

Not wanting to dwell on her feelings toward Vincent, she focused on the task at hand. She led the way up the steps and into the cozy bus. The vehicle was still fairly empty, giving them a lot of seating options. She already knew where she wanted to sit and clamored her way to the far back and plunked down next to the oversized, tinted window.

“Let me guess, you like to sit in the back of the class and at movie theaters, too?” Vincent asked, taking the seat next to her and slumping back making himself at home.

“Yeah,” she replied, wondering if he was asking because of the seating choice.

“Me too. The only bad thing about these seats is we are close to the bathroom.” He tapped his nose. “I have a strong sense of smell.”

“Do you want to move?” she asked, concerned.

“Only if someone goes in. I like the back. No prying eyes.” Vincent waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sarah laughed. “I’m not sure I want to know what that means,” she shot back. 

“Don’t worry. Only half the things I say are as bad as they sound,” Vincent teased.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she giggled.

“You will be the first girl I’ve ever brought...home,” he admitted, quietly.

“Well, I guess I can’t take that too seriously since no one is there. And I’ve already met your mother.” She paused as a wave of fear gripped her.
What exactly are we doing here?
Sure, we flirted a little the past few days, but this was different. She didn’t know where this was going, but a part of her wanted to find out.

“Hey,” he started, feigning hurt. “You should feel special.”

A part of her wondered if there was some truth to his statement. If he’d truly never brought someone home before, was she different? Or, was it just the circumstances? They had grown closer the past few days, but maybe she was reading too much into it.

Sarah opened her mouth to respond when the driver piped up over the loud speaker, announcing they would be leaving shortly.

“We should get some rest while we can. We have work to do once we get to Guymon,” Vincent suggested.

Sarah nodded as she stifled a yawn. Exhaustion quickly consumed her and she slumped down in her seat. If their plan worked tonight, they were safe—even if only for a night.

***

A
bilene, Texas

Lark paced back and forth in the kitchen as she waited for Devon to say something. It was late, and they were both exhausted from a hard day at work, but this couldn’t wait until morning. She checked the bus schedule at the station closest to Luna’s lair and found a route coming in tomorrow morning. If it was Vincent and Sarah, they needed to act fast.

It was hard to gage how Devon was handling the current information. His face was stoic and didn’t show any major emotions. She chewed on her bottom lip, eyeing him.
What is he thinking? Maybe he thinks I am crazy.

Devon ran a hand over his face and stood up, stopping her in her tracks. “Why wouldn’t they call, Lark? Don’t bus stations have payphones? I just...” he paused and let out a frustrated breath as he rested his forehead against hers. “We’ll go to the train station in Dallas, take a look around. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up. It could be nothing.”

“I know that,” she whispered. “You know I never felt Sarah was dead,” she told him honestly. Deep down, she knew her sister was alive. There was no proof other than her intuition, but her mother had always said to follow her gut. And right now, her instincts told her to keep searching.

“I hope to God you’re right,” Devon said, pressing a kiss to her brow. “What time did you say the buses were arriving?”

“We’ll need to leave soon so we can get there ahead of time,” Lark said, closing her eyes. Devon believed in her; at the realization, relief engulfed every cell in her body.

“We’re not going alone. If the Lunas know they bought bus tickets, they could have followed them,” Devon said, pulling her into his embrace.

The kitchen door creaked open and she caught sight of movement out of the corner of her eye. Lark pulled back, meeting Daniel’s emerald eyes from across the room.

“I was coming to get something to eat,” he said, shifting awkwardly in the doorway before coming in and walking to the cupboard. “I couldn’t help but overhear. I want to go, too.”

Devon stiffened against Lark. The two brothers were working on their issues and making progress, but she wasn’t sure they were ready to be in a confined space together for several hours at a time. But Vincent was Daniel’s brother, too. Surely, they could make it work for the sake of their missing family member.

“I want to leave in the next thirty minutes,” Devon said, quietly. “We’ll take two cars. I need to speak to Gene and let him know what we’re doing. Can you find five other guys that will go with us?” he addressed Daniel.

“I’ll take care of it,” Daniel replied.

Devon turned back to Lark. “I don’t suppose you’ll consider staying behind with Gene.”

Lark glared, crossing her arms over her chest. There was no way in hell she was going to sit around and twiddle her thumbs. If Sarah got off that bus, she wanted to be there.

“I want you armed,” Devon stated, giving Lark a pointed look. He turned to his brother, who was rummaging through the cabinet. “Daniel, if Nora comes, I want her carrying a weapon as well.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Daniel acknowledged, grabbing a granola bar and shutting the cupboard. “What about Em?”

Devon sighed heavily. “If she wakes and asks, tell her. Otherwise, let’s keep this quiet from her and mom. They’re already broken up enough without giving them something else to worry over. This could be something, or it might just be nothing.”

Lark closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.
This isn’t nothing—Sarah is out there.

***

O
klahoma

Vincent frowned as he took the card back from the cashier. He let out an aggravated breath, unsure how they were going to get around for the rest of the morning. After a long overnight bus ride, he just wanted to get some breakfast for Sarah and himself and a ride to Guymon. Obviously, that wasn’t going to happen. He jammed the card in his pocket. “Thanks anyway,” he mumbled as he met Sarah’s eyes.

“Come on.” He placed his hand on her lower back and led her out of the line, leaving the food they’d ordered on the counter. Defeat and embarrassment rolled through him.
Why isn’t the card working?

“Did you meet your limit?” Sarah asked as they walked out the sliding glass doors.

“No. I called after my mom gave it to me. It’s a prepaid card. We only use prepaid cards because they can’t be traced unless you have the number. There was five thousand dollars on it. Yesterday was the first time I used it,” he said baffled. The money should have been there. Unless they could find some money, they were stuck in Oklahoma City. He knew his mother had cash stored away at home, but they had to get there first.

“What do we do now?” Sarah asked, raking a hand through her hair.

Vincent let out a long breath. “How many snacks do we have left? I know we bought a few things last night.”

“We still have the three MREs, a bag of chips, and a candy bar,” Sarah said, glumly.

“I’ll die of starvation before eating another MRE.”

“They’re not
that
bad.”

“We need to find a ride,” Vincent said, looking around the crowded parking lot.

“You’re not thinking of stealing a car are you?” Sarah asked.

“What? No. Why?” he asked, wondering why she’d asked.

“You were staring at those cars pretty hard.”

“We need to find a ride,” Vincent murmured to himself. “I think there is a truck stop a few miles up the road.”

“That’s not very safe,” Sarah said, apprehension in her voice. “I think I’d rather you steal a car.”

“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he promised.

“I guess we don’t really have much choice,” she said, deflated.

Vincent met her gaze. She looked exhausted. He grasped one of her hands with his. He needed to take care of her and find her someplace to rest. With her injuries and fatigue, it was only a matter of time before she crashed. He vowed not to let that happen. Now, he just needed to figure out how to keep her going for a few more hours.

“We got out of the woods and away from psychotic werewolves. I think we can manage a ride,” he grinned.

Sarah sighed, her shoulders slumping. “Fine. But you get to sit in the middle. I’m not getting crammed up against some guy I don’t know.”

“Well as long as I get to cuddle up next to you, it’s all good,” he flirted. It wouldn’t be so bad if he got to sit extra close to her.

A small smile slipped over her face and she met his eyes briefly before looking out to the road. “Let’s go,” she said, starting to her right.

“It’s this way,” Vincent grinned as he grasped her elbow.

Sarah shook her head as he tugged her back to him and led the way to the main road.

“You come to the city often?” Sarah asked conversationally, her sapphire gaze fixed on him.

“Occasionally.” He didn’t really want to go into the details of when and why he came. Not with Sarah.
Wait! What does it matter what she thinks?
It shouldn’t matter—she was only a friend. But he knew deep down he could only lie to himself for so long. Something had changed in him; for the first time in his life, he wasn’t looking at other girls. There was only one who interested him, and she was beyond his reach in more ways than he could count.

“I’m guessing it was to pick up girls?” Sarah replied, quirking her brow up at him.

“That could be one of the reasons,” he admitted, embarrassed she knew him that well.

“Did you ever consider settling down with any of them?”

Her question threw him. Why was she asking? Was it just to get to know him or did she want to know for other reasons?

“No,” he answered honestly. “You know, humans aren’t supposed to know about us. And, I guess, I know how to be friendly to people, but in order to be in a relationship I would have to tell them about myself at some point. I can get people to laugh and smile, but deep down...” he paused. He should just say it and get it out in the open. Knowing Sarah, she would try to argue with him, but he knew it was the truth. “I don’t trust people. I don’t know how to connect with them. I’m sure I could have a relationship, but then I’d have to open up, and I know if someone got to know the real me, she wouldn’t like who I am.”

“I think you’ve opened up to me,” she said slowly. “I see you for the funny, caring, intelligent person you truly are.” Sarah stopped and met his eyes. “When I was shooting at the Lunas, I didn’t care what happened,” she paused, as her voice grew thick with emotions. “I was hurting and just wanted it to stop. Even though these past few days have been horrible,” she laughed as tears pooled in her eyes, “you brought me back. There is so much more to you than you give yourself credit for. We all have our demons we have to work through. Maybe we can help each other.”

Vincent swallowed hard, emotion bubbling up in his throat. No one had ever spoken to him so earnestly before. Not to mention believed in him. But here Sarah was, telling him things he never thought he’d hear and he believed her. It meant more to him than he realized.

A car honked loudly jolting them apart and drawing them out of the moment.