CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
“You must be Adam Caldwell,” Gerri said, greeting Adam as he stepped off the jet and jogged over to her SUV.
“It’s nice to meet you. Vicki has told me a lot about you.”
“Hopefully, it wasn’t all bad.” Gerri laughed.
“Not at all. How could it be when you found my mate and sent her my way?” Adam asked.
She opened the back door, and they both climbed in. The second the doors closed and they were in their seats, the driver started forward.
“Well, I do wish it would have worked out better. I thought for sure that she would be open to our paranormal community. I think she just needs time to wrap her head around everything. It’s harder for some humans than others,” Gerri explained. She had felt awful when Joy came running back to Florida because her fears had gotten the best of her.
“I’ll deal with all that later. I just need to find her. Do you have any idea who took her? Or why?” Adam asked.
He was so focused on his mate. As he should be. That knowledge alone gave Gerri more hope than she had felt since she discovered that Joy was missing. If anyone had a vested interest in finding her, it was Adam.
“No. I don’t. I wish I did. It would make tracking them down a hell of a lot easier. Whoever took her left a scent all over her apartment. From what Vicki told me, you’re the best tracker they have in Polar Point.”
“Tracking is one of my strongest abilities. I don’t know if it’s because I’m a bear or if there’s something more to it. But once I pick up a scent, I don’t stop until I find it. My instinct drives me toward whatever or whomever I’m searching for,” he explained. “But I promise you, right here, right now. I will not stop until I find my mate.”
“I know,” she said, feeling the truth of his words and seeing the way his icy-blue eyes glowed with the passion he felt for his mate. If she’d had even the tiniest doubt in the back of her brain that Adam was Joy’s true mate, it vanished. She knew without a doubt that Adam would give his life if it meant keeping Joy safe.
“How long before we get to her apartment?” Adam asked, tapping his finger on his thigh as he glanced out of the window, taking in the sights as they sped by.
“About five more minutes. I have a vehicle at Joy’s place for you to use. I know it’s the digital age, but I also put a couple of maps in there. That way, you can get the lay of the land. Florida is a lot different than Alaska.”
“I see that. It’s hot and flat. I’ll admit. It takes a lot of getting used to. Especially when not used to this sweltering heat. It will probably be particularly hard, considering my other half’s fur coat.”
“How is Vicki? I haven’t seen her in years, though we talk regularly,” Gerri asked.
“She’s great. As sassy as ever. But honestly, she’s like a mother to me. I love her to death. You should come up and visit sometime. She would love that.”
“I think I’m going to have to take a trip up there sometime soon. I’ll have to make sure I pack the old parka and gloves.” She laughed.
“You’ll definitely need it,” he said as they rolled to a stop in front of a large apartment building.
“We’re here,” Gerri announced.
As soon as the driver parked the vehicle, Gerri and Adam jumped from the SUV and bolted across the sidewalk and into the building.
“I took her keys and locked the place up when I left, so no one could get in and disturb anything,” Gerri said.
“Good thinking. You have no idea who did this? Who the scent belonged to?” he asked.
“None whatsoever, but we do have a very large shifter population here. There’s some of just about every variety. Wolves, tigers, lions, gators, all of the smaller ones. I’ve even seen a few gorilla shifters here. Oh, and dragons. We have plenty of those around too. Though, they normally stick to the Everglades.”
“No shit,” Adam said as they ran up the steps. “I can’t see Joy living in a place like this. She loved everything about Polar Point and her house with the sweeping views of the mountains on one side and the bay on the other.”
“I don’t think she ever really fit in here. She wasn’t happy. Not at all. I was so excited for her when she said she wanted to move to Alaska. Why of all places, Alaska, but I knew the second she mentioned the town of Polar Point that Vicki lived there and loved everything about it. So I’ll admit, I didn’t try to talk her out of it.” In fact, Gerri had been so damn happy because she knew that was where Joy belonged, whether Joy herself knew it yet or not.
They came to a stop at Joy’s front door. Gerri slid the key into the lock and twisted her wrist, unlocking the door and pushing it open. She stood back, allowing Adam to enter first.
“Yeah, whoever took her left one hell of a stink in this place,” Adam said, walking through her cramped apartment.
“Can you tell what kind of shifter this person is?” Gerri asked, unable to determine the scent.
“Jaguar,” Adam replied.