Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (19 page)

“Good to see you,” Vincent acknowledged Nora as he motioned for Sarah to get in first.

Without hesitation, the blonde scrambled in, followed right after by Vincent. Nora righted her seat and slammed the door shut seconds before Daniel sped off.

“You two are a sight for a tired soul,” Vincent grinned, leaning in between the two seats. “What brings you out here?”

“You,” Daniel replied simply.

Vincent opened his mouth, but Sarah spoke first. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, sure, no problem,” Daniel said.

Nora turned in her seat looking to him, then Sarah. “I’m just really glad to see the two of you alive.”

“I’m glad to see that, in our short time of knowing each other, you’ve come to care about my breathing status,” Vincent grinned.

“Knock it off,” Daniel snapped. “This is serious. Stop joking around and let’s work out our next step.”

“I know it’s serious,” Vincent retorted through gritted teeth. “Sarah and I have been running for our lives for the past...” he trailed off, not even sure how long they’d been out there. It felt like forever, but, in reality, he suspected it had only been a week or so.

“Dev and I both thought you were captured—or dead. And we would’ve gone back, but we couldn’t wait any longer. Luna’s pack was zoning in on us. We had no choice but to leave,” Daniel explained as he steered them toward the highway.  

He understood why they’d left and it didn’t bother him—well that wasn’t entirely true. It did upset him, but he wasn’t mad about it. He had a lot of questions about what happened and what was happening at the ranch.

But Sarah started spouting off questions before he could say anything else.

“Is Lark okay? Gene? Devon? Why are you here?”

“Everyone is fine,” Daniel assured, meeting Sarah’s worried, blue eyes in the mirror. “Gene sent us here to help out. He told me a little bit about your plan and we both agreed Malakai would do better to make an agreement with me since I have been raised as an Alpha.”

“Do Lark and Devon know about us?” Sarah asked, leaning forward.

Daniel punched the accelerator as they merged onto the freeway. “No, just Talia, Gene, and the two of us. Your sister hasn’t given up hope that you are alive though. Lark, Devon, Nora, and I went to the train station expecting you to be there. That’s how we found you. Knowing you were alive, we looked at the train schedule and saw the Oklahoma City route. Figured it was a safe bet you came to Guymon.”

“Lark really hasn’t given up hope?” Sarah whispered after Daniel finished talking.

“No,” Nora shook her head, giving Sarah a small, comforting smile.

“Mom’s pretty torn up though,” Daniel said softly. “She’s been pressuring Charles Luna to return your bodies.”

“Maybe that’s why they’ve been so relentless,” Sarah murmured.

“Could be,” Daniel shrugged. “I think she’s called to speak with him every day since we lost you.”

“So how did you sneak off the ranch then?” Vincent thought aloud curiously. “I’m sure it raised a few eyebrows, especially if things are tense.”

“It’s been pretty quiet since we went after Juarez and sent his men fleeing,” Daniel started. “So, we came up with the idea that I had to take Nora to Mississippi to address some personal matters. Since she left unexpectedly, no one questioned why we needed to go.”

“Good thinking. Malakai will probably listen to you and take your word more readily than mine,” Vincent admitted. To be honest, he’d rather take care of this on his own—just as he and Sarah had intended—but Daniel did have more sway with his Alpha training. The elder Alpha would be more likely to strike a deal with Daniel.

“When are you supposed to call or meet him and where?” Daniel inquired.

“We still have a few hours. Let me fill you in on the details,” Vincent started. “I have dad’s journal and laptop. We’ll have to find time to go over it later.”

Daniel nodded and let out a long breath. “It will have to wait until later. Right now, I just want to make sure we put some distance between us and the other pack.”

***

S
arah shifted on her feet as she and Nora waited in the corner for their order to be finished. For a fast food joint, this place was certainly taking its time. At least there weren’t any wolves here; they’d done a once over of the place and deemed it safe. The guys were in the car making their call to Malakai and she and Nora were stuck inside waiting.

Nora stood next to her, continuously looking out the window to where Daniel and Vincent were sitting in the car. Sarah was curious about the conversation, too; she wanted to know what their next step was and if they were finally going to get something to start going their way. All this waiting and staring only made the knots in her stomach twist harder. She needed a distraction.

“So, you and Daniel are a couple?” Sarah asked conversationally. She knew the two had been flirty before she and Vincent had their showdown with the Lunas, but hadn’t really paid attention to what was going on outside of her own grief.

“We are,” Nora smiled. “If someone would’ve told me a few months ago that I’d meet the love of my life by hitting him with my car, I’d have laughed at them.”

“He’s the one? How can you be so sure?” Sarah asked, intrigued. She’d known Preston wasn’t the one, but how did you know when you had the one? Sure she felt differently about Vincent than she had Preston, but what did that mean?

Nora shrugged as she twirled a lock of her hair. “He brings out the best in me and I bring out the best in him. I can be myself around him and know he isn’t judging. And there is just this—connection—I feel to him. He makes me feel safe and loved. As crazy as everything is, I don’t mind being involved in any of this because I would rather spend my time with him and work alongside him than go back to my ordinary, mundane life. I love him,” she answered with a smile.

Sarah blinked as she processed Nora’s words. Some of what she said resonated with how she felt about Vincent. But surely it wasn’t love. They barely knew each other. That wasn’t really true, though. They had spent time together at The Cookie Jar and their time out in the wilderness had been intense.
What if it is just because of our circumstances?
She groaned inwardly.
Why does it have to be so confusing? 

“How are you holding up?” Nora asked, breaking her train of thought.

“I’m okay,” she answered honestly, glad for the change of topic. “A little sore and tired, but it could be worse.”

“You seem better than the last time I saw you,” Nora appraised.

“Yeah. I was kind of mopey and out of it.” Mopey was an understatement—she’d been downright depressed, but she wasn’t going to dwell on it.
Be positive.
“I suppose there is nothing like realizing your life is going to end that makes you want to live again,” Sarah sighed.

She’d been in a severe downward spiral the last time Nora had seen her. It was ironic that it took being chased across two states to make her realize just how much she wanted to live.

Nora gave her a genuine smile. “I’m glad to see you are better. Everyone was really worried about the two of you. And I know Daniel will never admit it, but he was beyond relieved when Gene told him he’d spoken to the two of you.”

“It’d probably mean the world to Vincent to hear him say that. Their relationship is pretty strained,” Sarah acknowledged. She wished there was some way she could help Vincent and Daniel find common ground. She couldn’t imagine not having Lark with her one hundred percent.

The thought of her sister had a zillion questions popping into her head. She’d wanted to ask earlier, but there had been more pressing matters to discuss. “Speaking of relationships, how are Devon and Lark? Did they get married?”

“Yeah. It was really beautiful, but also bittersweet. Lark was devastated you weren’t there. They thought about calling the whole thing off at one point, but after everything that’s happened they didn’t want Juarez to take anything else from us too. They make a great couple. Daniel and I have been living with them at the farmhouse,” Nora said.

Sarah returned the smile.
Wait! Did she say farmhouse?
She frowned in confusion. “With Devon and Lark?”

Nora nodded, beaming. “Daniel and Devon are trying to reconcile. A lot changed after the Lunas. It’s definitely still a work in progress, but they can be in the same room and remain civil with each other now.”

“Wow,” Sarah blinked, surprised. From everything Lark had told her, she didn’t think the two brothers would ever get along. “What else have I missed?”

“Gene and Talia are setting up for a ceremony, too. It’s a week from Saturday. We should all be back in time for that one,” Nora said optimistically.

“Yes,” Sarah agreed. She wouldn’t miss Gene’s, too, no matter what she had to do; she would ensure she witnessed his ceremony.

“Order number 208,” the cashier called.

“That’s us,” Nora said, looking at the receipt she held.

Nora and Sarah stepped forward and gathered the drinks and food. With their mission complete, she was eager to return to the car to find out what happened with Malakai.

***

S
arah followed Nora and Daniel through the darkened lot while Vincent walked behind her, their bags in hand. They had spent the rest of the day driving into Dallas. Her body ached from being cramped up in Daniel’s coupe all day.

“We got two rooms,” Nora started as they approached two red doors. “They connect together. We could leave the doors open and I could share with you, Sarah, if you like,” she offered.

Sarah swallowed as she thought about her answer. Daniel looked like he wanted to protest, but didn’t. Vincent smirked at her and she shuddered as heat pooled through her. Her mind was already made up.

“It’s okay, Vincent and I have been sleeping together anyway. You two go ahead,” Sarah replied.
Wow. What did I just say?
She paused; heat flooded her cheeks as she realized how that sounded.
But it was true,
she reminded herself. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just been the two of us, so we shared,” she stammered.

Vincent laughed heartily and she punched him playfully in the arm. It wasn’t funny. Thankfully though, neither Nora nor Daniel seemed to care about her slip up.

Nora waved her off. “I know what you mean.”

“I’m beat. We’ll see you in the morning,” Daniel announced, passing a keycard over to Sarah. “Knock or yell if you need anything.”

“Night,” Sarah called as he led Nora into the first room.

“See you tomorrow,” Nora replied before shutting the door.

Vincent snaked his arm around her middle and guided her into their room. “You’re not embarrassed about sleeping with me are you?” he’d tried to joke, but Sarah could tell by the edge of his voice it had bothered him.

“No,” she said instantly. “I just don’t want everyone to know. I mean, we haven’t really talked about what this is and...” she trailed off flustered. Sarah bit her lip.

This was getting deep, and she wasn’t sure she was ready for the conversation. But she didn’t want this to stop either.
Did he?
She hoped not. Vincent was safe and comforting. She couldn’t imagine not spending the night in his embrace. Her stomach twisted, forming a tight knot as she waited for him to say something.

Vincent blinked and opened his mouth. “You know, I remember we said we’d figure it out when we got home. We aren’t quite there yet,” he grinned, motioning around the hotel room.

Sarah closed her eyes, unable to keep the smile from spreading over her face. In a way, she was glad they weren’t going there yet. But it scared her not knowing where this was going. She could really fall for him if she wasn’t careful. But this could just be a booty call for him.
Don’t think about that right now.

Vincent jumped on the bed, landing on his side. “What should we do? We have this whole hotel room all to ourselves.” He wagged his brows playfully.

“Your brother is next door and can hear,” Sarah added.

“I’m fairly certain he’s busy with
his
girlfriend.” Vincent patted the bed and she joined him, lounging back into the plush pillows. “What do you think she sees in him anyway?” he asked, glancing up at the ceiling.

“He’s a good guy,” she said, unsure of what it was Vincent was searching for.

“You have met him, right? He’s antisocial and always has an opinion,” Vincent retorted.

Sarah shrugged and sighed as she recalled her one and only real conversation with the oldest McKinley. “Maybe to you, but he kept me safe, Vincent. When Emily and I were kidnapped, he watched out for me. I’ll never forget that either. Those guys...” her bottom lip quivered as tears brimmed in her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about this.

“Did they touch you?” Vincent asked, his voice rising in anger. He sat up and stared at her, his jaw set, eyes narrowed.

Sarah cleared her throat. “There were two rooms. Adjoining, like we have here. They were trying to take me into the other room when Daniel stopped them. He took me back to Emily’s side and told me to stay with her and he’d make sure nothing happened to me. Lark told me he helped to coordinate my rescue, too,” she whispered. Daniel might not be “Brother-of-the-year” or as personable as Vincent, but he had a good heart.

Vincent scrubbed a hand over his face. The vein in his neck throbbed as he stared straight ahead. “I can’t believe my dad would allow that scum to live in our pack. Just when I think he couldn’t have possibly been any more despicable.”

Sarah snuggled into him, resting her head on his chest. Vincent wrapped an arm around her torso and she sighed as the tension left his body.

“It’s not your fault you know,” she whispered. “None of this. We can’t help who our parents are or what they do.”

Vincent ran his fingers through her hair and stopped on her scalp, gently massaging it. “We have a whole day until we meet Malakai at the Six Flags in Dallas. Let’s relax and just enjoy ourselves.”

“That sounds nice,” Sarah yawned sleepily. Her eyelids closed as sleep tugged at her. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but Vincent’s warm embrace was a comfort like no other and it had been a long day.