Wanting by Calle J. Brookes

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coffee table—the one on which she’d sat his first night in her
place—had been shattered into a thousand smaller pieces. Just the
legs and trim remained, and even those were bent. Her potted plants
were uprooted, dirt spread ruthlessly down the steps separating the
kitchen from the living area. Sebastian didn’t even look toward the
bedroom off the back of the loft. His attention was suddenly
focused right back on her.
    “ Carrie. Breathe, baby.
Focus.” He saw the panic settling in her eyes. She turned to him
immediately, and her thin shoulders squared. She nodded, and he
knew she was remembering their earlier conversation in the car.
“Let’s find the cat. Then make a list of what’s
missing.”
    “ Linux.”
    “ Where would he be?”
Sebastian asked softly. He was aware of Dr. Dennis moving closer,
one hand reaching for Carrie. He shook his head at her warningly.
Carrie didn’t need sympathy at that moment, didn’t need Dennis or
the rest of the team—which he saw spread out amongst the local law
enforcement officers—coddling her. She needed to focus on what she
was doing, and then get out for a while until she could better deal
with it.
    “ He’s hiding. He’s not used
to people. He’s just met you, Paige, and Georgia. Not even Hell.
He’s shy.” She whispered in a confiding tone. He could see the
obvious love she felt for her cat in her big eyes. “All these
people, they bother him. They scare him. He’s hiding. Probably
where it’s dark and he can’t see them.”
    “ Carrie,” Dennis said, her
voice trailing off when Carrie refused to focus on her. Dennis
looked at Sebastian for direction, surprise and speculation in her
dark eyes.
    “ There are too many people
in here for her at the moment.” Sebastian realized, when Carrie’s
arms wrapped around her stomach and she began to rock ever so
slightly. Sensations bothered her; she’d told him that. Told him
that it was worse when she was highly stressed. What would be more
stressful for Carrie than the destruction of her sanctuary?
Nothing. “In her home. She doesn’t like people in her space. Not at
all. You, Paige, Hellbrook, and I—we’re the only ones to be here at
all—ever.”
    “ Everybody but Lorcan and
Carrie—out!” Dennis ordered, in a surprisingly effective tone. Not
even the local cops questioned her sudden directive. In less than
thirty seconds everyone was out in the hall, with the exception of
Carrie, Sebastian, and the one local LEO chosen to make sure the
two federal agents didn’t tamper with the scene. He blended
seamlessly, efficiently in the background.
    “ Call for him,” Sebastian
ordered her in a soft but firm tone. “See if he’ll come out at the
sound of your voice.”
    “ Linny? Linny? Linux? Where
are you, baby?” It took another two minutes of this before a thin
and plaintive meow was heard coming from the back wall. “He’s in
the computer room.”
    “ How did he get in there?
Did you shut him up in there when you left?”
    “ No. He has a tunnel. From
the bathroom, under the sink, through the base of the wall, and
into the vent. I put a flap in when I realized he found the hole
under the sink. I didn’t know he could open the cabinet door. But
he did! Smart cat.”
    “ Carrie, you need to check
your computer room. See if everything is still in
there.”
    “ How would someone have
known they were in there?” Carrie asked. “You and Paige are the
only ones who know about the room.”
    Sebastian stood behind her
as her hand rose to work the tiny, almost imperceptible mechanism
to swing the door open. He vaguely heard the cop’s surprised
exclamation. To Sebastian’s eye, the room looked completely
undisturbed.
    Carrie went straight to the
center console, where the big black cat lay on top quivering.
Linux, on the other hand, looked horrible. His hair stood on end,
over two inches of dark black spikes rising from his body.
Sebastian looked closer; some sort of gel coated the