Atticus by R.E. Butler

Chapter Thirteen

Lori was feeling dually minded—on the one hand, she missed Atticus, feeling like she couldn’t breathe right without him near. On the other hand, she had a strange feeling that something wasn’t quite right.

As the store opened for the morning and customers trickled in, she alternated between stocking the baby aisle and manning the register. Her boss, Alana, was in the office and the only other person on the floor was Jared who restocked shelves.

She touched her phone in her front pocket and thought about texting Atticus. But what would she say? That she was crazy about him, already half in love? Missing him so much she didn’t feel right at all? That the park was the first place in the last two decades that actually felt like home, and it was entirely because of him?

She mused on her train of thought. Was she feeling off because Atticus wasn’t with her? Or was something more going on?

When he’d rocked her world that morning, when she’d been coming down from the heavens with her voice hoarse from shouting her pleasure, she swore she’d heard him making a grumbling, animal-like sound in his chest as he’d cuddled her close. It had reminded her of the strange sounds that Keir had made. His sounds were grumbly and growly, almost purr-like, and when she’d asked him, he’d said he was simply a “noisy guy,” and she let it drop. It wasn’t like they’d had any long conversations that one night, or any other night.

But Atticus was different. The rumblings from his chest reminded her of an animal too, but while Keir’s sounds had made her feel wary, Atticus’s had made her feel...loved.

“I’m going crazy,” she murmured. Maybe the reason she was feeling antsy was because she missed Atticus, not because her old fight-or-flight instincts were kicking in to warn her of danger. She hadn’t seen Keir in three weeks, and the people in the park were careful and watched out for her and Novi. She’d just made a big move forward with Atticus. Not only had they had sex—made love!—but she’d let him stay all night with her, and they’d made plans for later. He was by far the sweetest, sexiest guy she’d ever met. And the odd nerves surfacing were probably just because she was doing something she wasn’t used to. Something she’d denied herself for so long.

She deserved to have a life and a good relationship. And fucking good orgasms.

Greatones.

Toe-numbingly, sore-throat-inducing, make-you-see-stars orgasms.

She shivered and smiled to herself.

“Oh no!” Alana came running from the office. “We need to evacuate! I just got a call from the fire department saying there’s a brush fire in the woods and it’s not under control. It’s heading right for us.”

New Jersey was very wooded. A huge section of it was called the Pinelands for good reason. Pine trees as far as the eye could see. The street where she worked was pretty wooded with clearings for buildings.

“The fire department called? I didn’t hear sirens.”

“Yes, they did, now let’s go!”

That odd, tickling bad feeling crept up her neck and she pulled her phone from her pocket. The call to Atticus connected as she waited at the front door for Alana to grab Jared and the two customers milling around.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Atticus said, his voice like warm honey.

“Hey, I...I’m not sure but I think something fishy is going on.”

“Did something happen?” She could hear the alarm in his voice, hear him moving around like he was walking away from whatever he’d been doing.

Lori moved down the front of the building, stepping off the sidewalk and looking around. She couldn’t smell smoke from a brush fire, and there were still no sirens. It all just seemed odd.

“I think Keir’s up to something. We were just told to evacuate, but I don’t know if it’s real or not. Atticus, I’m—” A large hand clamped down over her nose and mouth. She was pulled backward, her heels digging for purchase on the sidewalk. The phone slipped from her grip as her hand banged against the side of the building.

She screamed against the palm over her face and struggled, flailing her arms and legs to get out of the hard grip of whoever was holding her. Her lungs burned. She scratched at the hand cutting off her oxygen as her vision went spotty and panic set in. She didn’t need to hear anyone speak to know who held her.

He’d finally gotten his hands on her.

Keir.

* * *

Atticus was in full-blown panic mode as he raced from the maintenance shed to the security office in the park. He called Jupiter while he ran, dodging park visitors. He’d lost the call from Lori. Something had cut her off and the phone sounded like it hit the ground before the call disconnected. He’d known the moment she said something was up that he needed to get to her and had already been rushing from the maintenance shed. He’d called her again and again with no luck.

“This is Jupiter.”

“Lori’s been taken!”

“Where are you?”

He wrenched open the door to the security office to the surprise of a human couple standing at the counter and talking to Mercer. “I just got to the office, but scratch that, meet me at the employee lot.”

“You okay?’ Mercer asked.

“She got taken.”

“What?” Novi rushed from the office where she put together the VIP tour photo albums.

He pushed her back into the office and shut the door. Forcing himself to calm down, he said, “She called to say something was fishy and the call got cut off. I’m going now with whoever I can muster.”

“I’ll get Cael, we’ll join you.”

“Fuck no.”

“Excuse me? You can’t tell me what to do, Atticus.”

“I can and I will,” he said, lowering his voice. “If it’s your father who took her, which it most likely is, then he’s after you as well. The safest place for you is the park. I will get her back.”

“What should I do? What can I do?” Novi’s eyes glistened with tears.

“Keep calling her cell. If someone picks up from her work, ask them if they know what happened, try to get details from them, and call me.”

“I will.” She took her phone from the little desk and swiped her thumb on the screen. “Please save her.”

He nodded sharply and walked from the office. To Mercer, he said, “Call Cael. Don’t leave Novi alone for any reason.”

“You got it,” Mercer said.

Atticus walked from the office and then sprinted at full tilt to the employee lot. His gorilla was pushing him to shift, but aside from being exposed to humans at the moment, he needed to be able to drive.

At the employee lot, he saw a handful of males, including Joss, Caesar, and Jupiter. He told them quickly what he suspected and the moment he was done, they were on the way to the dollar store. They couldn’t track her with her phone, but he should be able to pick up her scent or feel their connection as soulmates, even if they weren’t fully mated yet.

Fuck. He’d promised to keep her safe and he’d failed out of the gate.

Stay alive, Lori. Keep fighting. I’ll find you.