He was talking to a cat. That’s how insane Delaney’s disappearance had made him. Shaking his head, Hugh marched downstairs to where Stanhill, Merrow, his deputies and a few others had gathered, including Nick the gargoyle and Merrow’s fire chief brother, Titus.
Julian and Sebastian met him as he hit the landing. “I didn’t expect to see you two here.”
Sebastian’s appraising gaze held less judgment than Hugh would have expected. “You love her?”
“I do.”
“Then we’re here to help.”
Julian nodded, oddly serious. “We understand she might be in real danger.”
“Yes.” Hugh explained about Rastinelli and the confrontation with his men outside of Howlers.
“Mafia? They still exist?” Julian rubbed his hands together. “This might actually be fun.
Sebastian pointed to the pillow case. “Merrow going to track her?”
“All the shifters are.” Hugh nodded. “And that needs to happen now.” He left his brothers behind and went to Merrow, handing him the pillow case. “This will have her scent.”
He sniffed it and grimaced. “Is she a shifter?”
“No, she’s human.” Hugh frowned. “Why?”
Merrow sniffed the linen again. “I smell cat.”
“That’s Captain. He sleeps with her.”
“That explains it.” Merrow nodded. “I can find her. Provided they’re in one of those cabins.”
“And if they’re not?”
“I’ve already put a BOLO out on the black SUV with the partial plate Nick was able to get.”
“Good. Let’s go.” Hugh was leaving on his own if things didn’t get underway in the next sixty seconds. Because if Rastinelli’s men had her…there was no telling what was happening to Delaney right now. If they hurt her, he would kill them.
Hell, he was going to kill them if they left one little bruise on her.
Merrow held his hand up. “We’re going in three teams. Hugh, Stanhill and I will be the first. We’ll handle the east side.” Merrow tossed the pillow case to Titus, who’d left the fire station to help. “Titus, you’ve got a radio? “
Titus nodded and held the two-way up. “Right here.”
“Good. You take Julian and Sebastian and go west. Give the pillow case to Alex and Nick after you’ve locked on to her scent.”
Titus passed the pillow case to Merrow’s deputy Alex Cruz, a panther shifter. He took a good whiff, then passed it to Nick. Both men nodded. They were ready to go.
Merrow pointed to Nick, who was standing by Merrow’s other deputy, Jenna Blythe, a Valkyrie. “You, Jenna and Alex go straight north. Alex will lead as tracker.”
Alex nodded. “We’ll find her.”
Merrow hooked his hands on his gun belt. “If we haven’t accomplished that by dark, Nick, you go airborne. Search that way.”
“You got it.” Nick shot a questioning glance at Hugh.
Hugh shook his head, already knowing what the man was thinking. “I’ll handle my grandmother if it comes to that. Which it won’t. Night flights are permissible by any flying supernatural so long as they happen after twilight.” They were already going to have two wolves and a black panther running through the woods. Having a gargoyle in the air after dark was the least of their worries. He looked at Merrow. “Can we go already?”
Merrow nodded. “Let’s shift and move out.”
Fifteen minutes later, Hugh and Stanhill were deep into the woods following Merrow in wolf form as he rustled through the undergrowth searching for Delaney’s scent.
Fifteen minutes after that, Merrow came to a stop beside the stream where Hugh had stopped Delaney from running off the night she’d found out he was a vampire. Merrow lifted his big wolf head and whuffed at Hugh.
“It’s nothing,” Hugh said. “She and I were here. Out for a walk a few nights back.”
Merrow went back to sniffing the ground and pawing through leaves.
Hugh carried Merrow’s walkie-talkie and gun belt, but the weight of that was nothing compared to the burden of worry pressing on his nerves. They were stretched thin. Ready to snap at the first opportunity. Which seemed like it might never come. All because he’d been a jerk and shut Delaney out. He had a habit of putting the women he loved in danger. But he could not let Delaney suffer the same fate as Juliette. “We’re getting nowhere,” he snapped.
“Patience,” Stanhill muttered.
“When her life could be in danger? How the hell am I supposed to be patient?”
Before Stanhill could respond, the walkie-talkie crackled with an incoming call. “Sheriff, this is Jenna. Alex picked something up along Carraway Lane, near the old Miller house. We’re doing a wide sweep and—”
Merrow flashed back into human form, his pelt turning into his uniform once again, and grabbed the radio. “We’re on our way. Locate Delaney but stand down until we get there.”
He took his gun belt back from Hugh and strapped it around his waist. “Faster to drive.”
“Back to the house then.” Hugh didn’t need to be told twice. He broke into a run, dodging branches and jumping fallen trees. He made it back to the house a minute before Stanhill and Merrow and met them on the back porch, car keys in hand. “I assume you’re going in quiet, no sirens.”
Merrow nodded. “We don’t want to tip our hand.”