A rush of adrenaline punched through her as she threw off the covers. Stripping off Max’s clothes, she hurried to the shower. The surge of cold water blasted her, but she welcomed it. Right now she needed to get as much of Max’s scent off her as possible. Not because she was embarrassed by their relationship, but because she didn’t want her father to go insane before she’d managed to explain all the details.
Once she’d changed into her own clothes and pulled her damp hair up into a ponytail she snagged her phone from the dresser. She called Max as she headed for the front door. Pulling it open, she was surprised to find no one there.
And of course Max wasn’t answering her call. It actually just went straight to voicemail so she texted him. Frustrated, she shoved the phone into the front pocket of her jeans and headed for the front door. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and waited to be stopped by her babysitters.
Neither Charlie nor Sapphire were there.
Not going to waste time questioning the fates and her good luck, she hurried toward the elevators. Since he had the penthouse there weren’t any other pack members on this floor. She’d met enough of them yesterday that she felt comfortable asking around.
She just hoped word hadn’t spread that she or one of her pridemates had stolen that brooch. Considering the way the pack had given her a chance even after she’d tried to steal from them, she wasn’t sure what her reception would be. But she had to let Max know her father was on his way. Or at least knew about what she’d done. Max had made the assumption her parents knew about her covert retrieval attempt and she hadn’t corrected him. The last thing she wanted was for him to be blindsided. She knew how quickly things could get out of control when tempers were high. Especially between two alpha males. Max might not be alpha of his pack but he was second-in-command for a reason.
Lawrence Hayes was one scary alpha when he wanted to be. And her father would strike first and ask questions later if he thought something had happened to her.
Lauren rode the elevator down to the third floor. She’d borrowed potatoes from a sweet wolf shifter about two hundred years old yesterday and hoped the woman knew something about Max. She felt bad because it was fairly early but hoped the woman wouldn’t mind.
Her ballet-slipper type shoes were silent against the hardwood floors as she made her way down the hallway. Instead of leaving the hallways open like so many condos on the beach, they’d glassed everything in giving them more privacy and eliminating much of the outside sound. She couldn’t be sure but she guessed it was reinforced or hurricane resistant type glass.
As she neared the end of the hallway an unfamiliar, almost chemical scent tickled her nose. It made all the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Feeling as if she was being watched, she started to turn around when something slammed into her shoulder blade.
A sharp, piercing pain quickly followed, spreading out to all her nerve endings. Feeling almost numb, she instinctively reached around to where the pain was the worst. Her fingers brushed something embedded in her skin. Crying out, she pulled on it as she turned and stumbled. Blinking, she realized she held a dart in her hand.
What the hell?
Why would someone shoot her with a dart? Falling to her knees, she struggled to keep her eyes open. A dark, blurred figure was advancing on her. She tried to focus but it was impossible. The dart fell from her limp fingers, but somehow she drew on the strength to undergo the change. If someone wanted to hurt her, it would be a hell of a lot harder with her in her jaguar form.
Losing consciousness, she gave into her animal, letting her jaguar take over, protect her. She was vaguely aware of the sound of clothes shredding and ripping as her bones broke and realigned before complete darkness engulfed her.
Chapter 7
Max looked around his guestroom, his heart thumping wildly against his chest. After searching Wade and Naomi’s place—and coming up empty—he’d received a text from Lauren telling him to call asap. She might have called too, but he didn’t always get service in the condos so he couldn’t be sure since a missed call wouldn’t have shown up. He wished he knew how long ago the text had been sent. He’d received it the moment he stepped out of Wade and Naomi’s place but she could have sent it much earlier when he wasn’t receiving a signal. Since then he’d tried calling half a dozen times but she hadn’t responded.
He’d tried to brush it off, but standing in his condo now…he was worried. Her phone was gone but all her clothes were still there. If she’d planned to leave she would have taken everything with her. At least that’s what his gut told him.