Free Doubly Protected [Werewolves of Hanson Mall 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) by Cara Adams

vanished.”
    “I’m on my way. Call Cadfael.”
    Dylan clicked off the call and punched in Cadfael’s number. “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but Sophie’s disappeared. Her purse is still here but she isn’t, and the outer doors were unlocked. I’ve told Maelor.”
    “Rhion, get Hawthorne and stay with her and Willow. Willow, don’t let anyone into the apartment for any reason at all. I’m on my way down, Dylan.”
    All the blood left Dylan’s body as he realized Cadfael was interpreting this as an attack on Willow and Hawthorne. Hell. And he’d called Maelor to come down here leaving Hawthorne unprotected. How could I be so stupid? If she gets hurt it’ll be all my fault.
    Dylan wondered if he should go upstairs to guard Hawthorne, but Maelor might have told her not to open the door, the way Cadfael had instructed Willow. Dylan paced up and down, staring out the glass doors into the mall, opening the door to the stairwell and peering up the stairs, and then pacing some more.
    The ding of the elevator arriving startled him so much he jumped and whirled around. It was Cadfael and Maelor.
    “Hawthorne?”
    “I left her with Willow. She didn’t want to go. She was complaining about not getting her prawn crackers.”
    “Tell me exactly what’s going on,” said Cadfael.
    Dylan pointed to Sophie’s desk, and Cadfael picked up her purse and riffled through it. “Her wallet is still here, but her swipe card isn’t unless she has it on her person. Actually, she usually leaves it in the top drawer of her desk during the day, doesn’t she?”
    Maelor and Cadfael reached for the top drawer together, but there was no swipe card. Sophie’s territory was extremely neat and tidy so anything out of place would have been very obvious.
    Maelor scrolled through his cell phone and began giving orders. “You know what her car looks like and where she usually parks it? Check to see if it’s still there. Walk through every level of the parking lot and make sure she’s not lying in some corner hurt. And do not tell anyone what you’re doing. Understand?”
    Dylan waited with a sick feeling in his stomach as Maelor gave very similar instructions to two other teams of security guards, before saying, “Dylan, you and I’ll search the tower. Cadfael, can you stay here to be command headquarters until I get back?”
    Dylan realized Maelor was giving orders to their Alpha, but security was Maelor’s area of responsibility, and the thought that Sophie might be lying hurt somewhere meant they needed to get moving fast.
    “You don’t intend to call the police?” asked Cadfael.
    “Not until we’ve done everything we can. It’s not like we can share with them our fears about anti-wolf sentiment and a missing receptionist isn’t going to interest them much.”
    Cadfael nodded and sat down at Sophie’s desk.
    “The stairwell is the most obvious first place to look. He could have pushed the door open and shoved her inside.”
    Dylan had already looked up the stairs several times while waiting for Maelor to arrive but nevertheless he followed Maelor into the stairwell for a proper look. By the time they’d made their way up one flight of stairs though, some of the panic was leaving his body and he was starting to think more clearly.
    “We know he didn’t get Willow or Hawthorne, and he wouldn’t have been able to get into any apartments with Sophie’s keycard. I think we should look for her on the fourth floor. If he got angry and knocked Sophie unconscious when he couldn’t get to Hawthorne, he wouldn’t go walking up endless flights of stairs or carry Sophie’s body around the mall. He’d have dumped her in the nearest empty room.”
    “You’re right.” Maelor started to run back down the stairs, so Dylan followed him.
    They burst out of the stairwell to see Cadfael carrying Sophie out of the First Aid room.
    “Call the nurse,” Cadfael ordered.
    Dylan was glad to stop running and make the call. “Ay-lee,