“It must be his laptop we have, if he was a tech. I’ve unlocked a lot of the files, but what I’ve found doesn’t make much sense. It’s mostly combinations of numbers, dates, and weird names. But I’m determined to figure it out.”
“Anything you find has the potential to help. It might help us paint a bigger picture, if nothing else. I don’t know if I’ve thanked you yet, and if not, I need to. We wouldn’t know much at all if it weren’t for you.”
Shaking her head, she waved his words away. “No thanks needed at all. I’m more than happy to help. I want to stop him as much as you guys do. Speaking of, I sent you an email not long before you got here. I tracked down addresses and phone numbers for the four buyers and emailed them to you. If nothing else, hopefully it’ll help in finding the four women who were auctioned off.”
He nodded as he stood. “I’ll go check it all out now. Keep me updated, but don’t work yourself to death. Take some breaks, get some rest. I doubt anything on that laptop will help us in finding the women, because surely they wouldn’t leave information like that in an uninitiated human tech’s hands.”
Pursing her lips, she watched him walk off. She wasn’t so sure. Maybe there were addresses on there somewhere or something. There had to be something with other locations Fernandez used. The mansion in Idaho couldn’t be his only home. Not when he invited the public to a dragon festival and buyers to an auction.
And she was determined to find what they needed to help the women.
Noah crossed his arms over his chest as he watched Lily. It was three in the afternoon and she’d been working nonstop since she woke up, barely eating and only stopping to use the bathroom. He watched as her brow twitched, her fingers coming up to rub her forehead.
She’d been doing that more and more often as the day went on, and he was pretty sure she was getting headaches. His lion paced inside him, and that time, he knew it was because of worry for her and not agitation over his missing piece.
Enough was enough.
“All right, Lil. Time to shut the laptop and put it away. You’re coming with me.”
Her fingers paused on the keyboard as she looked up at him, already shaking her head. “I can’t. I have work to do.”
“You’re getting a headache because you haven’t taken a break at all. And remember what Blake said. Take a break and rest. You’re not doing either.”
She bit her lip, hesitating. “This is important, though.”
“So is your health. Stop and take a break.” He waited for a moment, but when she didn’t move, he reached into his pocket and held up a key. “Will this persuade you?”
“What’s that?”
“The key to my motorcycle. You said you wanted to take a ride when we were back here.”
Her eyes lit up as she smiled. “Really?” Pausing as her eyes fell on her laptop, she stared at it for a moment, brow furrowed, before she sighed and closed the lid. “Okay. I probably do need a break. My eyes are crossing from staring at the screen so much. But not for too long.”
Grinning, he nodded. “Absolutely. Go change into some sturdier shoes and meet me out back.”
He watched as she walked to the back hallway, both laptops tucked under her arm, as relief washed over him. He’d been worried she would argue more, but it hadn’t been bad. She must be feeling the headache more than he thought she was.
Glancing around, he wondered if he could find some Tylenol anywhere, but he doubted it. No humans lived there, and though they had human waitresses, none of them left belongings behind.
He walked to the back, grabbing his leather jacket, along with one of Damara’s for Lily, and a helmet for her, as well. Making his way outside, he started mentally compiling a list of all the things he’d need to keep on hand for Lily that shifters didn’t need.
If she stayed, that was. He still hadn’t gotten up the nerve to tell her about mates yet, let alone ask her to stay. He didn’t know why he was hesitating. On some level, he knew she wouldn’t freak out. She remained steady as a rock throughout everything she’d already learned, and he didn’t see that calm disappearing because he asked her to stay.
Especially if he let her know that while being mates was forever and permanent for him, it wasn’t the same for her. It didn’t mean he had to be it for her for life, like she was for him—though he prayed she felt the same as he did. It would gut him to let her go.
The door opened behind him and he glanced back, smiling as she made her way over to him. She’d put on a pair of boots and braided her long blonde hair. Something he should have mentioned, but he hadn’t thought of it. He was glad she had.
When she reached him, he leaned down and gave her a kiss, keeping it quick and smiling when she groaned with disappointment as he pulled back. Setting her helmet on the seat, he helped her into the jacket and then picked it back up, handing it to her before getting his own.
“Wait until I’m on and have the bike settled, then hop on behind me. Hold tight when we start going. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
She nodded as she fastened her strap and he quickly pulled his helmet on, straddling the bike. The engine started with a loud growl and once he was ready, he gave her a nod. He held it steady as she climbed on and immediately wrapped her arms snugly around his waist.
Before long, the were on the seldom used two lane highway, and he knew exactly where he was taking her. It was an overlook he and Luke both used whenever they wanted to be alone. That was exactly what he wanted, because he knew just how to distract her and make her forget about going back so quickly.
He accelerated, torn between wanting to get Lily to himself and wanting to enjoy the moment. He loved being out on the open road with a powerful bike underneath him and the wind blowing past him. It was one of his favorite things to do, and having her with him, her legs pressed to his, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, amplified the feeling coursing through him.
One day, if she enjoyed riding, he wanted to take her on a cross country trip, doing nothing but riding the motorcycle all day and making love all night. That was ultimate fantasy material right there.