Page 246

She nodded.

“Okay.” His boots thumped as he came a little closer, stealing the last of the oxygen in her lungs, and bent to press a kiss to her forehead. “Love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too.” She tipped her face up, until he gave her what she wanted: a kiss on the mouth.

He straightened and lightly squeezed her foot through the blankets. “Text if you need me, and I’ll drop everything and come right back. Sound good?”

She nodded, her ankle warm from his grasp. “Sounds good.”

“Have a good sleep, my love.” He let go and backed out of the room, watching her as he slipped out the door.

She listened to the familiar pounding of his boots until she couldn’t hear them anymore.

And then she grabbed her phone off the nightstand and typed a message to Sabrine.

Loren

Have you found anything yet?

Sabrine

Girl, it hasn’t even been 24 hours… Lol. I’m going to need longer than that.

Loren tried not to frown.

A moment later, her phone buzzed with a new message.

Sabrine

I found a few websites that look promising. If you want to read through a couple of them, I could use the help.

Loren

Of course I want to! Send them over.

Sabrine

K! One sec.

Sabrine sent her a short list of website links. Loren flicked the lamp on, sat up, and began to read. With Darien gone, she managed to make a lot of progress without the risk that he might catch her. She started a list of important facts—any detail, no matter how small, that might help, she made note of it.

She stayed awake for as long as she could—until her eyes were too tired to stay open. It was past Witching Hour when she drifted off, hope kindling in her heart.

She might not be able to save herself, but she would save him.

85

Blue Gables

BRONTE, STATE OF KER

The interiorof the car was so quiet, Shay could hear crickets chirping in the grass by the motel called Blue Gables. She was in the passenger’s seat, Paxton having traded spots with her after the adrenaline-hungry males had gotten their fill of drifting, racing, and doing burnouts on the moonlit highway. He was dozing off in the back, Chance and Sayagul already fast asleep.

Stacey had won the race against Dean’s slate-gray Iris, so Dean had offered to pay not just for breakfast tomorrow, but for the rooms, too. He was with a couple of his men in the Blue Gables office, hopefully booking several rooms with two beds each. Ideally, it’d be nice if she got herownroom, but…

She wouldn’t get her hopes up. Luck was in short supply these days.

Roman was brooding behind the wheel, his eyes and tousled hair a shade darker than normal. Neither of them had said anything to the other since their more-than-awkward introductions with the Death Dealers out front of Wacky’s Waffles. She had a feeling his brooding was the result of what she’d said to Nash—I’m single, by the way—but she wasn’t quite sure.