Under His Protection (Protect and Defend 1)

She wasn’t anywhere.

Mason ran back into the house, through the kitchen and into the garage. The car the Hewitt family kept on island was gone.

“Shit.” He ran back into the house and grabbed his cell phone, muttering a string of curses when he couldn’t find a good enough connection.

Without a doubt, he knew where she was. Or at least, knew who she was with. Suzanne Arnold or whatever the hell the woman’s name was. Something had happened, he could feel it. He didn’t like the unease that slithered down his spine.

A dark sense of foreboding washed over him, leaving his skin chilled. And it scared the ever living shit out of him.

He walked back out onto the back porch, where he got the best reception, and typed in a url, waiting impatiently for it to load. It was cold and drizzling, rain falling heavily from the sky and he was standing outside in his underwear, nothing else.

But he didn’t feel the cold. He was too concerned for Blake’s safety to think of anything else. Entering his username and password after the website loaded, he typed in the information it asked for and then waited for a reply.

Thank god for modern technology. He’d rigged the Hewitt family car with a GPS tracker. The thing had a thirty day battery life, not a problem considering they were here only for three weeks. He’d be able to locate Blake’s car in minutes.

And there it was. The map flashed onto the screen, a little red light blinking her exact location. The address appeared and he pressed a button, locking in the location. He didn’t recognize it but it couldn’t be hard to find since the island wasn’t that big.

He sent her a quick text then dialed her number but it went straight to voicemail. No text reply either and she was always quick on that thing.

Fuck.

Panic racing through him, he went into Blake’s bedroom and grabbed the crumpled pair of jeans that lay on the floor. Pulling them on, he then tugged on a shirt, shoved his phone in his front pocket and ran a hand over his hair.

Why had she left without telling him? She knew how he felt about Suzanne. He’d expressed himself pretty strongly on the matter last night. So strongly they’d even argued about it.

Had she kept it from him because she thought he would’ve tried to convince her not to go? She always told him where she went, and she’d rarely left his side, especially the last few days. She seemed to prefer to always have him by her side.

The crappy weather didn’t ease his fears, either. The storm was relentless, the pounding rain that sounded on the roof would’ve made him reluctant to go out anywhere, let alone want Blake out in it. Alone.

Letting loose a low growl, he grabbed his wallet and shoved it in his back pocket. He’d rented his own car when they’d arrived on island, though they’d hardly used it.

Walking into the garage, he hit the door opener, wincing when he saw the downpour before him. Worry clawed at his gut and he tried to push it off.

Should he call this in? Let everyone know he’d temporarily lost track of Blake? Byron would kill him on sight. And he didn’t even want to think about James Hewitt’s reaction. When they questioned him about how he lost track of his subject–and he knew they would—how would he answer?

Sorry, I was sound asleep after I fucked your daughter all night long and she snuck out on me. I’m not quite sure what happened, sir.

Hell, no. He’d be fired for sure. Shit, he deserved to be fired, sleeping with his subject, letting his defenses down. Letting her get away without his knowledge.

He’d find her first, then call it in. And he would find her. This stupid little island wasn’t that big. It would take him fifteen minutes, tops.

It had to.

* * * *

“Blake, please listen to me,” Suzanne pleaded but Blake turned away from her.

She didn’t want to hear it, didn’t want to hear the lies that would spill from her supposed friend’s mouth. Rich had shoved them into a tiny bedroom and locked the door, threatening to tie them up, though the fumbling drunk couldn’t find a piece of rope in the house to save his life.

Blake was pissed. Angry she got pulled into this situation because she wanted to help a friend in need. Had been so duped she’d even neglected to tell Mason she’d gone which was the thing she regretted most of all.

How freaking stupid could she be? She could almost believe she deserved what happened to her, considering how foolish her earlier actions were.

Had Mason figured out she was gone yet? She had no clue how much time had passed since she arrived and Rich had taken her purse. He’d been disappointed to find a measly eighty dollars in her wallet and shoved the twenties in his front pocket, a grim look on his face as he’d continued his futile search.

Like he could take her credit cards, which she’d watched him contemplate. As if. He’d be caught immediately. The guy was a complete and total idiot. And she was a complete and total idiot for trusting Suzanne.

“Listen, will you let me explain? How it happened? I only told him about you because I knew everywhere you went, your secret agent man followed. How was I supposed to know you’d come out here and for once, you wouldn’t bring him with you?” Suzanne cried.