Scent : Animal Senses Series Book 2

Chapter 46

46

Gage swore under his breath as he ducked around another branch that Devin had let go of too quickly. He looked over at Noah in his cat form as he paced along beside them. "Noah's not picking up shit."

Pausing, Devin turned around, his eyes searching the ground. "How could the tracks just fucking disappear?" He growled out his frustration.

Gage shook his head and inhaled deeply, again. Nothing. He was picking up nothing. When his phone vibrated in his pocket, he pulled it out and then frowned at it. It was Kelsey. "Hey, honey." He listened, and she didn't reply. "Kels?" With brows furrowed, Devin stopped and stared at him. "Kelsey?" Gage's heart started to skip in his chest. Looking at Devin, he shook his head. "Call Blair."

Pulling his phone out, Devin dialed it and they both stood there waiting for him to answer. There was still nothing on the end of the phone Gage held to his ear.

"Blair, where are the girls?"

Gage didn't need to hear his answer through the phone, he could hear pounding footsteps through Kelsey's phone.

"Hello?"

It was Cooper on her phone.

"Coop, where the fuck is Kelsey?" Gage turned and watched as Noah shifted quickly back to his human form.

"Gage," he could hear Blair and Jake in the background, hear the porch door slamming. "Fuck," Cooper swore, "they're not here."

Every muscle in Gage's body stiffened. "What do you mean they're not there? She dialed my number..."

"They were helping us at the shop, came back to shower." He swore under his breath again. "Blair just called her as he was heading over."

Gage heard the cry of a cat through the phone and recognized it as Blair. "Never mind talking to me, go find them." He glanced at Devin, who was already plowing his way through the brush. "We'll be there in an hour." He shouldered his way through the branches, not even flinching as thorns scratched across his cheek. "Coop, just fucking find them." He jammed the phone into his pocket and started to jog. Noah's cat bolted past him. With a curse, Gage lengthened his stride. She had to be okay. Nothing could happen to her.

Kelsey opened her eyes slowly and then closed them quickly. Her stomach rolled as she tasted something sweet and chemical on her lips. What the hell? She heard a soft moan beside her and turned her throbbing head to see Rayne rubbing a hand over her eyes.

"What happened?" Rayne whispered. "And what is that taste?"

Closing her eyes, Kelsey fought another wave of nausea. "I think we were drugged." She could feel the cold floor on her arms and legs, but didn't want to move.

"Lovely." She heard Rayne moving around but didn't want to open her eyes. "Are you all right, Kelsey?"

Exhaling slowly, she pressed the palms of her hands against her temples, and cautiously opened her eyes again. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Do you hear anyone?"

Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to listen despite the pounding in her head. "I don't think so."

"Come on," Rayne's cool hand touched her arm, "We have to get moving to get whatever this is out of our systems."

She knew she was right, but Kelsey really just wanted to lay there and not move. A moment later she realized that alone told her there were still drugs coursing through her system, she never had a laid-back attitude. Grasping her head in her hands again, she rolled slowly until she was on her knees. Sitting up made her feel dizzy, her stomach roiled, and her head want to shatter into a hundred pieces. Opening her eyes, she was finally able to focus on Rayne. She was leaning against the wall, clutching her head between her hands. "Well, this is fun."

Rayne's eyes opened and she squinted at her. "Can you smell anything other than whatever they rubbed in our faces?"

Lowering her hands slowly, Kelsey straightened up. She could feel her pulse in her temples, and wanted nothing more than to lie back down and close her eyes until the throbbing stopped. "Give me a minute." Pushing herself, she squatted and then slowly straightened her legs until she was standing, although hunched over. Each step she had to pause to keep her balance; everything she saw was weaving back and forth. When she reached the wall, she leaned against it and took a few deep breaths, trying to move without making the pain worse. She opened one eye and tried to peer between the boards nailed over the window. She couldn't see anything.

Resting her cheek against the rough wood, she lifted her nose to a small crack and inhaled slowly. It took her a minute to dismiss the smell of the wood itself, but then she was able to pick up several others. Exhaling, she closed her eyes and tried once more, concentrating harder. The scents were familiar, but she still had trouble filtering through them with the pain throbbing in her head. Squatting down, she lowered her head to her knees and tried to concentrate. "I can smell..." Lifting her head, she looked over at Rayne's expectant stare. "I think we're at a quarry."

"A quarry?" Rayne gave her a bewildered look. "Like Flintstones kind of quarry?" She gave her a shrug. "Sorry, pampered city girl here." Resting her chin on top of her knees, she sighed. "I can sniff out a shoe sale like there's no tomorrow, but this whole outdoors thing is still new to me."

Kelsey turned her head and rested her cheek on top of her knees, she could still see Rayne but wasn't using any energy. "I can smell the equipment, or at least the odor lingering from it, the dust from gravel..."

Rayne waved a hand in the air. "Oh, I believe if you say it's a quarry." Lifting her head, she looked around the small space. "Judging by the boarded-up windows, I don't think it's still in use though."

"Yeah," Kelsey looked to see faded marks on the wall where charts once hung. The floor had worn traffic areas and then others where desks and shelves probably had rested. "Any idea how long we were out?"

"No." Rayne inhaled loudly and lifted her head to rest it back against the wall. "Why?"

Kelsey groaned and lifted her own. "I'm trying to think of any abandoned pits, but I haven't been around here in a few years, so we could be anywhere."

"Well that's good news," Rayne mumbled dryly. Pushing to her feet, she stood with a hand braced against the wall. "Let's see if we can find a way out."

"You think they're dumb enough to put us somewhere we can get out of?" Holding her head, Kelsey stood and waited for the spinning to stop before uncovering her eyes and looking over at Rayne.

"We can hope." She watched Rayne go over to the door. "There's one thing that is very consistent with the male personality." She ran her hands around the edge of the door.

Turning, Kelsey tried to pry her fingers under the boards. "They're horny?"

Rayne sighed. "Okay, two things. They constantly underestimate helpless little woman."

With a grin, she looked over her shoulder and met Rayne's bland look. "Yes, they do."

After going around the room twice, they both collapsed onto the floor. "My head isn't as bad now," Rayne said quietly.

"I think the effects have worn off, now I'm just pissed."