Under the Full Moon (Crimson Romance) by Bobbi Romans Page A

Beth from undue panic. He stepped out into the hall with him, closing the door lightly behind him. “Why don’t you ask Trick if he’s seen her?”
    “Why the fuck would she be with Trick?” He scrubbed his hand over his face and did his best to reel back the urge to knock Moss’s head off his shoulders over such an asinine suggestion.
    “Whoa, settle down. I didn’t mean anything like that. Only thinking she had a question, or maybe he came and knocked with his own concern while you slept.”
    “I wouldn’t sleep through someone knocking on our door.” He felt compelled to state the fact to protect his honor, but Moss far well understood this already. The man, his friend, seemed intent on trying to keep him calm until Grace turned up. No meltdowns in front of their new friends, especially if they had something to do with her disappearance. Using only his eyes, Moss motioned toward the corner of the ceiling. Without looking at where Moss directed his gaze, Damien pretended to stoop for something off the floor. Tilting his head only a fraction, he used his peripheral vision to detect the sensor.
    Someone monitored the halls.
    Question he wanted answered was why? He understood the need for security cameras outside the compound, but in the actual living quarters? Either their hosts didn’t trust them or they weren’t considered guests. Either way the monitors discovery disconcerted him.
    “Well, why don’t we ask Trick just to make sure she’s not with him?” Moss headed across the hall to Trick’s door, rapping quietly. The second Trick answered, both men silently alerted him to the monitor.
    Trick stood back and allowed them entry while Moss scouted around the suite for the bathroom. Once inside, he turned on the shower and sink and motioned for the guys to join him.
    “While I don’t think our hosts are monitoring the bathrooms visually, I’m not prepared to take a chance with the audio possibilities. Let’s speak quietly, in case it’s bugged.”
    Both he and Trick agreed wholeheartedly with Moss’s instincts. “Did Grace pop in by chance?” Damien whispered urgently, yet low as possible.
    “No. I thought she stayed with you. Hell, sure as shit sounded like you roomed together with all the racket. Man, shit about came off the walls and all.”
    Yeah, he and Grace had gotten rather wild, but not so crazed things should have flown off the walls.
    “What do you mean?”
    “Uh dude … headboard, wall. Boink, boink. I really gotta explain anymore?” Trick’s cocky attitude this early coupled with Grace’s vanishing act left him wanting to thump the kid. Hard. Square between the eyes.
    Apparently picking up the physical aggression from Damien, Moss jumped in.
    “Grace is gone. We wanted to check if you’d seen or spoken to her.”
    “No. Actually tried to zone out the ruckus they caused last night.” Even Trick had a concerned serious look crossing his face.
    “Thing is, we, uh, didn’t get overly rambunctious. Maybe loud, but not wall thumping crazy.” Damien didn’t plan on going into the explanation their position in bed would have not moved the massive and heavy solid teak wood headboard. He and Grace had
not
made the commotion Trick described.
    “You remember what time all the wall banging began?” Moss asked.
    “I didn’t exactly look at the clock, but probably around two A.M. Please tell me you two got your jiggity on then.” Apprehension crept across Trick’s face.
    “No. The ruckus didn’t stem from us. Let me rephrase. Least not from a conscious us.”
    “Damn, dude. I woulda busted a bad guy’s ass. I thought you two were getting it on like rabbits again. Fuck. I coulda done something.” Trick slammed his fist into the bathroom wall next to him cursing up a storm.
    “Sssh. Remember. We don’t understand how our hosts fit into all this, and until we do, the least they know the better.” Moss urged caution and quiet.
    “Yeah, but man. I fucked up like royally good.”