Chapter 5 MADDOX
MADDOX
As soon as I walked through the door, I was very pleased to see that it wasn’t just Ronan—Joslyn was with him, too.
She was gorgeous. Bright blue eyes. Long black hair. Flawless skin. She carried herself with that effortless confidence some women are born with—assertive in a way that didn’t beg permission. I learned that the first time I met her.
No one had ever pulled my attention the way she did. She was a magnet. A force. And she had no idea that her whole life was about to change—and that she and I would be spending quite a lot of time together.
Ronan knew I had to help him. It’s literally my damn job—well, sort of. I needed to get her cousin back and the quicker, the better. Someone was playing games, and games have a way of accelerating things—not to mention, pissing me off.
The second they left, I started moving.
“Chris!” I bellowed, and the old man appeared as if he’d been waiting behind the wall. “I need you to get my truck out. I have to make some calls.”
Chris nodded and disappeared down one of the tunnels.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Alexander.
“Hey, you got some shit going on over this way? I’ve got a missing girl, that is, without question, off-limits.”
“Come on, Maddox—you know I don’t do shit in Ireland. I’m not stupid. I know you guys think I’m a fucking criminal but I’m not the one that made it that way. I didn’t take any girl, and none of my guys took one.”
“So, you’re telling me I have some rogue vamp to deal with?”
“Sorry man. That’s what it sounds like to me. Either that, or some psycho. Hope you find your girl.”
The call ended and I immediately dialed another number. I had a couple of people that hung out in the club scene that were always willing to share—it was out of fear, but whatever worked. It didn’t take long before I heard a familiar voice on the other end.
“Maddox.”
“Trent, I need you guys to find a girl for me. Blonde. Mid-twenties. Short. Green eyes. American. She’s been taken. I’m assuming by a vamp.” I paused. “She is red-lighted.”
Silence.
That word carried weight.
“Check the clubs,” I continued. “That’s where this may have stemmed from. This is going to be a rogue vamp; my guys would never think of crossing that line.”
“I got a couple guys, and I will get them on it. Give me an hour and I will have information.”
“Don’t let me down, Trent.”
“I got you.”
I hit the end key and slid the phone back into my jacket pocket.
Everything was in motion.
I walked through the double doors and took the elevator to the house above. The old machinery hummed beneath my feet as it climbed.
Chris was waiting at the front door.
“Your truck is ready, sir.”
“Good. Take the rest of the night off, Chris.”
I stepped outside and climbed into my truck. The engine turned over with low growl. Gravel crunched beneath the tires as I pulled onto the road.
I needed to talk to Joslyn.
I wanted to know this girl and if I lost her damn cousin, there was no way she was going to let that happen. As I was driving, my phone started to ring. I hit the green button on the dashboard and Trent’s voice filled the cab of the truck.
“We found out who has her,” Trent said.
My grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Talk.”
“It’s a new vampire. Recently turned. Part of a horde. No training, no control. I guess he broke off on his own. He’s trying to make a companion.”
“Where is he?”
“He is renting a room at the shit motel right outside of town. By the old nightclub—the one that caters to your lifestyle. She came in the other night, and he was apparently quite smitten with her at the time, but she was there with someone else, and he didn’t want to draw attention. That is what the bartender told me.”
“Thanks, Trent. I owe you.”