Heart : Animal Senses Series Book 1

Chapter 36

Devin was pacing around the yard when he caught a whiff of exhaust fumes. He felt every nerve in his body tightening, ready to face an intruder when the black cruiser appeared through the trees, coming towards the house. He curbed the need to growl at the Sergeant as he got closer, Devin didn't want anyone near Rayne. In some areas of life, he was willing to compromise, sort of, but not this one. An odd realization to have hit him with the car only a few feet away now.

The car stopped, and the man inside opened the window. "Hey, Devin."

"Mark." He'd known him years before he'd ever worn a badge. Devin hadn't liked him then, either. "What brings you out this far?"

He shrugged. "Just checking into a stolen car, and I thought I'd drop in and see if you'd seen anything."

"A car?"

He nodded.

Devin made an exaggerated motion of looking around the driveway.

Mark laughed. "I didn't mean one that pulled right up to your door, I wondered if you'd been out painting or whatever and seen anything."

"Haven't gone far lately. What am I looking for if I do?" Devin was relieved he was staying in his car, with his blood still running a little hot, he didn't want to take a chance on doing something stupid like he'd almost done inside a short while ago.

"It crossed the border a few days back, it's a white Cabriolet, one of those little tiny boxy cars..."

"I know what one looks like, Mark." He needed to leave and he needed to do it now. "I'll keep an eye out."

"Appreciate it." He nodded once and then put the window back up.

Devin stood without moving and watched until he couldn't see his car. A white Cabriolet? It wasn't a coincidence that Rayne drove the same thing. He shook his head and then looked back to the house. He may have been out of touch with the rest of the population on the planet, but he knew Rayne wasn't a car thief. Devin could sense a lie and smell scents that went with them, and he knew she hadn't lied so far.

Frowning, he started towards her campsite. Devin didn't want to snoop around in her things, but he couldn't just pretend this hadn't happened. What could happen that would make her steal a car and hide this far from where she'd been?

He was almost to the site before he decided that he was going to have to move down another level to find out who the car belonged to. Devin had to know and if he asked her, or told her about the police looking for her, she might run and he knew he couldn't live with that. There had to be a damn good reason why Rayne had taken a car and drove this far to hide.

He glanced at the car as he went into the cabin. If he could find her keys then look at the registration and not have to search further. Pausing inside, he surveyed the room. Everything was neat and in order, so he would have to be careful to not move anything out of place. Devin walked to what looked like a purse, the most logical place to start but stopped when he saw it was behind another bag that looked like a purse. Regardless of reason, no male wanted to put his hand into a purse. He cursed under his breath and turned to see what was on the other side first, a glint of caught his eye and he found himself looking at a ring of keys hanging under the window. He struggled with a moment of disappointment, having found them so easily. He had to admit, then, that he'd wanted to go through her things to see what else he could find out. In the last few days a few kinks in his personality had been shown to him, and he wasn't happy with the revelations.

Devin paced along the path a third time, his mind too scattered to make the call. He looked down at the phone in his hand and then back to the front door of his house. He couldn't take a chance of calling his father in the house, in case Rayne woke up. Sometimes finding out your gut instincts are right isn't a good thing, and of course this was one of those times. Devin's mind was lost right now, the thousand scenarios bouncing around weren't helping. He didn't even know where to begin.