Page 88 of Mated
The car jerks under my hands as I accidentally wrench the wheel. I force it to straighten and try to calm the wild beat of my heart as I speed toward the highway and the station one town over.
Chapter 38
Tanner
My hand grasps empty air, and I sit up. “Nisha?” My voice is a rasping croak in the dimness.
But there is no answer.
The room is brightening around me, but Caine remains sleeping on the other side of the small bed, his dark hair tangled around his turned face. I glance to the open door of the bathroom, but there is no sound of running water or anything else.
I ease from the mattress and stretch as the confusion morphs to a touch of anxiety.
Where the hells is Nisha?
There is a frantic pounding on the door.
I jolt and Caine’s eyes fly open, meeting mine.
Climbing to my feet, I walk to the panel and open it on Lilah’s distraught face. “Tanner, Nisha left. And I didn’t know what to do—”
My heart stops them speeds. I scour the room and find my discarded jeans and tug them on as Caine climbs from the bed behind me. “What do you mean left? Why would she leave?”
She wrings her hands. “She panicked when she realized how long you guys have been in here. I’m sorry. I guess I shouldn’t have told her.”
I swear and zip my fly. “It’s okay, Lilah. You couldn’t know she would freak.”
Caine steps up beside me, zipping his own jeans. “Any idea where she went?” he asks, shaking his dark hair out of his face.
Lilah’s cheeks flush, but she nods. “She said something about work. About her captain.”
Teeth gritting, I brush past her and jump off the porch before running to my cabin. The door bangs open under my hand. I grab a simple T-shirt and tug it on before stomping my feet into shoes and moving toward my truck.
“Caine,” I call.
He is already moving across the gravel, boots on his feet and a black T-shirt now over his chest.
“What do I need to do?” Lilah asks, her blue eyes too wide as she follows.
“Make sure the others are awake and ready to mobilize,” I tell her. “I know Nisha is freaked out, but we aren’t holding her prisoner. She was allowed to leave anytime.”
She nods.
“However, she still hasn’t shifted, and that’s dangerous for everyone. Especially now. I’ll see if I can talk her into coming back here, but if she refuses, we may have to guard her elsewhere and that means more back-up.”
Lilah dips her head and starts back over the gravel to her and Ruin’s cabin as Caine and I climb in the truck.
Pulling out on the road, I glance at the demon. And his expression is as tight as my shoulders.
“Ask,” he says, voice cool.
I hesitate. But not for long. “Did your magick do this?”
His crimson gaze shutters but he doesn’t look away. “It sounds like you already have an answer to that.”
“Gods, damn it, Caine. Did your fucking magick do this?” I demand. “I’m not asking to be a dick. But I need to know what I’m walking in to. How did she lose four fucking days of time? Are the effects long term? Do I need to be more fucking worried than I already am?”
He turns in his seat. “I will say this one time, cat, so listen up.” His eyes flare. “I sterilized you temporarily so you and the kitten could have your fun. And I drank her lust and yours every damn time we took her.” His teeth gnash in a feral gesture of icy rage. “But I did not take her memory.”
