Page 269 of Duty and Desire

“I haven’t found him yet,” Raine said, by way of answer.

“Don’t care right now,” Noah returned, jogging through the condo and out the door. “Do you have Abby?”

The sound of helicopter blades punctuated the sudden silence through the phone. “Why in the hell would I have Abby?” Raine snapped.

Noah halted at seeing his truck parked in its spot. “Because she’s not here, and my truck is.”

“Oh. Well, Tabitha was looking for her. Maybe she has Abby?” Raine asked. “Hey. I’m about to get on a chopper to go find that asshole, but if you need me in town, say so now.”

Damn it. They were friends now. When a guy helped you escape a bunch of live grenades, he became your friend. Even if he was one of the crazy Maxwell vampire clan from Montana. “No. Keep on the trail. I’ll find Abby.” He clicked off. One problem at a time. He looked down at the lighter stamp on hispalm. He’d mated the female. Full on, forever, mated. And she had no clue.

He shook his head, protectiveness hitting him square between the eyes. Or maybe that was possessiveness. He’d mated Abby, and she was his. If there was danger to her, it would end bloody. She’d be safe.

He jumped into his truck and drove away from the condo. Where would the demoness take her? To the factory? If so, which one was hers? He quickly dialed Raine again.

“What?” Raine snapped, quiet around him.

“Aren’t you in the chopper?” Noah asked. There should be tons of noise.

“Yes. It’s one of our own designs. What do you need, Siosal?” Raine sounded slightly irritated, for some reason.

“Tabitha’s factory. Do you know where it is? I’m afraid she’s with Tabi.” Noah had to explain about the mating before anybody else did. “I was out of it last night, big time, and I mated her.”

Silence. Dead, heavy, full silence. “You fucking did what?” Then the sound of something crashing hard against metal. Was Raine hitting his head against the side of the craft? “Damn it, I’m sorry. I knew you were hurting, and you drank three bottles of bourbon, and I left you alone with her. I’m so sorry.”

Noah shrugged, turning down another lane. “Not your fault. I wanted her, she wanted me, and I think I may have passed out a bit.” From the first second he’d seen her, he’d wanted her on a level even he couldn’t comprehend. This was why. “It’s early, and it’s way too fast, but she’s mine. I know it, and on some level, she knows it.”

Raine chuckled, the sound pained. “You have a tough road ahead. My advice? Go easy.”

It was too late for easy. “Do you know where Tabi’s factory is? Which one it is?”

“No, and that woman is obsessed with that video of her. If I had to bet, I’d say she’s cooking up a plan to rob the bank. Start there, and if she’s nowhere around, look for a fancy car by the factories. You know how demonesses like fast cars.”

Noah hadn’t been aware of that fact, but the advice was good. He clicked off. If Tabitha took Abby to rob a bank, while Abby was already on probation, they were going to have a serious problem. He flipped a U-turn and sped toward town, clearing the wooden arches in a blur. He caught sight of a pristine BMW, and his heart just up and stopped. The rare car in this small town had to belong to Tabi.

He pulled his truck up next to the car, right in the middle of the street. Two seconds later, and he was out of the truck.

Tabitha rolled her window down, her smile cat-like. “Noah. How nice to see you.”

He stomped toward the vehicle, peering down to look inside. Relief mingled with irritation inside his chest as he found his mate, still dressed in her clothing from the day before, her hair kind of braided to the side. She didn’t even know her body was undergoing an incredible change at the moment. “Abby? Get in the truck.”

She blinked, and then her chin set in a stubborn line. “No. I’m working.”

He cut the too-happy Tabitha a hard look. “You will not involve my mate in a bank robbery.”

“Mate?” Abby snapped from the passenger seat. “What are you? Eighty years old?”

“Four hundred and twenty-one,” he snapped back.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Oh, they were going to have a good talk and soon. “You are not robbing this bank,” he snarled through gritted teeth at the demoness.

“I’d agree with that statement,” a low voice drawled around the other side of his truck as Detective O’Connell strolled from where he’d parked his nondescript cop car against the other curb.

Noah stiffened.

Abby gasped.