Free Werebeasties by Lizzie Lynn Lee Page B

were looking up, Jared had always ruined it for her. Always…
    She had to do something. Go on with her original plan. Recover the tape.
    Sam looked at her wristwatch. It was almost dinner time. She would go on with the plan after dinner. This time, she couldn’t borrow Adam’s car to go to town. That would be too obvious. The men might think she wanted to run away after the revelation. Adam had repeatedly asked her to stay and accept what they were. She wasn’t afraid of them and she didn’t want to split. She just wanted to take care of some unfinished business.
    She planned her break-in…

    * * * *

    Samantha was missing.
    Adam had gone to her bedroom to check if she was okay and found the room was empty. She’d looked a bit distraught during dinner. She was quiet and tense. Maybe because they had told her the secret. She obviously couldn’t accept them for what they were and so had run. He shouldn’t have been surprised with her reaction. But it still hurt. He thought they had a connection. Because of her, his beast was under control.
    Adam strode to the living room to find David and Calvin. They were watching TV.
    David turned to him as soon as Adam walked past the door.
    “She’s gone.”
    Calvin frowned. “Samantha?”
    “Yeah. She’s gone. Her room was empty and she’s nowhere to be found.”
    David got off from the sofa. “Did she take her clothes too?”
    “No. Her clothes and bags are still in her room.”
    “Her purse?”
    “She took her purse with her.”
    “Maybe she just wanted to take a walk?” Calvin offered.
    “Why didn’t she tell us? Sam always asks, even if it’s only to get a glass of water from the fridge.”
    “Shit.” David massaged his temple. “You don’t think she freaked out, do you?”
    Adam crossed his arms in front of his chest. “That’s what I’m afraid of…”
    “She can’t go.” Calvin jumped from his seat. “She’s ours. We need to track her.”
    “Does she carry her cell phone with her? Maybe we should call her first.”
    Adam slapped his forehead. “Why didn’t I think about that?” He fished his cell from his pocked and flipped it open. He dialled Sam’s number. One ring. Two. Three. His call went to her voicemail. Adam wanted to throw his phone against the wall.
    “We’ll track her,” David decided.
    “She can’t be far. When was the last time you saw her?” Calvin asked Adam.
    “After dinner. That was two hours ago. I thought she was tired and went to bed early.”
    David looked at his watch. “Did she take a car?”
    “Let me check. She might have taken Morgan’s.”
    David turned to Calvin. “Want to do this the old-fashioned way?”
    Calvin had already shape-shifted into his beastly form, his clothes in tatters on the floor. A piece of white fabric dangled from his feline ear.
    The panther bounded out from the room before Adam could step out of the room.
    Something struck Adam’s mind. “I hope Calvin won’t freak her out again if he’s going like that.”
    David’s jaw twitched. “Let’s focus on one thing at the time. We must find her first.”

    * * * *

    The concierge behind the desk didn’t even look at her when he gave her Jared’s room key. Didn’t even bother to check on the computer if she was a guest in the lodge either. Sam had thought the sneaking part would be a whole lot more complicated than this. All she’d told the clerk was she was Mrs Knight, saying she had lost her key, showed him her ID and the clerk had produced the spare key without a blink. Keeping her face straight, Sam had snatched the keycard and stalked into the elevator.
    Jared was staying in room one-o-four. She had no idea what floor it was on, so she experimented by going to the next floor. After a few turns in the labyrinthine corridors, she found his room. It was easy. Sam slid the keycard and pushed open the door.
    She halted her breath. A miasma of stale beer and cigarettes hit her nose. The room hadn’t been cleaned recently. Usually