Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (13 page)

Sarah nodded, biting her swollen bottom lip.

“I’m not looking for anything serious. I don’t want to get attached to someone like that again—maybe not ever,” Sarah started as a lump formed in her throat. “I’m a big girl and I can make my own decisions. Lark respects that. As for Preston,” her voice broke. Yes, she missed him, but there was more to it than anyone realized. It was her fault he was dead. “I loved him. But for me, it wasn’t the forever kind of love. He was safe and familiar and...my best friend. I miss him, and I wish he was here, but most of all I feel guilty—guilty that I didn’t love him enough. He wanted to move things to the next level, and I told him no. If I’d said yes...” she trailed off, tears building in her eyes as a wave of hurt washed over her.

Vincent ran a hand through his hair, his eyes widening with realization. “Gene wouldn’t have sent him if Preston was in a committed relationship.”

Her bottom lip trembled and she let out a raw sob of remorse. “It’s my fault he died.
Mine!
”

She spun, ready to bolt out of the room, but Vincent caught her wrist and tugged her back to him. He cupped her chin and stared down into her eyes.

“I was there when he died, and it was not your fault. Instead of being a coward, you were honest with him about your feelings. Telling the truth is always better than telling a lie. Preston’s death is not your fault. It’s the Gulf Pack’s. They did this,” Vincent insisted.

Sarah closed her eyes, letting a tear slide down her face. “But if I’d just told a lie, he would still be here. He was my best friend long before we were more and it’s my fault he died.
I
have to live with that.”

Stricken by what she just did with Vincent and her rejection of Preston, she jerked free of his grip and dashed out of the room. She needed to be alone.

V
incent rested his forehead in the palm of his hand.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! I never should have kissed her.
Worse, he didn’t know if he should go after her or not. Wooing girls was easy—this thing with Sarah, not so much.
What is going on with Sarah?
It was raw and confusing, that much he knew for sure.

He should try to sort things out with her tonight. The last thing he wanted was for things to be awkward. A part of him wondered if what she said about Preston was true. He couldn’t find a reason why she would lie about it. It at least eased his guilt a little. She was Preston’s girl, and he had been infatuated with her. But that didn’t matter now—he could sort that out on his own sometime later. Talking about the deceased wolf probably wouldn’t be a good idea either—at least not tonight. He picked up a cookie—he’d seen the way she’d been eyeing it—and hoped it would be a good peace offering.

She’d stomped up the stairs, no doubt returning to Emily’s room. He nervously took the steps two at a time. Talking to girls and comforting them wasn’t exactly his thing.

The bedroom door was ajar and he knocked on the wall to alert her of his presence.

“Come in,” she sighed, loudly as she gave him an apprehensive look. She sat up on the bed and put a book down on the nightstand.

“I brought a cookie,” he offered, holding out the dessert.

Sarah drew her knees into her chest and took the cookie.

“I’m sorry,” she blurted.

“Don’t be. I crossed the line. I shouldn’t have done that,” Vincent insisted.

“It’s both of our fault. You want half?” she asked, breaking the cookie in two as she abruptly changed the subject.

“I always have room for chocolate,” he grinned.

They each took a bite out of their half of the cookie. Vincent took a seat in Emily’s computer chair and spun around to face Sarah. He knew he should say something to end the silence, but he didn’t know what it should be.

“So,” Sarah started. “We are going to call Malakai tomorrow?”

“We’ll have to go into the dungeon to find the number,” he explained. Sarah frowned, her eyebrow rising in question. “Emmett’s office,” he clarified. “Bad things tended to happen in there.”

“Oh.”

“Only time I ever went in there was when I was in trouble.”

“I can go in there instead,” Sarah offered.

Vincent paused, not expecting her offer. The sentiment was nice and he appreciated how caring she was.

“No, it’s okay. I know where his stuff is. Juarez and his men probably swept the place; in fact, I’m sure they did. I bet it’s a mess in there, but I guarantee they didn’t find everything. My dad was very vigilant about certain things. He always seemed to be one step ahead.”

Emmett had been ahead of the game, at least up until the end. His scheming started early and only expanded over the years.

Vincent twisted in the chair as a tick formed in his jaw. A memory flooded his mind and he exhaled angrily. “You know, my mom and Emmett grew up here together. They were best friends throughout their childhood. I don’t know if it was the power of being Alpha, or the jealousy he felt over not being my mom’s true mate, but something changed. He managed to outsmart Joseph—Dev’s dad—and lure him into a trap, all so he could claim my mom as his own. I often wonder how we managed to escape someone that manipulative.”

Sarah shook her head back and forth slowly. “Jealousy and power can drive people to do crazy things. I know how territorial your wolf is. Maybe it just drove him mad and, once everything started spiraling, he couldn’t keep up,” Sarah suggested.

Vincent would like to think she was right. It would be nice to know that there had been at least a little good in the man who was his father. Surely, there had been some decency in him if his mother had befriended him in her early years. Maybe rage and envy had been too much for him to handle.

Sarah relaxed back into the pillows. A soft, sad sigh escaped her lips. “You know, my dad was the doctor for Rick’s pack. That’s how Lark found out about werewolves. After Lark found out, she told me—Lark and I don’t keep secrets from each other. Anyway, I came out with my dad one afternoon after he’d received a call about two seriously injured wolves. It turns out two of the younger wolves got into a fight over a girl from school. She was dating one wolf and the other tried to make a move on her. Well, the two nearly killed each other. Rick was hesitant about even letting my dad in the infirmary to help them because they were still trying to kill each other; maybe it’s just instinct to fight for the woman you love. Claire was with Devon’s father first; maybe it drove Emmett mad even, after he had her, it still wasn’t enough for him,” Sarah contemplated.

Vincent saw her point. “Regardless, it doesn’t excuse what he did—what he tried to do. But we can be very territorial. I wouldn’t be able to sleep in another wolf’s bed or wear their clothes. Their scent would be too much.”

“So you’ll be staying down the hall?” Sarah asked, her face unreadable.

Vincent wished he could backpedal his previous statement. Em’s scent wasn’t offensive to him. They were twins and had shared a womb. In some ways, her scent was comforting to him.

He needed to feel Sarah out to see what she wanted.
Do I want him to stay or go?
In truth, he wouldn’t mind staying. It was oddly nice holding her through the night.

He cleared his throat. “Em’s room isn’t so bad. She’s my twin and we did have to live in a womb together for nine months. We’re a lot closer because of it.” He watched Sarah carefully trying to figure her out, but her face remained impassive and he didn’t want to create further friction between them. “But I’ll stay in my room down the hall.”

“That’s cool,” she replied as she yawned.

Vincent nodded, wishing he knew if she really wanted him to go, or if she secretly enjoyed sleeping with him as much as he enjoyed staying with her. He wanted her in his room, in his bed, preferably underneath him—or on top. But that wasn’t a good idea. After that kiss, things could quickly escalate between them and he didn’t want to hurt her. 

He stood up and stretched, watching as Sarah’s eyes wandered up his bare chest to his eyes.
Yeah, it is definitely time to leave.
Otherwise, he might do something stupid and make things weird again.

“I’m heading to bed. I’m just down the hall, first door on the left. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to let me know.”

Sarah’s tongue darted out to wet her lips, causing him to groan inwardly. They needed to get back to Texas so they could put some much-needed distance between them. All this one-on-one time was torture.

Sarah bit her lip, indecision evident on her face. She inhaled sharply as their eyes met and swallowed, holding his gaze for a long moment. “No one knows we are here. I think we’ll be okay for the night,” she mumbled, averting his gaze.

Vincent nodded. It was for the best; being alone in bed with Sarah would not lead to anything good. Well, at least not good for their friendship.

“I’ll set the perimeter alarm. If someone comes on the property, we’ll know.” Vincent stood up and walked to the door and placed his hand on the knob. “Night.”

“Good night,” she replied, softly.

***

A
bilene, Texas

Lark stared out the passenger side window as they pulled up to the farmhouse. The car was silent, aside from the quiet hum of the engine. They’d spent the entire day in Dallas. Neither Vincent, Sarah, or the Lunas had shown up.

It was infuriating and heart wrenching all at the same time. Lark just wanted some resolution. She refused to think it was already staring her in the face. Surely, she couldn’t be the only one to think so; Daniel and Nora wouldn’t have come if they thought otherwise.

Devon pulled the car to a stop. Nora and Daniel climbed out, silently shutting the door behind them and leaving her alone with Devon.

“I have to check in with Gene, but I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Devon assured leaning in to kiss her. “I love you. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

“I know. I love you, too,” she said against his lips then opened her door.

Devon’s hand grasped onto her wrist. “I mean it, Lark. I’m going to talk to Gene and see if there is anything else we can do. Someone used that card and it doesn’t make sense that anyone but Vincent would use it. The prepaid cards can only be tracked if you know the number. If we can get it from my mom, maybe we can find out where the tickets purchased were headed. Something is definitely going on and I don’t think it’s the Lunas; all the pieces aren’t adding up.”

“Thanks,” Lark whispered, placing another soft peck on his lips. It meant a lot that he believed in her.

“Get some rest. I’ll see you in a bit,” Devon promised.

Lark nodded and exited the vehicle, feeling the weight of the world on her shoulders. She clamored up the porch steps; it had been a long and depressing day.

“You okay?” Nora asked as she and Daniel came out of the kitchen carrying cans of Coke.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I just...”

“It’s going to be okay,” Nora replied, soothingly.

“I know. I’m just not ready to let go yet,” Lark admitted wearily, hoping they didn’t think she was being foolish. At least Devon acknowledged something was afoul, but she couldn’t help wondering how everyone else felt. She knew this ordeal had to be hard on both Devon and Daniel, and she didn’t want to add any extra stress, especially if they thought she was crazy.

“You know,” Daniel spoke up, “my dad would have made a spectacle of them. Their faces would have been visible in the pictures if he had been the one to send them. I would think the Lunas and Juarez would have the same twisted mentality. Particularly, since my dad and Charles Luna were friends.”

“But their faces...” Lark trailed off, trying to understand what he was saying. There had only been bodies, the faces had been hidden.

Daniel ran a hand over his face. “There really isn’t a valid reason for them to keep refusing to send us the bodies unless they have something they are trying to hide. We killed quite a few of their men. It wouldn’t have been hard to get a body. And the female body, well, if they have connections with a hospital, funeral home, or morgue, or they know someone who does...” Daniel explained, trailing off.

Lark shuddered; she was a little taken back at how creepy that sounded, knowing what Daniel said was one hundred percent true.

“But why go to all that trouble?” Nora asked, rejoining the conversation.

Daniel shrugged. “They would be good hostages—the Alpha’s brother and his mate’s sister. It would give them leverage over us,” he paused to clear his throat as he looked down to the ground. “And Sarah is a fertile female. It’s hard to come by girls that no one is going to miss. The last thing any pack wants is an investigation in their area. And they know this is something we can’t involve the police in without risking exposing our species.”

Lark closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure which was worse, Sarah being dead or living a life as a breeder against her will. A shudder ripped down her spine. Sarah wasn’t exactly in her right mind the last time she saw her. Would she do something extreme?

“Look, if they’re out there together, Vincent will take care of her. And I’m sure there is a reason they haven’t called. If the Lunas want us to think they’re dead, they wouldn’t have used his card. They know even prepaid cards can be tracked as long as you have the number. For now, we just have to hope the two of them know what they’re doing,” Daniel explained.

Daniel thinks they are alive, too.
Relief washed over her and she closed her eyes saying a silent prayer. She was thankful she wasn’t the only one still clinging to hope. But at the moment, they didn’t have much they could do.

“I guess we don’t have a choice but to wait it out,” Lark sighed.

***

G
uymon, Oklahoma

Sarah shot up in bed; her eyes darted around the unfamiliar room. It took her a long, terrifying moment to place where she was before letting out a relieved breath as her racing heart slowed.

The room was quiet and only illuminated by the pale moonlight. She wasn’t sure what had woken her, but after a few minutes with nothing amiss, she chalked it up to the unfamiliar surroundings.