Free Completed by Becca Jameson

woman is in a relationship where there’s isolation involved, usually the spouse is threatening her every single day about the repercussions of doing anything other than what he explicitly tells her. She becomes more or less brainwashed into doing his bidding. Or else.”
    Josh shivered. Or else what? He didn’t want to ponder that again now. Was it possible Damon had killed her? Perhaps even in a different state and then moved here alone?
    Anything was possible at this point.
    Evan turned toward Josh, taking his gaze off the apartment door. His dark penetrating stare held concern. “Tomorrow we’ll go to the door. Apparently Damon has a day job. He’s left two days in a row at the same time and returned at six. We should be safe. If she’s in there, it could be tough to get her to come to the door. If she’s trapped in there and can’t answer or isn’t able to for whatever reason, we’ll have to make the decision about whether or not to call the cops or give it more time. We’ll decide all that tomorrow morning.”
    Josh nodded. His cell vibrated. He glanced at the text, which read:
    “Where are you staying? Can you meet me at the hotel? I’m getting close.”
    Thank God. At least he wouldn’t have to spend another night alone without Samantha. It had been a very long twenty-four hours traipsing around without her, especially after mating with her yesterday. It was unnatural to take off after a claiming. And his body was well aware of the absence. He typed back:
    “The hotel on 4th street right off old 78. U can’t miss it. Room 117. I’ll meet u there.”
    Josh turned his head toward Evan once again. “Do you think anything’s going to happen tonight?”
    “No. But I’ll stay here until about midnight and keep watching. If anyone comes or goes, I’ll call you. If not, meet me back here in the morning and we’ll go to the door together.”
    “Sounds good. Thanks. I’m going to head back to the hotel then. You’ll call if you see anything at all?”
    “Absolutely. Go. I know your woman is meeting you.” Evan squared his broad shoulders and rolled them forward several times as he spoke. The man was built like a linebacker, his frame filling the entire space around his seat. He had to be cramped.
    Josh smiled. My woman . That sounded fantastic. He suspected she would balk at being referred to in that manner in front of her, but it still sounded good coming from Evan. Josh had told him about Samantha during the day. Thank God he’d managed to find a PI who was a shifter. Otherwise, explaining his predicament would have been next to impossible.
    Josh stepped out of the passenger side of Evan’s car and snuck away in the dark. Slinking off seemed absurd considering no one was coming or going from the apartment at all.
    In minutes he was back at the hotel and in the room. He couldn’t wait to see Samantha. After the stress of the last day and severe lack of sleep, he was beside himself. He’d done nothing in this room yet. After checking in, he’d immediately headed to meet Evan. His bag sat on the bed where he’d dropped it.
    Josh quickly grabbed his bathroom kit and headed for the shower. He hoped to at least be clean before she got there, because sleep or no sleep he intended to smother himself in her warmth and scent until he passed out.
    Five minutes later, Josh stood at the sink brushing his teeth, a towel wrapped around his still-dripping body. As soon as he turned the water off, there was a knock at the door.
    Thank you, God . Samantha was the only option. No one else would be looking for him.
    A huge grin splitting his face almost painfully, he sped around the bed and whipped the door open. And there stood Samantha…and another man he didn’t know. He strained to keep his smile pasted. The last thing he needed was company other than his mate. His only plan right then was fucking, over and over again.
    Samantha stepped inside. She smiled too, but her expression was at least as forced as