“You can’t!” Clint exclaimed. “I’ve lived with you before.”
Kurt pouted. The look was foolish on him. “I’m hurt, man.”
“No you’re not!” Clint argued. “So tell the truth. Who made the salad?”
“I did,” Kurt claimed. “I swear.” Savannah leaned into his arm. “I really did,” he told her, trying to get Savannah on his side.
She laughed and patted his hand. “I believe you.”
Sara and Clint didn’t look convinced but let it go. The back door opened and Sheriff Webb walked in from the cold. Sara jumped up and rushed over to help him with his coat. Snow fell from his shoulders and arms.
“Damn, it’s really coming down out there,” Jim Webb grumbled.
“Let me get you some coffee to warm you up,” Cecil offered and rose.
“Appreciate it.” He smiled. “Sorry I took so long.”
Clint stood also. “No problem. Take a seat and we’ll get you a plate warmed up.”
“Everything okay?” Savannah asked her boss as he joined them. She wasn’t on call for the day, but she would help if he needed her.
The sheriff nodded before accepting the hot, steaming cup Cecil brought him.
“There was a car on the side of the road over off Route 15. Mrs. Thompson was heading to her son’s and slid into it. She’s fine, but we couldn’t find the driver of the other car. The snow was piled on top so it had been there a while,” he told them.
“Probably got picked up in this weather. I can’t see anyone walking with the snow coming down,” Kurt added.
“That’s what I figure. The plates are out of state, so it’s probably someone coming visiting family. Not used to the snow,” Sheriff Webb said before taking a long drink of his coffee. “This is good, Sara.”
Sara brought her dad a plate. “Thanks. What state was the licence plate from?”
“Colorado.”
Kurt and Tony stiffened next to Savannah. She glanced over at Kurt.
“It wasn’t a red Mustang, was it?” Tony asked quietly.
“Yeah, it was. Do you know who it belongs to?”
Tony glanced at Kurt. “Colt.”
“Oh no!” Savannah whispered.
“Wait!” Sheriff Webb demanded. “Are you talking about your Colt? The one out with the Church?”
Tony and Kurt stood. Clint who was still standing by the table started to pat his pockets. “I’ll drive.”
“Now, wait just one second!” Sheriff Webb ordered. “What is going on?”
“Colt didn’t check in last night as planned,” Tony told him.
“Shit!” Sheriff Webb pushed away from the table. “I’ll take Tony with me. Clint, you and Kurt follow us.”
“Right,” Clint agreed.
“Ryan and Savannah, I want you to stay here with Sara and Cecil. I don’t want to leave them alone until we know what’s going on,” Sheriff Webb told them.
“Yes, sir,” Ryan answered.
“We’ll meet back here. No one leave until we give you the all-clear,” Sheriff Webb said before grabbing his coat once again.
The sheriff and Tony left by the back door. Kurt leaned over and kissed Savannah quickly. “Be careful. Keep a watch out. Getting a hold of either one of them would be a win in the Church’s book.”
“You got it,” Savannah agreed. She knew Sara and Cecil had been targeted before.
Clint was speaking to Sara next to the island. She nodded and hugged him tight. “Be careful,” Sara said softly.
Kurt and Clint left and Savannah glanced at Ryan. “Let’s check the doors and windows.”
As she and Ryan exited the kitchen to check the rest of the house, Savannah felt dread in the pit of her stomach.
What an end to a wonderful meal.
Chapter Four
Kurt pulled up behind Colt’s abandoned car. He turned towards Clint, who sat in the passenger seat beside him.
“We have to find him,” Kurt said quietly.
Clint nodded. “I know.”
The sheriff’s SUV was next to Colt’s car and the sheriff and Tony were shovelling snow off the roof. Beside him, Clint was removing his jacket and pulling his sweater off.
Their gazes met. Kurt saw the same worry in Clint’s expression as he knew was in his.
“We’ll find him,” Clint promised.
Kurt gripped his arm. “Be careful.”
He stepped out of his truck while Clint continued to undress. By the time he had made his way carefully around to the other side, a huge white wolf was pawing at the window. He opened the passenger door and Clint hopped out in his wolf form.
Clint in his shifted form was a massive beast, one of the biggest shifters Kurt had ever had the privilege of seeing. Clint’s biggest strength, though, was his tracking ability. He was known as the best hunter from any shifter species. They needed that ability now if they were going to find Colt after all this time. Several inches of snow had fallen since Colt’s car had been left.
Clint circled the vehicle several times before stopping in front of the driver’s door. Once Clint had started his exploration, Sheriff Webb and Tony stepped back. Kurt joined them at the side of the road.
Clint pawed at the snow first in front of the door before he buried his head. He sneezed as he lifted his head and glanced over at them. He then took off around the car and towards the wooded area. Tony started to follow, but Kurt caught his arm.
“Let him do his thing first. He’ll alert us if he finds anything,” Kurt told him.
Tony looked like he wanted to argue but ended up just nodding.
Standing out in the cold, snow falling steadily, Kurt started to pray. If Colt was still out in the elements, hopefully he had shifted. That would be the only way Colt would survive.
But if Colt had been able to shift then he would also have had the opportunity to get back to safety and call Tony. Finding Colt’s vehicle abandoned did not bode well for his situation.
It seemed like an hour before Kurt saw Clint running back towards them. In reality it had been less than ten minutes. Clint reached him and snarled then took off down the road.
Kurt rushed to his truck to follow. “Stay here,” he called back to the other two men.
Clint was travelling at a good pace while Kurt kept his truck following behind. He covered a mile before Clint veered off once again. Kurt pulled over and waited.
Clint reappeared and disappeared in front of the large trees. Kurt watched as his friend seemed to be desperately pawing at the ground before running around again.
He’d lost the scent.
“Damn!” Kurt slammed his hand against the steering wheel.
Kurt gave Clint another fifteen minutes but knew they were as far as they would get. Leaving the truck running with the heater blasting, he stepped out and whistled. Clint’s ears perked up before he started trotting over. Kurt hurried around to hold the passenger door open so Clint could jump up inside. Kurt slammed the door closed and made his way back around the truck.
He yanked open his door. Clint was already back in human form and was pulling on his jeans. Kurt waited until Clint had dressed and was holding his hands in front of the heater vents.
“What did you find?”
Clint shook his head. “I don’t know why Colt pulled over. But I can scent him outside the car and then running to the wooded area. There are two other traces that joined him there, but they didn’t go back to Colt’s car. They came here. Then I lose his scent completely. I can only guess that there was another vehicle. I followed the odour of another vehicle to here.”
“We’ve got to assume that Colt’s cover has been blown and he is in danger,” Kurt declared.
“Yeah, I agree. He got out of his car and ran but was picked up here. He might not have walked back to the vehicle parked here. I can get very small traces of blood.”
“Damn,” Kurt cursed before turning the truck around and heading back to Sheriff Webb and Tony.
* * * *
Savannah wasn’t used to being the one left behind and in waiting mode. Normally she would be the one out searching for a missing person or investigating a crime. Being on the other side was difficult.
She watched as Sara and Cecil packed up the leftovers and cleaned the kitchen. They didn’t speak, just moved in and out of chores, trying to stay busy.
Ryan had shifted just after Kurt and Clint had left. He wanted to patrol around the house in his animal form. Savannah hadn’t witnessed a shifter transformation before and had found it astounding. She hoped to see Kurt in his animal form one day.
Ryan declared the area around the house safe. That made Savannah feel a little better but there was no way she would be able to relax until the men returned.
Ryan added logs to the fire as they sat around the living room. The front door opened and they all jumped to their feet. Clint came in first, looking cold and miserable. Sara went to him and put her arms around his waist. Savannah caught Kurt’s eye as he entered and could see they didn’t have good news.
“I’ll grab you some hot coffee to warm you up,” Cecil offered and left the room.
“How are you doing?” Savannah asked Kurt when he reached her side.
“It’s not good,” he informed her quietly.
Cecil came back into the room holding two steaming mugs. Clint sat in the large chair and Sara perched beside him on the arm.
Ryan and Cecil sat next to one another on the loveseat so Savannah led Kurt over to the couch.
As Clint started to fill them in, Savannah reached over and grasped Kurt’s hand. He glanced at her and smiled. She turned her attention back to Clint. It was obvious that the man was upset.
“The sheriff is dropping Tony off at the Council compound so we just have to wait to see what they want us to do,” Kurt told them after Clint was finished.
“It’s already been half a day since he missed check-in. Shouldn’t we at least go up to the Church’s property?” Ryan questioned.
Kurt shook his head. “I don’t want to wait either, but we have to follow orders.”
The mood in the room grew more sombre after that.
“I’m going to take Cecil home,” Ryan said, standing. “It’s an early morning start for him and Sara.”
Sara nodded. “Yeah, we’re going to open even earlier than normal with the weather and for all the early morning shopping specials.”
“I’m going to take off too.” Kurt set his cup on the table. Savannah rose with him.
Everyone said their goodbyes, accepting containers of food Sara and Cecil had packed up.
Savannah followed Kurt out of the door. He was parked behind her and stopped at her vehicle.
“Do you want…?” He trailed off.
Savannah leaned into him and cupped his face. “Yes.”
“My house?” he asked softly.
“I’ll follow you there,” she assured him.
Kurt pressed their lips together and Savannah melted against him. Even with the cold specks of snow falling lightly around her, she would have happily stayed there forever letting Kurt kiss her.
Kurt drew away and Savannah’s lips continued to tingle. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
Savannah unlocked her door and climbed into the cold interior. She waited until Kurt backed up before starting the engine and following him at a slow pace. They only drove a couple of blocks before Kurt was pulling into the driveway of a nice-looking house. She pulled in next to him and turned off her car. She hadn’t been driving long enough for the heater to warm the interior so she was still shivering when she pushed the door open.
Kurt waited for her at the front of her vehicle and held out his hand as she approached. They walked together towards the front door. She patted her pocket with her free hand, making sure she had her phone in case the sheriff called her in. Luckily she’d charged the phone earlier that morning while she had been cooking her dishes for the meal.
Kurt unlocked a newly painted door and ushered her inside. The warmth of the house immediately started to sink into her. She sighed as Kurt helped her take off her jacket. He hung it on a hook next to the door before doing the same with his. They pulled off their boots, leaving them under the coats, and Savannah rubbed her hands over her jeans as nerves kicked in.
Her heart pounded and while she knew what she wanted, taking a lover was always awkward at first. She wished she could just grab Kurt, yank him close and lose herself in him.
But romance didn’t start that way. She had to control herself until the dance was complete. Some men didn’t like women who initiated sex. So Savannah pushed her cravings aside and glanced over at Kurt.
He smiled. “I can make a fire. Would you like to sit and have something warm?”
She could think of many things that would warm her up. Instead of naming them for him, she nodded. “Sounds good.”
He led her into a large, open and comfortable living room. She took a seat on the soft couch and watched him openly. Kurt bent in front of the stone hearth to start arranging wood logs into the wide fire pit. His jeans stretched nicely across his ass and Savannah had to bite her lip to swallow back a moan.
Her body already ached for him. Hell, who was she kidding? She had been craving Kurt’s touch since their first kiss.
Kurt straightened and turned towards her. He ran his eyes over her body slowly. Savannah managed not to squirm under his gaze. The direct stare had her almost desperate to make a move.
“Come here?” It was a question, his voice low and husky.
Savannah rose and stepped closer even as he started forward.
“I want you,” he confessed. “I want to feel you under me. I want to make love to you.”
Her stomach clenched and her breathing quickened. They weren’t touching…yet. She boldly met his eyes. “Yes.”
They came together. Their mouths latched while they used their hands to feel and touch.
“Come to bed with me,” he murmured, lifting his lips to just an inch from hers.
“Now,” she agreed. “Please now.”
His grip was gentle yet firm as he took her hand and pulled her out of the room and through the hallway. They reached the open door of his bedroom and crossed the threshold.
Savannah turned and placed her arms over his shoulders. Kurt gripped the back of her shirt to hold her close. This time the kiss was slow and full of promise. Savannah ran her hands over Kurt’s wide shoulders and down his strong back. He lifted her off her feet as he stepped closer to the bed.