But Hugh wasn’t a cheater. That much she felt sure of. So what had gone wrong? The only thing she could come up with was…blood. Her blood. She’d pushed him too much on the subject in the lab, trying to force the issue. She glanced at Hugh. Had she upset him more than she’d realized with all that? She didn’t know how all this vampire stuff worked.
Was he so upset about it that he’d suddenly changed his mind about her?
No. She couldn’t believe Hugh was that fickle. He’d been sweet and caring and he’d protected her from Rastinelli’s men, even warning her about staying close today. Something else had to be going on.
Whatever it was, thinking about it only made the ache in her chest widen. She slipped her hand into his, needing to touch him, to connect and know that the man she’d fallen in love with was still the same man standing beside her.
His fingers tightened around hers, then he tensed and shook her hand away.
“Hugh,” she whispered, hating the sound of the tears caught at the back of her throat.
He spoke without looking at her. “Enough.”
The rejection cut through her like a knife.
She couldn’t be here right now. Couldn’t face another betrayal. Without another thought, she turned and took off into the crowd.
He was a fool. And a coward. The woman he loved was standing beside him, trying to reach him, to make things right even though she didn’t know what had gone wrong and he was shutting her down.
As far as his plan to turn her away went, it was a spectacular success if the pain in his heart was any indicator.
He couldn’t do this. He loved her too much. Needed her more than anything else he could think of. Maybe…he could just love her for the rest of her natural life and then find a way to deal with the grief of being alone again when that time came. It was better than not having her at all. He turned toward her. “Delaney—”
She was gone.
He growled a curse and twisted, scanning the packed crowd for any sign of her. Nothing. Panic tripped over his skin in electric bursts. Where the hell had she gone?
“Delaney!”
But her name was lost in the noise from the parade and the crowd. He shoved through the crush, ignored the protests of the people he pushed aside, and headed toward the shops. Maybe she’d gone inside one of them.
He scanned each one as he strode by. Nothing. He tried calling her phone. It rang once and then disconnected. He called again. It went straight to voice mail. Had she turned her phone off to avoid him?
Two blocks ahead, Sheriff Merrow’s squad car sat crosswise, blocking off one of the intersections from Main Street. Merrow leaned against the car, his eyes on the crowd. Maybe he’d seen her.
Hugh took off at a run, careful to keep his speed to human levels since he was in public view. “Merrow.”
The sheriff straightened. “Ellingham. What’s going on?
Hugh came to a stop. “Delaney’s gone. We were watching the parade and I turned to speak to her and she was gone. I’ve searched the last two blocks, looked in the stores, nothing.”
“Someone grab her?”
“No. I would have noticed that.”
Merrow shoved his hat back. “She left on her own?”
Hugh frowned. “We had a disagreement. But she couldn’t have been gone more than a few seconds before I realized she’d left.”
“You think Rastinelli got a new crew in town that fast?”
“I don’t know. I just know she’s gone.”
Merrow squeezed the button on the walkie-talkie pinned to his shoulder. “Be advised we have a 10-57, Caucasian female, medium build, brown hair, wearing—” He looked at Hugh.
“A blue T-shirt and jeans.”
Merrow added that information. “Give me her 20 when found. Do not detain.” He released the button. “If you two were having a spat, she probably went back to the house. She know how to find her way from town?”
Hugh nodded. “We’ve walked it.”
“Get in your car, drive the route, then call me when you get home and tell me if she’s there. I hear anything I’ll call you.”
“All right.” The sheriff had a point. Delaney had probably just gone home. He thought about phoning Stanhill, but she wouldn’t have made it back yet. He gave Merrow a nod, then took a side street to avoid the crowd and raced back to where he’d parked.
He maneuvered the Jag out of the spot and drove toward home, following the route they’d walked. Hopeful he’d see her.
But that hope was gone by the time he pulled into his driveway. He stormed into the house. “Stanhill? Bloody hell, where are you?”
The rook yelled back at him from far end of the house. “In my room. What do you need?”
Hugh stood just outside the living room. “Is Delaney here?”
“No.” Stanhill came around the corner to stand on the other side of the room. “Why isn’t she with you?”
“She was. We got separated.”
Stanhill frowned. “Is that so?”
“She got mad at me and disappeared. Happy?”
“Of course not. But I told you so.” He rushed forward. “Where do you think she is?”
“No bloody clue. I already let Merrow know.” Hugh could feel his heart racing, the panic building, the anger at his own stupidity churning his insides like a washing machine.
A car screeched into the drive and even in the middle of the day, the flashing blue and red lights spilled through the front windows and washed the foyer. He turned to see Merrow jump out of the car and head to the front door.