Her family is royalty, you dumb ass, his dragon said.
He hadn’t been thinking. The expensive car she drove proved it.
Before he jumped to any more conclusions, he replaced the jewels and closed the drawer. He needed to speak with her in a calm and reasonable manner before he could determine if Ella was who she claimed to be, or not.
After he changed, Tanner took off again for the office, hoping to find her there. When he spotted his car parked in front, he relaxed and mentally prepared for their little chat.
The front office door was locked which was odd. Ella had a key in case she needed to duck out if no one was around. He opened up, but she wasn’t at her desk.
“Ella?” he called. No answer.
She might be in his office shredding a few things, something that would make it hard to hear. His door was ajar, and when he stepped in, she wasn’t there either.
He pulled out his phone and called her. Most likely she was still at the diner having a long breakfast. It went to voicemail. Damn.
“It’s Tanner. Call me back when you have a moment.”
Now Tanner was beginning to worry. She had to be somewhere. It wasn’t as if she could have flown away.
Oh, shit. Had Moran returned and dragged her off? Tanner’s gut churned and his hands burned. The bastard better not have touched a hair on her body, or he would die.
Before he went off half-cocked, Tanner called Clint.
“Hey, Tanner. You coming to the site again today? Or are you staying in Edendale?” His second-in-command had a bit too much cheer in his voice.
“Neither. I’m at the office. Have you seen or heard from Ella today?”
“No. She’s not at home I take it?”
“No, and my car’s here. She might be at the diner though. I need to find her.”
“Let me know if I can help,” Clint said.
“Will do.”
Shit. After locking up, he took off for the diner. Unfortunately, Ella wasn’t there either. When he spotted Carolyn, the owner, he rushed up to her. “Was Ella in here this morning?”
“No. I haven’t seen her in a while. Something wrong?”
“I don’t know. I’m sure I’ll find her somewhere.” He wouldn’t be surprised if she was at the office supply store. Ella loved to organize. Since the store was a mile away, she would have had to drive. Because his car was at the office, she would have to use hers. They’d purposefully left her car behind the hotel. They hadn’t driven it to his house because it gave them the option of having a car in town should they need one, and the hotel was good with them leaving it there.
Tanner walked through the hotel lobby to the back lot. Ella’s car was gone. That gave him a bit of relief that Moran hadn’t kidnapped her. She probably was at the store. Because he really wanted to talk to her, he jogged back to his office and jumped in his car. He would have flown had there been space to land.
When he reached the office supply store, her car was not in the lot. Where was she? Tanner called her cell again and got the same response: no answer.
To his knowledge, Ella hadn’t made any friends in Plux yet, so there was no one he could ask. Think! Would she have gone home to divulge Moran’s secret identity? If so, why not ask him to go with her?
Because you would have been a jerk about it, his dragon shot out. You would have told her to stay put so you could play the hero and unveil the fraud.
Tanner was about to deny the allegation until he thought about it. Yes, he would have told Ella to stay put. Damn. There was only one solution: go after her.
The problem was that while he knew she lived in Thedia Province, that didn’t narrow it down much. Her last name was Snowden, and her father was the snow leopard Clan Alpha. Surely, someone would know where to find her family.
He pulled out his phone and called Clint again. “I’m going to Thedia to find Ella.”
“Did she tell you she was there?” Clint asked.
“No, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Are you sure she wants you to chase after her?”
Did it matter? Tanner was her mate. “I need to find her.”
Clint said nothing for a few seconds. “Then what are you waiting for?”
“Not a thing.”
Tanner was glad Clint didn’t try to talk him out of going. He wouldn’t have succeeded even if he had. Tanner stuffed his phone in his pocket. After returning the car to the office, he shifted. He had a few connections in the area. Hopefully, one of them was sure to know where her home was.
“Ella?” her mother said as she stepped into the living room. “What are you doing back home? Was life too hard out in the real world, like I said it would be?” A small smile captured her lips.
Really? Ella might only have been gone a few weeks, but shouldn’t her mom be somewhat happy to see her? “No, mother. I came home to let you in on a little secret about Moran.”
“You saw Moran?”
“I did.”
“I spoke to him after you ran off. He was devastated that you’d left.”
Ella didn’t want to get into the discussion with her mother. This required a family meeting. “Is father here? Or Mori or Christa? I have news they need to hear.”
Her mother’s lips pinched. “I’ll let your father know you want an audience.”
An audience? Did her mother think Dad was some king or something? Footsteps sounded, and her father came into the living room. “Ella! You’re back.” He hugged her.
At least one of her parents was happy to see her. “It’s temporary. I need to tell you some disturbing news.”
Her father stepped back. “Come sit and tell us.”
“I want Mori and Christa here too.”
Her father’s shoulders
