He opened his mouth to disabuse her of that notion when Hale rushed in.
“We've got a problem. No one can find Doc, and there's an odd scent in the house.
I can't be sure, but I think there's been a struggle in his study. Doc's papers are out of whack, at least according to Kelly. You ask me, the place always looks like that.” Shit. McKinley had a bad feeling. He'd known this respite was too good to be true.
“I need to make a call. If Doc's not out for a drive and not in his lab belowground, my guess? The PPA has him. Kohl finally found himself a new head scientist.”
Paige had no idea what to do. She'd finally felt as if she and Evan had connected.
He was so sweet. He went out of his way to make her feel at home. He'd even persuaded her to look at house plans, trying to convince her to stay here with him and the others. “You’ll need a bigger room than Hale’s to fit all three of you,” he'd said without judgment. To Evan, Circ sexuality was merely a part of the whole package.
During the past week, though Paige continued to prod him to do more tests on her, he refused. He wanted her to think about it and not confuse their growing friendship with anything more. Evan was so careful not to exploit her or her feelings that she couldn't help wishing she'd met him years ago. What would it have been like to grow up with him as a father?
Not that Evan didn't have his faults. He regularly missed meals, kept a disorganized study that had Kelly, his assistant, on edge, and could lose himself in his work if no one reminded him to come up for air.
But he was loyal to a fault with Circe's Recruits, the men and women he considered family. Caitlyn had confided how incredibly happy they all were to finally find her. Doc had been misled by someone he dearly loved not long ago. And though he and Elliot hadn't been close, family meant something to Evan. Losing his brother right after that other loss had debilitated him. He'd lost weight, looked unhappy, and spent too much time away from the others. Finding Paige had become a lifeline for him.
Knowing Evan helped fill a huge void in Paige's own life. The need for unconditional familial love was something she'd longed for. Elliot would never help her there. Her mother had died, and she'd had no one else. Or at least, she hadn't considered Evan an answer before Hale had brought her here.
And now he was missing.
She'd been the first to call attention to his absence. He'd gone to his study for just a minute, leaving her waiting for him to finish another story about her mother. The minute turned into several. Instinct told her something wasn't right. When she checked the study, she found him gone. Her senses flared; the scent of unwelcome visitors a foreshadowing of major trouble on the horizon.
She immediately sought her mates and found Hale first. He sat with his teammates playing cards while Sabrina and Kelly argued over the remote control for the TV.
“Hale.” She felt instant relief. Just being near her mate soothed her beast.
“What's up?” He drew another card and frowned at his hand. Glancing at her with a distracted smile, he looked back at his cards, then froze. He snapped his attention back to her. “What's wrong?”
Everyone else stopped what they were doing.
“It's Evan. He's gone.”
Hale scowled. “Gone? Gone where?”
“I don't know. We were sitting together talking when he left for a minute. That was a good twenty minutes ago. But he's not in the study or the bathroom, and it's not like him to just leave me without at least saying good-bye.”
“I sense trouble.” Hale stood.
“I'll look downstairs,” Ace offered.
“Good, go. Zack, check your house and mine,” Roane ordered. “Derrick, check upstairs. Sabrina, can you grab the guest wing? I suddenly have a bad feeling.” Everyone scattered, and Roane turned to Paige. “Paige, can you stay with Kelly while I check out the garage?” He strode to the family room and looked out a side window. “I still see his car in the driveway, but that doesn't mean anything. I'll be right back.”
“I'll check out the study,” Hale said. “Honey, everything will be fine. We'd never let anything happen to your uncle.”
She nodded. “I know.” Then she realized Caitlyn and Robbie were gone. “Where's Robbie?”
“Damn. I'll let them know too.” He started to say something more, then shook his head. “Robbie's going through some family stuff. He's fine, don't worry,” he said, seeing the panic on her face. “But he needs some time alone with Caitlyn.”
“Caitlyn?” Her hackles rose at thoughts of her mate alone with another female.
The alpha female with Robbie?
“His sister,” Hale whispered. “I know, bizarre. I'll explain it when I can. Let me find Doc first.”
She watched him leave, stunned. Talk about dropping a bombshell. Robbie and Caitlyn were brother and sister? They didn't look much alike. Then again, Robbie didn't look like anyone she knew. The knowledge settled her beast, at least. Now she could focus her worry on Evan.
“I wish everyone would stop treating me like an invalid,” Kelly snapped. “I'm pregnant. I'm not sick.”
“Talk about a redhead with a temper,” Paige teased and joined Kelly in the kitchen, where everyone seemed to gravitate at one point or another during the day.
She sobered at the worry on Kelly's face. “Hey, I'm just kidding. I want to be out there looking for him too. But you know, if someone did take Doc, there's only one group of people I know that it might be. And they'd do anything to get their hands on a pregnant Circ.”
Kelly glared, the ice blue of her eyes piercing. “I know, dammit. And I'm not mad at you, Paige. I just… I wish I could do more. I'm only five months along, and I feel like a whale. This is going to be a weird pregnancy all around. I need Doc here. Not just to help me. He's like a father to me, you know?”
Paige did. The time she'd spent with the others had shown her how much her uncle was loved. From talking with them, she'd learned that Kelly had grown up with Evan, who acted like a surrogate uncle. A friend of her family's, and then her boss, he'd employed her for years. Caitlyn had joined the group just over six months ago, but she thought the world of him. As did Sabrina, who'd recently mated Derrick and left Pearson Labs. Sabrina knew what the men who worked for the labs were really like, and she adamantly stated that Doc was nothing like them. Quite the opposite, in fact.
He'd saved her life, and she'd move the moon for him if she could.
The men of Circe's Recruits loved him as well. Paige's beast liked being part of this pack, this group. She still hadn't figured out how she felt about Roane, only because he and Robbie were still at odds. But she trusted Roane on a fundamental level.
She respected the men and women here, and she knew she could become good friends with Sabrina, Kelly, and Caitlyn. They treated her like a real person. They knew what it was like to be Circ, human yet not. And they didn't judge her.
If all these people whom she respected loved Doc, how could she question him anymore? Not that she did, but their opinions made her decision to accept Evan so much easier. Even Robbie liked him. And Robbie barely liked anyone.
Except Hale and her. She hid a secret smile from Kelly, half listening as the poor woman ranted about her stubborn mates. Ace and Zack bent over backward for Kelly, clearly in love with her. A most fortunate woman. Like me.
Hale and Robbie were incredible lovers. Hardheaded men who pretty much kowtowed to her, though Robbie still controlled the small trio in the bedroom. Evan was right. They'd need more space if they planned to live on the compound. And she wanted a future here, with her new friends. People who finally understood her differences. With her uncle, who seemed to really love her. And her mates. Hale belonged here. Robbie didn't fit in at Pearson Labs. He needed her and Hale, even if he didn't want to admit it.