Chapter 8
“I thought we talked about mating,” Rhys answered, giving her a sideways glance.
“Not you and me. Mates in general.” She swiveled in her seat so she could see everyone in the SUV. “Why would a wolf leave his mate, especially after he got her pregnant? Isn’t that protection gene embedded into you guys when you’re born? Isn’t that why you start acting like cavemen?”
Rhys glanced in the rearview mirror and hoped one of his brothers might take a stab at answering her question. When they stayed quiet, he spoke up. “It’s like this. When our beasts recognize our mates, something just clicks inside of us. We’re protectors; we’re lovers; and you, our mates, are our number one priority. Nothing will ever matter more than protecting and loving our mates and making them happy.”
“Nice in theory, I guess. But then why would he leave her alone to bring a child into this world?” she asked, genuinely interested in the answer. She spun back in her seat, pressing her lips together, trying to figure out everything in her head. “Assuming your theory is correct.”
“It is,” he answered and grinned.
She rolled her eyes. “Assuming you are, a mate loves and protects above all else. He loved, and his way of protecting her was to leave. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But what the hell was he protecting her from?”
“Maybe himself,” Max answered from the backseat.
“Or something he was involved in,” Dylan chimed in. “It’s possible he didn’t want to lead them to her doorstep.”
“One thing is for certain,” Rhys said and took her hand, entwining their fingers again, not wasting another minute when he could be touching her. “He has to be going out of his mind. In that little space of time when I didn’t know where you were, I was ready to tear anyone apart that got in my way. My one and only goal was to find you. I couldn’t see beyond that, but that’s just me.” He glanced at her.
“Let’s assume for a second he was worried about leading them to her. I still can’t see him walking away for good.” Max leaned forward and propped his arms on the back of the seat. “He would have kept tabs, even if he was in danger and couldn’t be with her. He would have kept tabs to make sure that she and his son were safe. He would have implemented some type of safeguard. At least, that’s what I would have done.”
“What kind of safeguard?”
“Someone he trusted to protect her and his kid.”
She glanced back. “You think?”
“Oh yeah,” Rhys answered.
She turned back around, looking out the window. She looked lost in thought, as if she were contemplating the sins of the world. “Where are we going?”
Rhys held in his grin. “I’m taking Max and Dylan home. They need to get ready for work, and I’m feeding you a late lunch.” He glanced her way. “You need to eat.”
“Rhys, there are missing women; I can’t just stop to eat because you want to play house.”
“You’re not going to be any good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself, and if you won’t do it, then I will.”
“You’re doing the caveman thing.”
“I know. You can call Colton from the house while I make you lunch. We’ll make it quick.”
Elizabeth pulled out her phone and started typing.
“What are you doing?”
“Sending an email to Colton to put out an APB on the rest of the women.”
****
Elizabeth trotted up the stairs to her room and grabbed her laptop out of her backpack before heading back downstairs. She kicked off her shoes and plopped down on to the oversized sofa, settling in as the guys all milled around her. She booted it up and transferred her notes to send to Colton via email. She started a file on each of the girls and typed up what she knew, what she’d been told, and what she’d observed, making sure to put her questions on the page before saving the documents. She still had work to do, no matter what the others were doing. She had no intention of wasting time. Her cell phone rang, and she slid it out of her back pocket and pressed it to her ear. “Hanson.”
“Where are you?” Colton growled.
“We just got back to the ranch for a quick bite and to drop off his brothers. What’s up?”
“We had to release Horace. His DNA didn’t match.”
She heard a door shut in the background before he spoke again. “I’ve heard rumors that there’s been a hit put out on you.”
