Nash
Something is wrong.
The feeling settles in my chest halfway through a meeting with emergency management. One minute I'm reviewing flood damage and accident reports that need my signature.
The next, my heart is pounding for absolutely no reason.
I stare down at the paperwork in front of me.
"Sheriff?"
I blink as I look toward the sound of my name. "What?"
Deputy Collins frowns at me from across the conference table. "You okay?"
No.
Not even remotely.
I rub a hand over my chest as I try to figure out how to answer the man. Ever since I sank my teeth into Nelly's neck, it's been different. Like there's a second heartbeat tucked somewhere behind my ribs. A constant awareness that she exists. It should be a comforting sensation. But right now?
It's making me want to put my fist through a wall.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I murmur as I pull out my cell phone and glance at it.
Still no response from her, either. I sent her three text messages this morning, and nothing.
Not a single word from her.
I knew we should've all called out of work.
"Nash?" one of my deputies asks.
I shove my chair back. "Meeting's over."
Detective Guffrey quickly stands. "But, Sheriff. We're not done—"
I scoop the files off the table in front of me. "We are now."
It's a quick trip to my office to drop that shit off before I grab my keys and walk out. No one tries to stop me, and that's probably a good thing because I'm not sure what would happen if they did. The pounding in my chest won't go away. Do Levi and Beau feel it, too?
The entire drive home is a fight. I hit every single red light along the way, and they're all too long.
Cars drive two miles below the speed limit every time I pull up behind them on the road, and it makes me curse driving around in my cruiser.
Every second stretches into an oblivion I'm trying to race.
By the time I pull into my apartment complex, my jaw aches from how hard I've been grinding my teeth.
Because the feeling in my chest gets worse with every moment that passes.
I take the stairs two at a time when I see a crowd at the elevator. My apartment door comes into view quickly, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I can still smell her out in the hallway. Nelly. With her vanilla scent and her citrus undertones and the—
My stomach drops when my hand falls to the doorknob.
It's unlocked.
"No," I murmur as I whip the door open. "Nelly!?"
Silence answers me and my heart leaps into my throat.
"Nelly!" I exclaim as I rush around the apartment.
But there's nothing. The apartment looks exactly like I left it this morning except for one thing.
Nelly's gone.
The realization slams into me hard enough to steal my breath.
I stalk through every room, making sure she's not hiding.
I know she's not, but the Alpha inside of me has to clear every corner.
I check her bedroom. My bedroom. I check both of the bathrooms and the pantry, for fuck's sake. Anywhere she could be hiding.
We all should've been here.
"Nellyyyy!" I call.
But only my voice echoes back at me.
My pulse pounds in my ears before I notice more of the pieces. My couch isn't a disheveled mess any longer. The cushions are back where they should be. The pillows have been fluffed. I dip back into the guest bedroom, and the blankets have been arranged back on the mattress.
Her bag? Gone.
Her shoes? Gone.
Her clothes? All gone.
The only scrap of faith I have is that I don't see my hoodie anywhere. The one she wanted during her heat cycle has vanished with her. That has to mean something.
I pull my phone out and see I've already got a text from Beau.
Beau: I figured Nelly would be back at it with the house this morning. She okay?
I quickly text a message back.
Nash: She's gone, Beau. She's not at my place. She's taken her things and everything.
His immediate phone call after reading that text sets me on edge.
"Told you she'd run," he says the second I pick up the phone.
I growl. "Hello to you, too."
"We shouldn't have given in to her begging," Beau says as I hear papers rustling in the background. "And one of us should've stayed—"
"I know," I snarl before I draw in a breath to calm down. "I know. I just… I thought she'd want space after everything. She doesn't like being crowded."
"Sure," Beau snickers, "after a hard workday or something. This was an Omega coming out of heat. We claimed her, Nash. We all should've been here, I told you two that. But, noooo. The Alphas wanted to get back to work."
"I hear you, all right!?" I shout into the phone.
The conversation goes silent.
"Sorry," I murmur as I rake my hand through my hair, "I just…"
Beau sighs. "Have you heard from Levi?"
"No."
"He's read your message."
"Probably in the middle of a tattoo."
"Maybe."
I pause. "What else would it be?"
"Levi was quick to not want to stay, Nash. Do you think he's regretting it?"
"Are you regretting it?"
"Not by a fucking long shot. Are you?"
My eyebrows hike up at how serious he sounds. "I…"
Beau sighs, and it makes me feel like a failure. Of course I don't regret marking Nelly. I don't think, anyway. I don't know. I don't know anything. All I know is that my Omega is out there somewhere.
Alone.
And the feeling of dread in my chest won't let up.
"I'm calling Levi. Stay close to your phone," I say.
"Good luck," Beau says.
I hang up the call with Beau and dial Levi's number, but all it does is ring a couple of times before going straight to voicemail.
"Hey, it's Nash. We need to talk. Call when you've got a lull in your day."
But I try calling him again just to make sure.
And again, he doesn't answer.
I pace around my apartment as the protective instinct within me reaches feral limits. My hand rubs my chest as my heart continues to try to pound its way out. But then, the faint sounds of drilling and hammering hit my ears.
The house.
She has to be there.
I bolt like a bat out of hell toward the dilapidated house next door. If she's going to be anywhere clearing her head, it has to be work. There's nothing else Nelly does, other than throw herself into work. But the closer I get to the house, the more worried I become.
I don't see her anywhere.
"Morning, Sheriff."
I look up at the sound of Ford's voice and find him waving at me from the roof.
I wave back. "Hey. You seen Nelly?"
Ford peers over his shoulder and Knox's head pops up, coming into view.
"Well?" I ask.
Ford nods. "Yep."
My heart stutters. "Wait, you saw her today? When?"
Knox walks to the edge of the roof. "She came by this morning to check on the progress of the roof."
It feels rude not to ask. "How's it going?"
Ford just nods. "Will have it done by the end of the day."
I sigh. "I'm sure Nelly finds that to be a relief."
The two of them exchange looks before Knox answers me. "She actually didn't ask about the roof."
I blink. "Wait, what?"
Ford draws in a breath through his nose. "Yeah. She seemed a bit off. Rushing around, muttering to herself. She had a bag of things in her hand, too."
"Please tell me you know where she went."
Knox shakes his head. "Couldn't tell you."
Ford shrugs. "She was here for a while. Went inside. She came back out with the bag still, though. So, not sure what she did."
"And then?" I ask.
Knox clears his throat. "There was a car that picked her up. She climbed in the back of it and left."
My stomach twists. "What direction?"
Ford points down the road and I turn where he motions. My mind immediately starts working. I think about the stop signs and the traffic cameras in that direction. The license plate readers we use at the precinct and the dispatch records I'd have access to.
I could have her location inside the hour.
All it'd take is a few phone calls. Maybe a few favors. A couple of signatures without questions, which I could get from any one of my deputies.
I rake my hands down my face. I force the worried Alpha inside of me to shut it. I can't do that to Nelly. I can't treat her like a suspect. She isn't a criminal. She's a grown woman who just woke up from a heat only to discover she'd accidentally bonded herself to three idiots.
Hell, if anyone deserves to be investigated, it's probably me.
"Everything okay?" Knox asks.
"No," I say as I turn and make my way off the lawn. "Thanks for your help." An idea occurs to me just as I step onto the driveway and turn around. "Hey, guys?"
Ford peeks back over the top of the roof. "What's up?"
"When you're done with the roof, do you have plans?"
Ford shrugs. "Just heading home. Why?"
"Can you guys patch up that massive hole in the kitchen? Just enough so the outside is secure?"
Knox peeks up and looks at Ford. The two of them seem to communicate without actually moving their lips.
Then, Ford looks back at me and nods. "Yeah, we can tackle that."
Knox jumps in. "House has some electrical shit I need to take a look at, so we can't close the inside yet—"
I shake my head. "Just the outside, so the house is no longer exposed to the elements."
Ford nods. "Yeah, we can make that happen. First thing after the roof's done, we'll get on it."
"And bill me for it, would you?" I ask. "Nelly's got enough financial shit on her plate."
Ford and Knox nod, so I give them a thumbs-up before I turn and walk up the driveway. I can work with Chief Harlan when it comes to that. As long as the house isn't exposed to the outside world, I can convince him to lift the condemnation.
At the very least, that would put Nelly closer than wherever the hell she is now.
"Is everything okay, Sheriff!?" Knox calls out.
I get to the top of the driveway and turn in his direction. "If Nelly comes back at all, call the precinct and tell them to get in touch with me. Just want to make sure she's okay."
Ford gives me a thumbs-up.
I'm glad they don't ask any more questions as I climb back into my cruiser, because the truth of the matter is… I don't have the words for any of this. The truth sounds too insane, and I can still feel Nelly's knot of anxiety lodged somewhere deep in my gut.
I already miss her.