Julia shifted on the bed as early morning light flooded in through the window. Iszak lay beside her, sound asleep. She resisted the urge to stroke her hand down his body, to waken him so that he could make love to her again. They’d spent most of the night finding their pleasure with each other, so she let him sleep. She eased away, and grimaced when her feet hit the cold, wooden floor beside the bed. It took every ounce of willpower she had to drag herself out of bed. She would much rather spend the day cuddled up next to the big, peacefully sleeping man, but her brother wasn’t going to find himself.

She walked on silent feet to her duffle bag, which Iszak had brought up from the car yesterday. She grabbed the clothes she intended to wear, and went in search of the bathroom. It wasn’t that hard to find, and she hurriedly turned on the shower and got under its warm spray to chase away the chill the air in the room foisted upon her skin.

As she stood under the water she debated on what she should do. She’d already blasted through four of the seven days she had off from work, and with today being day five she could not afford to put off the search for Kevin any longer. Damn her brother anyway. If he turned out to be passed out on a friend’s couch like last time, she thought she might kill him.

As she stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, she thought about the phone call she was going to have to make. So much of her time off had been eaten by the snow storm that it looked like she had no choice but to call her boss and ask for more time. The thought tickled the back of her brain that she could easily find Kevin in the two days left to her, but she shoved it aside. She wasn't ready to go back to her normal life and she didn’t want to look too deeply into the reason. If she did, she suspected that it would be more because of the man she’d just pulled herself away from.

She walked out to the living room and picked her purse up off the floor where she’d dumped it alongside her coat. She picked the coat up too and hung it on the hook. It came back to her, just how much she wanted him in the moment when he’d finally asked her to stay, not because she’d save money, but because he wanted her. She still couldn’t quite believe it, that he shared the same desire for her that she had for him.

With a small shake of her head, she went over to the sofa and sat down. She couldn’t let herself get distracted by thoughts of Iszak. She wanted to get this Kevin business over with, and to that end she pulled her cellphone out of her purse. Glancing down at it she saw that she had seven missed calls from her father since she’d put it in her purse upon leaving the cabin yesterday.

She was certain the three voicemail messages on there were from him too but she didn’t bother to listen to them. If her father wanted instant results, perhaps he should be searching for Kevin himself. Surely he could have looked for Kevin without involving the police, if that was what was behind his need to send her on this goose chase. Her father did everything he could to avoid interaction with the authorities, and she wondered what had happened to him to make him avoid the police at all costs.

With a shrug of her shoulders, she let it go. Her father wasn’t her problem right now. Once she found out what happened to Kevin, this was going to be the last job she did for him. It was time she put herself and her own needs first instead of last. As it was, she was going to have to call her boss and see if she could get her time off extended. A glance at her watch told her that while the restaurant would be closed right now, her boss should be in the office.

She quickly dialed the number and put a smile in her voice.

“Hi, it’s Julia.”

“I hope you’re calling to tell me that you’re coming back early. Vicky sprained her ankle and has to be off her feet for a few days. We’re really swamped here and I need all hands on deck.”

Julia swallowed hard. She hadn’t expected this. He needed her to come back early, so the chance that he was going to give her more time off was nil.

“To be honest, I was hoping for a few more days off on top of the ones I already have. It looks like my family emergency is going to take longer to sort out.” Julia held her breath while she waited for her answer. Should she have told him that while she couldn’t cut her time off short, she would be there promptly for the next time she was scheduled to work?

“I’m sorry to hear that. For the short time you’ve been here, you’ve really become a part of the place and the others like you. When you’re here, you are a hard worker. Unfortunately, I have a business to run and I can't give everyone the time off they need. I’m not going to demand that you come in during the time off I gave you, it’s not your fault that Vicky sprained her ankle, but I can’t extend your time off.”

So she was either going to have to find Kevin in the next two days, say goodbye to Iszak and go back to work or face the possibility that she was not going to have a job to go back home to. If she pushed it, she knew that she could find out what happened to Kevin but there was a reluctance inside her to leave in two days. And she knew why. It wasn’t Kevin, it was Iszak. While she’d gone into this knowing it was just a fling, making love with him hadn’t felt like that. It had felt like something deeper, and if she walked away from it now, there was the notion that she’d regret it. She had a feeling that whatever it was that he awoke inside her, it would not burn itself out in two days. They hadn’t talked about her staying longer, and she blew out a sigh.

“I’m sorry Barry, but I can’t promise that I’ll be back in two days.” She didn’t want to tell him that she was coming back. It wasn’t fair to him to string him along when everything was still so much up in the air. There was the possibility that Kevin wouldn’t be found in two days, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t her mission to find her brother that was causing her reluctance to commit to going back.

“That’s too bad, but I understand. Family comes first. I wish I could hold your job for you, but like I said, I have a business to run. Your job is yours as long as you are back for your next scheduled shift. If things with your family resolve themselves by then, I’ll see you. If not, take care of yourself.”

The called ended and Julia set her phone aside with a sigh. She still had a job if she resolved everything in two days time. She glanced at the bedroom door, and thought of the man sleeping beyond it. Her night with him had surpassed her wildest imaginings and making love with him had only fed her desire for him instead of dampening it. She didn’t want whatever was between them to be over in two days, but how did he feel? Would he want her to stay longer?

She didn’t know the answer to that, and if it turned out to be no, she'd find a way to get over it. In the meantime, she needed to find out what the hell happened to Kevin so that she could move on with her life, in whatever direction it took. If she wanted to be with Iszak, if she wanted to explore what he made her feel, she needed to clear away her obligations to her family. Her father would make a nuisance of himself until she appeased him.

The first thing she should do was get into Kevin’s apartment. Surely there was some clue there about where he could have gone. Unfortunately she didn’t have the key and her father hadn’t had one either. There was one person who might, and she rummaged through her purse to see if she could find the slip of paper her father had given her with the address of Kevin’s girlfriend.

After pawing through the contents of her purse she found the slip of paper crumpled on the bottom. She pulled it out and smoothed it out on the coffee table in front of her. She had no idea where this woman’s house was, but she typed the address in her phone and after a few seconds her phone popped up clear directions for her to follow.

She stood with a glance at the bedroom door again. The notion of going back in there, to crawl into bed with Iszak and make love with him again was tempting. The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted him. Would it be possible to have something more than a fling with him? Could she get away from her father and his obsession to make a normal life for herself?

Chances were good she would be looking for a new job. What was to stop her from looking for one here? She shared an apartment with her sister, but Diana was hardly ever home anymore. Did she really want to tie herself to a city where she was alone most of the time?

It didn’t matter right now. She had a couple more days before she needed to decide if what was between her and Iszak was worth further exploration. Right now she needed to talk to Lyssa Davidson about getting a key to Kevin’s apartment. She’d think about what to do with her future once she had some sort of sign from Iszak that a future together was what he wanted too. She had to focus on one thing at a time right now. Her father wanted her to find Kevin and that was what she was going to concentrate on this morning.

She decided against waking Iszak, and pulled a piece of paper out of her purse to scrawl a note to him, telling him where she’d gone. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she’d walk away from whatever they were building between them.

With any luck Lyssa would have a key to Kevin’s place and she would be one step close to finding out where the hell her brother had gone. Once the Kevin problem was dealt with, then she could think about who and what she wanted for her future.

* * *

Iszak’s eyes drifted open, and he could tell by the light that was drifting in through the window that most of the morning had past them by. Making love with Julia last night had only made him hungry for more. It had awakened feelings inside him that he needed to be careful of. He couldn’t let himself forget exactly what she was, and the repercussions of getting in too deep with her.

He rolled over onto his side, reaching for her but the bed beside him was empty, the sheets rumpled and cold. Last night must have tired him more than he thought if she could get up and out of bed without waking him. He strained to listen. The apartment was silent, and he sat straight up in bed. If the whole reason for having her here and being with her was to keep tabs on her, he was doing a piss poor job of it. Hopefully she hadn’t decided that last night was more than enough for her and left him already. He didn’t want to think about the panic that notion sent through him.

With a quick flip of the blankets, he turned his body and stood. If he was lucky, she was still in the apartment and was only being extremely quiet for his sake. If she wasn’t, he needed to figure out where she’d gone. A quick glance around the bedroom as he pulled on his jeans told him that she hadn’t left him permanently, as her things were still sitting in the bedroom. Where was she and when had she left his side?

If he was going to keep tabs on her, he better work on his habit of sleeping so soundly. The crossbow case sat in the corner, so at least she wasn’t out actively hunting. It was a small blessing, but he needed to know where she was. At least he was assured that while she was not here at the moment, she did have plans to return. At the back of his mind there was relief and he didn’t want to analyze why. All this could be was a fling, they were too different for it to amount to anything more than that. But even telling himself that did little to dash the small flicker of hope inside him that she could be the one.

A quick walk around the apartment revealed that she had gone somewhere, although he wasn’t surprised to have confirmation of his suspicions. Now to figure out if he needed to worry or not. There was a possibility, however slim, that the reason for her absence had nothing to do with Kevin and would bring no danger to his brother and Lyssa. He didn’t hold out much hope for that though, since the reason Julia was in town in the first place was to find out what happened to her brother. She would not want to post pone the search now that she was here. Finding out what happened to her brother was so important to her that it had pushed her out into a snow storm, and had endangered her life. He didn’t think that she would put off the search for Kevin, and in all likelihood it was her hunt for the truth of what had happened to her brother that had driven her from his bed this morning.

A slip of paper sitting on the table caught his eye. At least she’d written him a note, so he would know one way or another if he needed to worry. He didn’t know what he was going to do if the contents of that note told him what he was dreading but he would have to read it first in order to find out.

Iszak,

Out to talk to my brother’s girlfriend. Be back soon.

Julia

Iszak’s stomach plummeted to his toes. Unless Kevin had another woman tucked away somewhere, he was certain that the girlfriend she was referring to was Lyssa. Kevin had been too obsessed with his brother’s mate for it to be anyone else.

Iszak raced back to the bedroom and grabbed his phone from the bedside table. He put in the number for the house and hit the dial button. The phone on the other end rang as he tapped his foot impatiently.

Rickman came on the line.

“Iszak, are you back in town? How do you like the apartment?”

“I’m here and the apartment is fine. Listen, I need to know if Lyssa is at the house right now?”

There was the rumble of a voice near Rickman, that could only belong to his brother. Iszak didn’t know what he was saying, but he could certainly hear Rickman’s impatient reply.

“Yes it’s him. No I don’t know when he’s coming home. He wants to know if Lyssa’s— Hey!”

“Iszak, when are you going to stop this nonsense and come home?” Iszak rolled his eyes when his older brother came on the phone. He did not have time for this, but he would have had to talk to his brother anyway, so he might as well get it over with.

“I told you, Andor. I’m not coming home. You and Lyssa need your space and I need mine. That’s not why I’m calling.”

“What can be more important than this? You belong with your family. I don’t understand what this space is that you seem to need. The house is big enough for all of us. Now come home and let Rickman make some sort of arrangements for you to meet women so your curse can be lifted.”

His brother didn’t get it. The reason he’d left the home his brother lived in with his mate was because his brother’s constant harping on about his curse was getting to him. While Andor might have been extremely lucky to find the woman who could love and accept him for what he is, it wasn’t as easy as he seemed to think. Iszak would try to find such a woman, but he would do it in his own way.

“I’m not rehashing this with you. I’m living here for the foreseeable future. It’s not why I called. I need to know if Lyssa is there with you.”

“No, she’s at her house. She’s decided not to bother renting it out and is meeting with a realtor about putting it on the market. Why do you need to speak to her?” Iszak cursed softly under his breath, but unfortunately the microphone on his phone picked it up and his brother heard it. “What’s going on Iszak? Is there something you know that I don’t? Is my mate in danger?”

There was a dark quality that had come into his brother’s voice, and Iszak knew that his brother’s protective instincts had been raised, and that wasn’t his intention at all. The last thing he needed was to have Andor go racing to be with Lyssa. The resemblance between him and his brother was strong enough that if Julia saw him she’d know they were family. He didn’t want her to make any kind of association between Andor and her brother.

“Your mate is fine. I need you to stay away from her house today.” He hoped his brother would do as he asked without questioning him. What was he supposed to tell him? There is a dragon hunter in town, but don’t worry about it, I’m sleeping with her? And I’m doing such a good job of keeping tabs on her that she managed to slip away while I was sound asleep. The less his brother knew about that, the better.

“What’s going on Iszak?” There was a command in his brother's deep voice, and Iszak should have known that he wouldn’t let it rest.

“Don’t ask me how I know this, but Kevin’s sister is here in town. She’s trying to find out what happened to him, and I’m sure that one of the first people she will talk to will be Lyssa. Lyssa will be much safer if you stay away from her. It will only put her at risk if a connection is made between you and Kevin.”

“You’re telling me that there is a member of Kevin’s family is here and I’m supposed to leave Lyssa on her own? Did you forget that Kevin was a dangerous, obsessed bastard who stalked her for months? Now you want me to stay away from her when she might have contact with a member of that family? Are you out of your mind?”

“I’m completely sane, and you know it. Just because Kevin was a danger to her does not mean that his sister is. You know that it would be more dangerous for you to be around her since it was you who killed him. As long as his sister does not associate Lyssa with a dragon, she will be fine. Or have you forgotten why Kevin captured you at gun point?”

His brother growled on the other end of the phone, and Iszak knew that he won. His brother would stay away from Lyssa today, and Iszak was thankful for that. It would be a lot easier to minimize the damage his sleeping in this morning had done if Julia did not associate Lyssa with her brother’s killer. Lyssa was smart enough to avoid incriminating Andor.

“How do you know all this?”

Of course Andor couldn’t just accept him at his word, he would have to ask the one question that Iszak did not want to answer. He didn't know what he was going to tell him. He certainly wasn’t going to mention that Julia was staying here with him and that he was sleeping with her. That she had a crossbow with dragon killing bolts and appeared to be actively hunting dragons. Saying all that out loud to Andor would prove to both of them just how out of his mind he was.

“It’s not important how I know. Just stay away from Lyssa today, okay?”

Iszak hung up the phone and put it back down on the bedside table. The quickest way to cut off his brother’s questions was to hang up on him.

The phone buzzed and he didn’t need to look down at it to know it was Andor calling back. He had no intention of answering it. The less his brother knew about this, the better.

He left his bedroom and went into the living room. He needed to do a better job of keeping tabs on her. How he was supposed to have kept her from leaving to see Lyssa he had no idea, but he would have thought of something. As it was, he was stuck waiting here and hoping that Lyssa didn’t reveal anything to Julia that would lead her to the truth of what happened to her brother. That would lead her to the truth about him.