“Enjoy,” Nick said, placing the drinks on the bar. “Haven’t I seen you all at the Witches Brew Café?”
Maggie thoughtfully twisted her margarita. “You have. Which brings us to our reason for stopping by.”
“Ah, let me guess. Gina wants a full report on what I’m doing?”
“Other way around. I’m going to cut to the chase. We came to see if you’ve seen Gina around today. Or at least talked to her on the phone.”
Nick placed his palms on the bar and leaned toward them. His cheerful expression was instantly replaced with serious concern. “No. I haven’t seen or heard from her in days. What’s going on?”
“We were hoping you could tell us. She never came home from work tonight. We assumed she was with you.”
“Maybe she didn’t tell you. We had a … disagreement.”
“You mean a fight. Right? Isn’t that the word you were looking for?” Annie asked.
“No, nothing like that. More like we didn’t see eye to eye on something. Damn it. I’ve felt like something was wrong. I’ve been trying to call her all evening. Now I’m really worried. Did she say anything today at the café?”
“Nothing. I told her I’d see her at home, but she never showed,” Maggie replied.
“You know something. I can tell. Spit it out,” Annie said.
* * *
Nick glanced around the bar,noticing the other customers had already left. “There are some people, bad people who came by here threatening me today. I kicked their leader’s ass. I don’t know if they know that Gina and I were together, but I wouldn’t put it past them to use her to get to me.”
Clara spotted the fresh scabs on his bruised knuckles. “You definitely fought with someone. What kind of people are we talking about?” Clara asked.
“People? Right.” Annie sneered.
“Criminals, thugs. Their leader is some guy named Gavin.” Nick growled. With every second that ticked by, he became more anxious to track down his mate. The days he’d spent on his own without her, he had quickly realized he had been a dick. She was his mate.
He no longer doubted that his feelings and need for her had anything to do with her magic. Even if she had cast a spell, it was all on him. The mating instinct had taken over and had made his life hell all week without her. He had finally given in to that drive and texted her today, but she never replied. He had assumed she was still pissed at him for the way she found out that he was a shifter.
“We know you’re a bear shifter, Nick. If they have something to do with knowing your secret, now is the time to talk. Are Gavin and his gang bears also?” Maggie asked plainly.
“Definitely. By moving here, I’ve apparently intruded on his territory without begging his permission. There is something you should know about bears. They aren’t exactly known for their likable social skills. They’re mostly scavengers and bullies.”
“Great. Gina found a real winner with you,” Annie said, sipping her margarita.
“Listen, that’s not me. Never been me. In fact, it’s the reason I’m a loner. I’ve struck out on my own, even done my best to cloak my identity from other bears. I don’t know how Gavin found out about me, and especially not about Gina, but tracking them down is our best shot at finding her.”
“Do you have any idea where this Gavin lives?”
“No. But he is a bear, so I can guarantee it’s somewhere secluded. Somewhere deep in the woods. And I’m going to hunt him down.” Nick shut off the lights and started locking up.
“Whoa! Not without us.” Maggie said, grasping his forearm.
“I’m a bear. We hunt alone.”
“And we aren’t ready to trust you,” Maggie said.
“Some of us less than others.” Annie drew out her wand, slapping it against the palm of her hand.
“Fine. But don’t get in my way,” he said, marching out of the backdoor.
ChapterSixteen
“Pull over here before the turnoff on that dirt road. I can smell that bastard’s trail. I bet it’s the road to his lair. It’s like he wants me to find him. But we don’t want to drive into a trap,” Nick said.