The Hunter Beside Me

26: Shaking

Owen

I fell asleep with Becks wrapped in my arms and her warm back against my chest.

Her fingers squeezing my hip woke me as she turned her face up, until her cheek touched my nose. I smiled and smoothed my hand down the soft skin of her stomach, leaning closer to kiss her neck, and she smacked my forehead.

"Stop that. Listen," she whispered.

"What?" I tried to clear my mind, but the mixed signals confused me. Her perfect, round ass pressed into me, but the slap was unexpected.

"I think I heard something."

A loud crash downstairs made me jump out of bed. "Wait here," I said over my shoulder, slipping my jeans on as I walked.

"Yeah, right," she muttered.

She shuffled around behind me as I took my knife from my belt and dashed to the stairs. Scuffling in the darkened house had me sprinting for the couch where Emory had fallen asleep.

I flicked the light on as a man crashed into Emory, knocking him backward into the recliner—it flipped over, taking the two of them out of sight and landing with a loud grunt. All movement stopped. Within seconds of descending the steps, it was over.

Rounding the chair, I found Emory lying there, panting, with a mimic falling apart on top of him. I reached down to help him stand as Becks darted into the room and straight for Emory. She scanned him for injuries as she shook the mimic dust from his shirt.

"What the hell happened?" she asked, surveying the disheveled space. "Was he alone? What are you doing with that?" She pointed at the garden trowel hanging from his grip.

Emory sighed and tossed it on the coffee table. "I found it over there. I was glad it was pointy, but I guess it's iron too because he didn't like it at all."

Becks glanced at me and blushed.

"The truck started and woke me up. Then the front door opened, and I saw that one trying to creep in." Emory rushed to the window. "Bash and Lilla are gone!"

"Gone?" I joined him and peered outside. Early morning sunlight turned the sky a lighter shade of blue, and the yard was empty. All that was left of last night was a thin trail of smoke that used to be the bonfire.

Emory paled. "Maybe they went for breakfast or something."

Becks blinked at him. "Yeah, without saying anything, and a mimic just happened to show up at the same time."

"Shay came home early," I murmured as fear for my friends blocked the breath from my lungs. Did they already kill them? Why would they leave us? Why Bash and not me? It should've been me. Bile rose in my throat.

"How did they find us?" Emory asked as he pulled his shoes on.

"I don't know, and it doesn't matter. We'll search Catriona's first. Let's go," Becks said and strode to the door. I grabbed her around the waist before she could exit. "What?" She looked up and pushed her hair away from her face.

My eyebrows lifted. "Weapons? Pants, maybe? Unless you wanted to fight in panties and my shirt?"

Yanking the bottom of the shirt, she said, "Shit. Hurry. We're leaving in one minute." She climbed the stairs, and I followed to get myself ready.

When we got outside, Emory was waiting with the car running. As soon as the doors closed, he sped to Catriona's.

We parked closer than last time, but were still hidden in the treeline. If they thought the mimic they left behind would kill us, we wanted to keep the element of surprise. Ducking below the tops of the overgrown brush, we ran to the house.