“Do you love the boy?”

The unexpected voice made me jump, but its familiarity kept me seated.  I turned to glare at Carlos.

“I wish you’d stop calling him a boy.  His name is Ethan.  He’s twenty-four—old enough to own the bar you trashed.  And yes, I love him.  He’s my family.”

Carlos studied me for a moment then looked out over the shadowed fields.  His expression left no hint at what he was thinking or feeling.  It was so strange not to feel anything from him.  I wanted to ask him why he was so emotionally shut off but thought that might not go over so well.  So, I joined him in his study of the horizon.

After a few seconds, he surprised me by sitting down in Ethan’s spot.  Heat radiated from him, and I found it unsettling.

“How often do you need to purge?”

At first, I thought he was talking about my throwing up in the van and was ready to deck him.  Then, I realized he meant the fighting.

“It depends on who I’m around.  The group inside is broadcasting emotions so loudly I can feel it from here.  I’ll need another round with Ethan before we leave, or if we stay the night.”

“Not Ethan,” he said.  “His shoulder needs more time.  I’ll do it.”

I glanced at him and found he was watching me.  My stomach flipped wildly, and my insides warmed at the thought of us moving together like we had before.  But something in his gaze bothered me.

“Why?”

He raised a brow in question, and I thought it might have been the first facial expression I saw him use.

“Why are you so willing to help me?”

“I like watching you move.”

My mouth may have dropped open a little at his words.  I wasn’t sure.  I was too stunned to notice anything but his intense gaze.  It swept over my face then he stood and walked away.  Before I turned, I heard Ethan.

“Hey, Carlos.”

“Ethan.”

I swallowed and closed my mouth.  What the heck had the big guy meant by his comment?  Without his emotions, I had no idea.

Ethan sat next to me while looking behind us, which I refused to do, and made a noise between a grunt and a laugh.

“He’s a weird one.  What do you get off of him?”

“Nothing,” I said, accepting the sandwich Ethan handed over.

“Nothing?”

“Absolutely nothing.  It’s like he’s a black hole.  He’s better at blocking than you are.”

“Really?  Interesting.”

I didn’t like the way he said that.

“What do you mean by interesting?”

“Absolutely nothing,” he said before taking a bite of his sandwich.

After a few minutes of silent scrutiny, I changed the subject.

“Do you still have your wallet?”

“Yep.”

“Good.  At least we didn’t lose everything back there.  If we’re going to be sitting here for a while, maybe one of them will let us use a car to grab a few things.”

“Doubt it.  You ran twice on them already.  If we leave, I’m betting it’s with an escort.  Have you noticed that there’s no friend here?”

I gave him a puzzled look.

“What do you mean?”

“The old woman said we were heading to a friend’s place.  Where’s the friend?  And why break the lock on the door if it’s a friend?”

I hadn’t noticed any of that.

“And do you know what else is weird?”

“What?”

“The women are all paired up.”

That made me laugh.

“You’re checking out women while on the run from things that look like people but can change into dogs?  You overdue for a night out?”

“Nope.  I’m waiting for you,” he said with a wink before he got serious again.  “All the women with abilities like yours...they’re paired up.  With a werewolf.”

I cringed at the use of the word.  It didn’t seem real yet, despite the visual affirmations.

“So, what are you saying?  They’re going to try to hook me up with a werewolf?”

He shrugged and was quiet.  I laid my head on his shoulder once more.

“I’m saying don’t let your guard down,” he said finally.

*    *    *    *

When we walked back into the house an hour later, the emotional soup almost pulled me under.  I looked around at the people in the room, trying to pinpoint the source.  There was too much of it, though.  But, it wasn’t Bethi.  She and Luke were absent.

“Who the hell is worrying so much?”

The worry flooding the area immediately receded.  Now, toward the back of the house, I felt fear and guilt.  That was definitely Bethi and Luke.

“Gabby still hasn’t woken up.  We’re trying to decide if we should move on without the guidance or continue to wait.”

“I’ve seen people sleep twelve hours after that kind of hit,” I said.

“My dad slept, what?  Eighteen?” Ethan said from beside me.

I knew he was trying to help reassure the group, but it had the opposite effect.  Worry clouded the air again.  These people wouldn’t relax until Gabby was awake.  But everyone was too afraid to slap the girl.

“Okay, just hold tight for a minute.”  I marched for the stairs with Ethan right behind me.

“Bad ideas rattle around in that head of yours,” he mumbled as we took the stairs two at a time.

Clay met my gaze as soon as my head cleared the stairs.  His concern for Gabby battled with his anger at me.  He obviously knew why I was there.

“What do you think’s safer?” I said, getting right to the point.  “Sitting here and waiting, or finding out if the bad guys are getting closer?  I already told you what they mean to do to us.”

“You’re not touching Gabby,” Clay said.

I grinned.

“You’re right.  I won’t need to because you’ll do it.  You’ll be gentler.  Here’s the thing. When she wakes up, she’ll still be high and loopy.  She won’t act like herself.  But don’t let her go back to sleep.  The effect will wear off faster once she’s awake and moving around.  You have ten seconds before I start pulling from you.  I can’t aim, so it’ll just hurt her more.”

He glared at me.

“Ten.”

He looked down at her.

“Nine.”

His hand reached up and stroked her cheek.

“Eight...seven.”

He tapped her cheek.

“Pathetic.  And six.”

He growled.

“Five.  Better hurry.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Four.”

He slapped her.  It was harder than I thought he had in him.  Her eyes popped open, and her vacant gaze traveled around the room.

“Gabby,” I said as if talking to the hearing impaired.  “Check your sonar.”

She blinked at me, and I could see her trying to focus.

“Check your sonar,” I repeated.

“Is Clay safe?” she asked softly.

“You’re sitting on him.  He’ll be safer if you can tell us if there are any bad guys around.”

Gabby blinked again and looked at Clay.  She reached up and ran her fingers through his beard.

“So handsome,” she murmured.

“Focus, Gabby,” I said loudly.  “Check your sonar.”

She sighed.

“They’re netting again.  None are close.”  Her eyelids fluttered.

“Keep her awake, Clay,” I said, heading toward the stairs.

Ethan and I returned to the kitchen.  The older man and woman were frowning at me.  I struggled to recall their names.  Winifred.  I frowned back at the older guy as I tried to remember.  Sam.

“Gabby says they’re not close.  I’m not sure you’ll get specifics out of her for a while.  Clay needs to try to keep her awake so she becomes more lucid.”

A wave of desire and love hit me hard.  It came from upstairs.  Time for me to retreat.

“Since it sounds like we’re in the clear, would anyone be willing to loan me a set of car keys and a map so I can grab some things to replace what I lost?”

All eyes turned to Grey, Sam, and Winifred.  They, in turn, looked at each other.

“It’s safer to stick together,” Winifred said.  “You’re welcome to borrow what you need from us.”

“Yeah, unless you have some stretchy clothes hidden somewhere, it’s not going to work.”

They looked at each other some more, and I got the creepy feeling they were somehow communicating with each other.