He didn’t even realize the three black SUVs had peeled away, the screeches of their tires a shrill disturbance in the silence of the evening. No, he simply stood there for what seemed like eternity, letting thick white flakes of snow blanket around him and melt on his face.
The light of an oncoming vehicle jolted him out of his trance. The truck stopped in the empty spot next to the Mercedes, and J.D. hopped out, Gabriel following her from the passenger’s side.
“Hey, Damon,” she greeted cheerfully. “I’m glad you changed your mind! Guess who got his tires slashed? Didn’t have enough spares, so I told him, why not bunker down and join us for girls’ night? We can braid his—Damon?” A frown marred her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Damon.” Gabriel dashed to his side. “Damon, what’s the matter?”
How could he explain? He couldn’t even form the words in his mouth. “She left.”
“She left?” J.D. asked incredulously. “Who? Anna Victoria?”
He managed a nod.
“Where did she go?” Gabriel asked.
“Home.”
“Home?” he echoed. “What do you mean, home?”
“To Albuquerque,” he said. “Or she will. Anyway, she’ll explain everything to you when she comes back with her fiancé.” The word coming from his own mouth made him want to retch. “They went for a drive. To talk in private.”
“Fiancé?” J.D. exclaimed.
“Yeah. Showed up here. Said they were going to work things out.”
“And how the hell did he even know she was here in Blackstone?” J.D. asked.
“She must have told him where she was.” Had they been talking all this time? Was it all a lie then? Being with him? Why the hell would she sleep with him if she was still talking to that bastard?
“Damon, man, I’m sorry,” Gabriel began, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I can’t even—”
“No!” J.D. stamped her foot down for emphasis.
“No?” Gabriel frowned. “What do you mean, no?”
“No, as in, I don’t believe it! She wouldn’t leave you to go to another man. She’s your mate.”
No one would ever call J.D. sweet or naive, but in this instance, Damon was beginning to think those were suitable descriptions for his friend. “It’s okay, J.D.,” he began. “She fooled us all.” Me, most of all, he added bitterly.
“There’s something wrong here,” J.D. insisted. “Damon, you’re her mate! What does your bear say?”
A growl vibrated from his chest. The Demon roared, as if telling him that something wasn’t right here. Shut up! His damned bear was confused. Was this what happened when mates broke up? Would his bear continue on an even deeper spiral?
“Goddammit!” J.D. grabbed his arm. “Damon, Anna Victoria is in love with you. She said so herself after you left Rosie’s. Tell her, Gabe.”
“She said the words,” Gabriel said with a shrug. “But if she left …”
“No, no, this is wrong.” J.D. paced. “I need to think.” Pivoting on her heel, she marched up to the front door. “Guys!”
The alarm in J.D.’s voice made his spine straighten. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“The lock … it’s been broken. My house … holy fuck!”
“What?” Gabriel sprinted up the steps. “Motherfucker, what happened in here?”
Something in his gut flared, and he bounded toward the entrance. “What the—” Disbelief scrambled his brain as he took in the sight before him. The living room had been ransacked—furniture flipped over, couch cushions slashed, keepsakes and books tossed to the ground.
J.D. rushed out of the spare bedroom. “They went through the entire house.” Her teeth gritted together and her hands curled into claws. “Motherfuckers.”
“What happened, Damon?” Gabriel said. “Tell us.”
Did Jameson do this? He hadn’t seen it himself, but that bastard did have those two suited bodyguards with him, so they could have done this in no time. He took a cushion off the floor and sniffed it. Same cologne as Jameson. He could picture it in his mind—that bastard sitting on the sofa as his henchmen ransacked the place. But why? “Fuck,” he cursed.
“Damon,” J.D. said. “Tell us what you know. Now.”
He went through the story as quickly and succinctly as he could. Really, there wasn’t much to tell. He arrived, and Jameson and Anna Victoria were on the porch, and then they left. But as he replayed the events in his mind, he tried to recall more details. How Anna Victoria’s voice shook as she spoke. The way she flinched when Jameson put his arm around her. And how she refused to look him in the eye when she told him to go.
“No way she wanted to go with him,” Gabriel concluded. “But—” His head turned toward the door, body going stiff as a board. “There’s someone out there.” Without another word, the lion shifter sprinted out the door.
“What the heck—Gabriel!” J.D. called as she went after him, Damon hot on her heels.
A sharp cry caught their attention, and they ran toward Anna Victoria’s car. Gabriel was on the ground, wrestling with a man in a suit. It was no contest, though, as Gabriel quickly put his opponent in a chokehold. “Where is she?” he growled, loosening his grip. “Where did that bastard take her?”
The man said nothing, so Gabriel squeezed his arm around the man’s neck again. “Where is she?”
The Demon roared inside Damon, wanting to join in and rip the man’s face off.
“Guys!” J.D. exclaimed, pointing to something in the back of Anna Victoria’s car. “Look.”
Damon turned to the trunk, which had been popped open. A black duffel bag sat inside and bundles of cash peeked out from the open zipper.
“Holy fucking moly,” J.D. gasped. “What the hell is that doing in there?”
Damon walked over to Gabriel and his prisoner. “Are you going to talk, motherfucker?” he asked.
“Fuck you,” the man said, spittle flying out of his mouth.
It was obvious the man was loyal to Jameson. “Take care of him,” he ordered Gabriel.
The lion shifter nodded and tightened his grip until the man passed out. With a disgusted sound, he got up and brushed himself
