They stayed silent for a while after that, Colton probably thinking about what she said, and Katia still searching for any hint of the creeps. It was him shifting his weight a few times that finally caught her attention, and she glanced down, watching as he did it again.
“Are you okay? You can get up and walk around if you need to.”
He huffed a laugh. “I actually need to go to the bathroom, but I don’t want to leave you by yourself. I don’t suppose you’d consider going with me?”
Shaking her head, she rolled her eyes with a laugh. “Um, no. Just go, Colt. Sergei’s still in here, and some of the guys are out front, so I’m not alone. And there’s been no sign of them since we got here.”
He gazed at her with his eyes narrowed and then finally gave a reluctant nod. “Okay, but don’t leave your uncle’s sight. I’ll be right back.”
Her lips curled with amusement as she watched him stand up and walk toward the bathrooms. His protective instincts could be a little overwhelming sometimes, but she couldn’t deny that she loved every second of it.
Almost as much as she loved him.
Colton quickly washed his hands, anxious to get his eyes on Katia again. He hated that he’d had to leave at all, but his bladder had been at the limit, and he had no choice.
He couldn’t stop thinking about what she said, though. About starting a group of Rogue Enforcers. It was probably a bad idea, but damn he wanted to, so badly.
Mostly for Justin, but he had to admit it was for himself, too. Not finishing training and becoming a true Enforcer had weighed heavily on him, and even though he’d done his best to put it out of his mind, he just hadn’t been able to.
It could be the perfect solution for him, his cousin, and any other shifter who had the skills, but wasn’t accepted, for whatever reason.
And the more he thought about it, the more likely it was that Justin had already been doing some rogue work on his own. It made perfect sense, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it himself.
But he was going to kick his ass for not telling him and putting him through this.
If he hadn’t, you might not have met Katia, his dragon pointed out.
That only makes it sort of okay if he’s okay, he replied as he walked out of the bathroom.
The first thing he saw when he walked in the lobby was Sergei lying still on the floor. David, his friend, was kneeling beside him as he checked his pulse, and Colton
put on a burst of speed as his blood ran cold.
Katia wasn’t behind the counter. She was gone, and the phone and some other things that had been on the desk were knocked onto the floor, pointing to a struggle. Fear and fury welled up inside him as he sprinted over to where Sergei was lying on the floor.
“What happened? Is he alive?” he barked as he skidded to a stop beside them.
“He has a pulse. I think he’ll be all right. Anton and I were in the parking lot when two men came out with Katia. I rushed in here and he followed them. Here, take my cell. Call him. He’s following behind them right now. Go get our girl back, and kill the fuckers who did this. Cut off their balls first, though. Make the bastards suffer.”
“Damned right, I will.”
Taking the cell phone, he rushed to the door, pulling out the keys to his truck as he went. He debated for a moment, and then as soon as he was in his truck, he concentrated for a moment, grim satisfaction filling him as rain poured from the sky, so heavy that it obscured vision.
It was risky. The rain wouldn’t fall around his truck, so others could see that it was avoiding him. But it would also slow them down while he could follow faster.
It was a risk he had to take.
Rage and worry filled him in equal measure, and he forced himself to blank his thoughts so they didn’t overwhelm him. But urgency still rode him hard as he quickly pulled up Anton’s number and dialed, putting it on speaker phone before throwing the truck into gear and backing out.
“David?”
“No, this is Colton. He gave me his phone so I could follow you. Where are you?”
“We’re about ten miles away, heading out into an area I know well. It’s deserted, with no houses or businesses for miles. They were moving fast but this sudden downpour slowed them down.”
Fuck. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why they were going to a deserted spot. Anton gave him directions and he quickly followed them, cursing as he swerved in and out of traffic. The rain wasn’t affecting him, but everyone else had slowed to a crawl, unable to see well enough to drive.
It took longer than he wanted before he could see Anton’s car ahead of him. Every second felt like a lifetime while his dragon tore up his chest, just as panicked as he was.