Sun streamed in through the windows of Sway, the same restaurant where Sara had made her fatal decision to seduce Ryan after getting drunk that first night. It was giving her a headache. Despite her thoughts running in circles, Sara did manage to get a couple of hours sleep once she got back to the hotel, but it hadn’t done much good.
Now, in the light of day, some of those things were clearly nothing but products of her imagination. After all, who would be thinking straight when their only living relative had been attacked like that? Werewolves indeed.
Deluded much? Sara took a sip of her water and swallowed the disturbing thought down with it.
Hailey was right; she did owe it to Ryan to talk face-to-face. She’d still had no idea what she wanted to do about him, but before she lost her nerve, Sara had called to invite him to lunch.
Coming down in the elevator, she’d decided it was best to make a clean break of things. Then she’d seen him standing outside the restaurant and nearly melted. How could she have even considered cutting this man loose from her life?
Sitting across from Ryan now, she was even more confused. First, he’d inquired after Hailey and hung on every word as she updated him. She’d then apologized for being rude the night before…and he’d blushed. He’d been glued to her every word since and had been a complete gentleman the whole time. Other than a chaste peck on the cheek and a guiding hand at her lower back as they’d made their way to the table, he hadn’t touched her. It was killing her. She physically ached for the ease they’d shared only yesterday.
Sara Eileen, you are so not ready to end this.
You have to. You’re not ready to deal with what you’re feeling either.
Ryan tossed her one of his lopsided smiles, and Sara shoved the doubt back into the dark corner it had crawled out of.
Ryan finally reached for her hand for the first time since they’d sat down and the section of her brain taking her heart’s side cheered.
“Sara, everything okay? You seem distracted?”
Ryan’s deep voice was as comforting as a warm shower in winter, damn it. “Sorry, I didn’t sleep well, but no, otherwise I’m fine.” Liar, and it doesn’t look like he got any more sleep than you.
A meal Sara barely touched and three cups of coffee later, Ryan finally reached for her hand for the first time since they’d sat down and the section of her brain taking her heart’s side cheered.
“Good, because there are some things we need to talk about.” With those words, Ryan’s whole demeanor changed from day to night in a flash. Sara had never imagined he could look so grim, and suddenly, the last thing she wanted to do was talk.
“No, it’s okay. We’re fine.” She glanced around and spotted the waitress. “Check please?”
Ryan’s fingers tightened around hers. “No, we really do, and somewhere a hell of a lot more private. It can’t wait.”
The waitress gave Sara’s building panic a reprieve. “Here you go. Hope you enjoyed your meal.”
Frustration flashed across Ryan’s face then vanished as he glanced up at the girl and relinquished his hold on Sara to dig out his credit card. “It was fine. Thank you.”
The waitress took it from him with smile. “Terrific. I’ll be back with the machine in just a minute.” Ryan caught Sara’s hands again as the waitress retreated.
Sara gulped. She had no idea why she felt they were on the edge of a knife somehow, only that she did, and she had to back away from it before it cut her heart out. “This was nice, but—”
“Sara, please. There are some things about me you need to know. Things that, after yesterday, now directly affect you and your sister—”
“Speaking of Hailey, oh dear, look at the time. I have to check on her.”
Ryan hesitated before letting her hands go, and he didn’t look happy about it. The clock on her phone showed twenty till one, so she and Nicki should be well back from the hospital by now, though it was weird neither had texted her.
Someone stepped on Sara’s proverbial grave and a chilly fingernail ran up her spine. She probably should’ve checked in earlier herself.
The waitress returned and Ryan took care of paying the bill as Sara called her sister’s phone and waited for an answer. It only rang once then went straight to Hailey’s inbox. “I’m probably ignoring this, and may or may not get back to you, but go ahead and leave a message if you want anyway.” Sara frowned.
Ryan’s face went into full on scowl mode. “No answer?”
“No, it went straight to voice-mail. Maybe she’s sleeping.” Sara scrolled to Nicki’s number and pressed the button.
Her cheery voice came through after three rings. “Hey, girl, what’s up?”
“Oh good, glad I caught you. I just tried Hailey but she didn’t answer. What time did you guys get back?”
“Back? What do you mean?”
“What do you mean, what do I mean? What time did you guys get back from the hospital?” The pregnant pause on the other end dragged Sara’s brow down to a point her expression matched Ryan’s and the icy fingers from a second ago clutched the back of her neck.
“Honey, she hasn’t called me to say she’s ready to go yet.”
Ryan spoke before Sara could answer Nicki. “Sara, what’s going on?”
“Nicki hasn’t heard from her yet.”
Something flashed across his face so fast Sara wasn’t sure she’d seen it as he stood up and gestured for her to do the same. “Come on. My truck’s here. We’ll go get her right now.”
Sara wasn’t about to argue; her sister would be spitting nails if she’d been sprung and no one had been there to get her. “Nicki, Ryan’s here. We’re going to head over there now. I’ll call you when we get back.”
As they waited for the elevator, the frosty grip migrated to Sara’s guts and the black cloud hanging over Ryan wasn’t helping.
*****
At the hospital, Ryan barely got the truck in park, before Sara jumped out the passenger door. She’d gained three parking stall lengths by the time he got the keys out of the ignition, hopped out, and pressed the lock on his fob.
“Sara, hold up!” His longer stride ate up the distance, and he caught up as she hit the building’s main entrance. Damn it. Why had he left? He should’ve suggested they meet here for lunch. After his discussion with Zander, Ryan spent what was left of the night sitting in a deserted waiting area on Hailey’s floor where he could keep an eye on her room. By mid-morning, nothing had happened. So, when it came time to meet Sara for lunch, with the day shift in full swing, Hailey, at least for the time being, had seemed safe. Now he wasn’t so sure.
“She’s probably tearing her hair out by now. Hailey hates hospitals.” Sara yanked the door open and he caught it as she let go. Her voice was full of forced cheer. “I’ll hear about how I left her here rotting for the next six months.”
Whether she was picking up on his sinking feeling, or she was working on one of her own, he had no idea. What Ryan had no doubt of, however, was that Sara wasn’t buying her nattering excuse for barreling toward the elevator any more than he was.
The elevator door crawled open, releasing a glut of pastel-clad staff members, and he could hear Sara grinding her teeth until they were clear. Once inside with the doors closed, he fought the urge to pull her into his arms, knowing things had changed between them already, and Sara still wasn’t aware of half of it.
Ping.
Sara squeezed through as soon as the door was open wide enough and burst onto the ward, heading for the nurse’s station with Ryan right behind her. She grasped the raised counter separating her from the woman on the other side so tight her knuckles were white, and she didn’t bother catching her breath before getting to the point. “My sister, Hailey Carpenter, I’m here to pick her up.”
The woman took her time looking up and conveyed her displeasure at the interruption when she did. “One moment please.” She banged on her keyboard and consulted the screen in front of her. “Ahem.” She glared up over the top of her thick-rimmed glasses as though they carried a terrible stench. “Carpenter, you said?”
“Yes. Hailey Carpenter. She’s down that hall.” Sara pointed to the left of the desk while Ryan resisted the urge to show the miserable old bat a bit of fang.
“Says here she was discharged over an hour ago. Looks like you wasted more than just my time.” With that, she dismissed them by standing up, turning her back, and walking away.
“What? Wait! Where is she then?”
Another nurse came up beside Ryan, saving her co-worker from an untimely death. “Excuse me, did you say Hailey?”
Sara and Ryan both spun their full attention on the new arrival. “Yes.”
“Matilda there’s right, sugar. She left here with a…gentleman, over an hour ago.”
Ryan didn’t miss the hesitation and, with his hackles rising higher, overrode Sara before she had a chance to speak. “What did this gentleman look like?”
The nurse looked nervous under his glare but answered anyway. “He was tall and skinny, with kind of mousy hair, and he had on a scruffy bomber jacket. Leather, I think. Why? Is there something wrong?”
Guilt clawed up Ryan’s throat. Fuck. The second Mongrel wore a jacket like that.
Sara started to speak, and he cut her off again, wrapping his hand around her arm and squeezing in the hopes she’d get the message to let him handle it. “No, not at all, just a misunderstanding. Thank you.” Ryan made short work of propelling Sara past the nurse in a beeline for the elevator.
“What the… Ryan, stop it—”
She looked over her shoulder toward the now empty nurse’s desk, and with her hair back in a clip the way it was, Ryan saw the telltale mark he’d known, but still dreaded, would be there. The only thing that stopped his lunch from making a return trip was the need to get her out of there and his wolf’s overwhelming instinct to claim its mate.
Ryan mentally snapped at it. Enough. We can’t have her. His primal half howled in rage, but did back down.
“Ryan, what do you think you’re doing?”
“Sara, please, you need to trust me.”
She tried to pull out of his grasp. “No, I need to find my sister.”
Mercifully, the elevator was still on their floor and the doors opened as soon as he pressed the call button. Ushering Sara in ahead of him, he shoved her toward the side of the conveyance where her indignation went unnoticed until the doors closed again.
“Ryan, damn it. Let go.” She was squirming and batting at his hand.
The second they were alone and moving, he turned her toward him and shook her to get her to look him in the eye. He was careful not to hurt her, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her any more than she already was, but he had to get through to her.
“Sara. Stop it. You need to listen—for Hailey’s sake.”
The stricken look on her face kicked him in the chest, and his inner wolf howled for the hunt in response to her pain.
“The only person who can help you get your sister back now is me.”