Page 88 of Ronen
A sharp whack to the back of my head nearly had me jumping out of my skin. “Ow!”
The books on the floor started moving from four different directions, until they formed a circle around me.
Did that mean there were four ghosts here? Were all of Ronen’s ghosts in my house?
Shaking my head, I refused to even entertain that thought. Instead, I squatted down, taking a closer look at the books. With narrowed eyes, I peered at my bookshelves, where there were still plenty of books.
The ghost, or entity, or whatever it was, hadn’t just cleared a shelf. No, there were gaps in the rows where these books had been. As if these books had been chosen with a purpose.
Grabbing the one closest to me, I stared at the cover, then flipped it over. It held no discernable answers, so I grabbedthe next one, and the next, and the next. They had nothing in common. Not author, trope, or even genre. There was a good mix of romance, horror, fiction, and even true crime.
“Think, Mason!” I muttered to myself.
The ghost–or ghosts–were trying to get my attention, and tell me something.
“Okay, what do you know? Look at the facts,” I mumbled, standing back up and stepping out of the book circle. “Ronen is late, and he didn’t leave a message. You know he is punctual to a fault; he likes his daily routines.”
Was this a message about Ronen? Was Emily trying to tell me something?
Looking down, one of the spines caught my eye, then another. Grabbing them up, I realized they were all library books. The spines clearly marked as belonging to the Sweet Alps Branch.
“Is Ronen in trouble?” I asked the empty room, not knowing what I was expecting in the way of an answer. Hopefully not more books being lobbed at my head.
A brisk wind swept across the room, and I watched with wide eyes as pages of one of the books began flipping wildly.
The colors on the pages zoomed by at a dizzying speed, and I realized it was one of books I had “checked out” about honey badgers. I had wanted to learn more about my mate in his shifted form.
The book finally fell open to a page and it appeared something was holding it down, as the pages remained stagnant. Picking it up, I stared at a photo of a honey badger, sharp teeth bared for a fight, ready to take on a cobra.
Dropping the book to the floor, I couldn’t catch my breath. My heart was pounding so fast there was a very real possibility it might burst from my chest.
While I didn’t know what exactly had happened to my mate, he was clearly in some kind of danger. Northern California wasn’t known for random cobras being on the loose, but I guessed it was the best way for the ghosts–never thought I would say that sentence–to convey that Ronen needed help.
My first thought was that something was wrong with the pregnancy. Who knew what complications there might actually be from a honey badger/dragon mating. While Ronen wasn’t carrying an egg, any number of things could go wrong at any time.
Grabbing my keys, my phone rang and I hit the accept button without looking at the caller id.
“Ronen?”
“It’s Jamie,” the deep voice rumbled in my ear, lacking its usual jovial tone.
My knees buckled, because I knew something was seriously wrong. Sinking into the nearest kitchen chair, I took a steadying breath.
“What’s happened?”
“Be at my house in ten minutes if you want to be included,” Jamie growled. “We don’t have time to wait on you.”
“What’s happened!” I yelled, barely able to breathe, stomach churning.
“They’ve been taken.”
Taken?
“Who?” The word barely made it past my tight throat.
“My boys,” Jamie growled. “And I’m getting them back. We could use a little…fire power, if you know what I mean. But leave your badge at home. This isn’t a put the bad guys in jail type of ending. I’m getting my boys, and I’m killing every last son of a bitch who dared to touch what’s mine. If you can’t handle that, stay at home. We’ll call you when it’s over and we have them back.”
It took me less than a second to make my decision.
