wasn’t far behind her. Sam came stumbling in a few minutes later looking like he hadn’t slept a wink.
I tapped my foot and sent off another message, then put the phone to my ear to call again.
“Stay calm,” Drew said. “He’s a grown man and has run his own life all this time without you.”
I rolled my eyes and poured another cup of coffee. The three of them could tell I was ready to bolt out of the house and head straight to Wade’s. I’d already toyed with the idea of calling Dana and Rick Johnson to see they knew a shifter who was a tracker to hunt down Wade. Maybe they had connections in the area.
Dana and Rick were ferret shifters and became my liaison for the shifters. Their oldest son died in the same fighting ring Zoey had. I’d saved their youngest son by finding and taking down the whole thing. I’d managed to bring Zoey back, animate her, at least, but the rest of the shifter kids had been too far gone to save long-term.
Drew sat in the chair beside me, pulling me from my plots of searching for and saving Wade. I met his gaze and smiled. He smelled good and was a sexy distraction, but he didn’t smile back. He just leaned forward, cupped my cheeks, and claimed my mouth like he was making all kinds of promises of pleasure.
Moaning deep in my throat, I scooted closer in my seat and returned the kiss. Tingles skittered over my skin. He tasted of toothpaste and spice. Mmm, I could’ve kissed him all day.
When he broke the kiss, he sat back in his chair and held up his cup. “I just need one cup, then we’ll go to Wade’s.”
I nodded, unable to take my eyes off him. We’d kissed before, but not like that. That wasn’t just a kiss. It was a claiming. Drew was marking his territory. Or maybe I was going insane and hanging out with shifters too much recently.
Sitting back in my chair, I said, “Was that a distraction or an attempt to get your way?”
“Both,” Drew said before taking a sip of coffee.
I laughed softly. That man was dangerous on so many levels. Across the kitchen table from me, Olivia stared at us. Then she said, “Sam, I want a kiss like that.”
Sam walked to the table, bent down, and poked out his lips to make a fish face. Laughing, Olivia put her palm to his face and pushed him away. “Goof-ball.”
Clay came drifting into the kitchen, glancing at each of us like we lost our minds. “Have you heard anything?” He knew as well as the rest of them that I was freaking out about Wade.
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
He sighed. “I’m worried too. I wish I could leave this damn house and go look myself.”
I checked my phone again to make sure I hadn’t received a message in the last thirty-five seconds. Then I was up pacing again. Where the heck was he?
And why wasn’t he returning my calls or messages?
Another car went by outside, so I rushed to the window. It was just a random car. Not Wade. A random thought crossed my mind. “The vampires have him,” I said to no one in particular as I stared at the house across the street. That was the only thing that made any sense.
Wade could’ve been dead. My heart squeezed, and it became hard to breathe.
Drew came over to me and took my hand. The next thing I knew we were walking out of the house with his arm around me. Sam and Olivia walked right behind us.
“Where does Wade live?” Drew asked, locking his fingers with mine.
I pointed to our right. “Turn left at the stop sign, then left on the next street over.”
When we reached the stop sign, we heard footsteps behind us. Turning, I spotted Wallie and Zoey jogging toward us. So, we waited.
Once the kids joined us, we walked as a group to Wade’s house in silence. However, we did slow down as we passed the backyard to the vamps’ house. Even though it was morning, the sky was overcast and looked like it might rain later. The sun wasn’t quite out, and I noticed a few of the fanged ones in the yard. Jaxon wasn’t outside and I didn’t recognize any of them from the other night. How many vampires lived in this house? Was there an underground labyrinth?
One of the vampires growled out the word