“What’s going on?” Marcas asked from the doorway.
“Shay’s not here. Her car’s gone.”
“Jamie’s gone too. Maybe he took her someplace he thought was safer,” Marcas said.
Someplace away from Cody and his mate mark. The guy was still in love with Shay, whether she was Cody’s mate or not. Were her feelings for Jamie deeper than she realized? She almost married him. “Shay was upset with me. I probably scared her off.”
“Blurting out that she’s your mate in front of everyone wasn’t the smartest thing you’ve done.”
“I wasn’t thinking straight. I saw her kissing him,” Cody said, pulling out his phone.
“What kind of kiss?”
“A kiss kiss. His lips on hers, hers on his.” Cody punched in Jamie’s number, but he didn’t answer.
“Maybe it was a sympathetic kiss or a good-bye kiss. Your head’s usually screwed on tighter than anyone else’s. That’s why you were assigned an ancient demon. If you don’t get your head on straight now, Shay’s going to pay the price for your jealousy. You can’t protect her if you’re worried about keeping her away from Jamie.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he was dating her?”
“We didn’t find out until just before they broke up, when Shay told Nina. Jamie didn’t want us to know,” Marcas said. “If I’d known about your mate mark, I’d have told you as soon as I found out. You should’ve told us Shay was your mate.”
“Guess we’ve all been keeping secrets.” Cody shoved the phone in his pocket. “I hope I haven’t ruined my chances with Shay.”
“She’s upset, but she’ll get over it. Let her make the decision on her own. No mate mark is strong enough to force a woman to marry a man if she doesn’t want to.” Marcas tapped Cody on the head. “Don’t worry. It’ll all work out.”
What if it didn’t? What if she walked away? Could he live with it? Again.
While everyone else searched the woods, the barn, and Nina’s house again, Cody checked Shay’s bedroom. Her suitcase lay on the bed, and he could see the top of her cell phone sticking out from underneath it. Why would she leave her cell phone? He picked it up and checked the calls. The most recent one had come from Renee’s phone thirty minutes ago, and lasted twenty-three seconds. If Renee called and asked Shay to meet her, nothing would keep Shay from going. Had she asked Jamie to follow her, instead of Cody? He couldn’t see her leaving without a note. She might be upset with him, but she wouldn’t worry everyone else. He picked up the notepad by the bed. Nothing. He remembered her tendency to scribble while she talked on the phone. He held the paper to the light and saw the impression her pen had made. Two words: Luray Caverns.
He raced downstairs and across to Nina’s house. The others were in the foyer. “She’s gone to Luray Caverns.”
“You found something?” Marcas asked.
Cody held up the notepad. “See the indention? No one but Shay has slept in that bedroom for a year—”
“And I just put that pad of paper there two months ago, when I was making a list of things Mom wanted shipped to her,” Marcas said.
“Why Luray Caverns?” Lach asked.
“Maybe she went to meet Renee there. They used to go a lot, when they were kids. She’ll probably take Skyline Drive. I’ll go after her on the bike. I can get around the sightseers.”
“We’ll get the helicopter and meet you there,” Marcas said. “The mechanic’s making repairs, but it should be ready by the time we get there.”
Cody’s phone rang. It was Ronan.
“I just ran into four vampires behind Renee’s shop,” Ronan said.
Cody put the phone on speaker. “Vampires? What are they doing there?”
“I don’t know, but they have our book.”
“What the… did you get it?” Cody asked.
“No. There was a female with them. She disappeared with the book. And that blond from Druan’s castle was there, but he won’t be biting anyone anytime soon. I broke off one of his fangs. Someone else had already broken the other one. I can’t come back,” Ronan said, “just in case they’re following me. I don’t want to lead them there.”
Fangs? Cody’s stomach plunged. He picked up the piece of ivory from the bookshelf. “Too late. He’s already been here. Shay’s missing. We think she’s headed to Luray Caverns.”
“I’ll meet you there,” Ronan said.
Cody hung up. His skin felt cold with fear. A vampire had been in her house. She had wounded him, and now she was missing. He shouldn’t have let her out of his sight. He prayed that Jamie was with her. At least he would keep her safe.
Lach’s head tilted. He had the sharpest hearing of them all. “Here come the others now.”
“We saw some footprints,” Duncan said. “I think someone’s been there, but no sign of him now.”
Cody told them about Ronan’s call and showed them the fang. “I hope she’s with Jamie.”
“I talked to Jamie about an hour ago,” Duncan said. “He’s alone.”
***
