Chapter 13
River
“River, where’s Ethan?” I turned to find Maxine behind me, adjusting the puffy pleats of her gown. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”
I shrugged. “He wandered off. I thought maybe he was following a lead.”
The event was winding down around us, guests dissipating as the clock crawled past midnight. My eyes flicked over the remaining crowd, but couldn’t find that familiar streak of blond.
Ethan’s earlier unsettled expression crossed my mind. “He looked a bit rattled when I last saw him, but—”
Hunter sidled up beside us then, murmuring under her breath. “We should go before this place empties out.” She paused, looking between the two of us with a pinched brow. “Where’s Ethan?”
Mild alarm crossed Maxine’s features. “He’s not with you?”
I pursed my lips, shaking my head. “Maybe—” My phone buzzed in my small clutch, startling me into stiffness. I fished it out to see Laurie’s name lighting up the screen.
“Uh, one sec,” I murmured, stepping to the side. Maxine and Hunter exchanged glances, brows furrowed as they turned to keep scanning the crowd.
“Laurie?” I answered the call and pressed a hand over my other ear to block the chatter of the gathering. “What’s up?”
Her voice came, rapid and anxious, through the receiver. “River, I’ve got a lead! And footage—camera footage of this guy touching people’s shoulders and leading them out of bars, and then they just vanish. Can you meet me—”
“Woah, Laurie. Slow down,” I cut in, waving off a curious Hunter and Maxine. They could tell something was up; their eyes narrowed and stayed fixed on me. “You’re calling me… about a man… in a bar?”
“Yes,” Laurie snapped, frustration edging her tone. “He touches their shoulders, says a few words, and they leave like zombies. Doesn’t that sound supernatural to you?!”
“Sure, but…” I pinched the bridge of my nose, struggling to keep up with her logic. “I’m a little confused. What does this have to do with—”
“I think he’s part of the organization,” Laurie spoke over me, tripping over her words she spewed them so fast. “I think this is how they’re finding victims. Arlon showed me this footage he got from the police station.
Everyone who has been approached by that man has vanished without a trace.
They just get up and leave without explanation. ”
My brow crumpled and I frowned at the phone. Who the hell is Arlon and why does that name ring a bell?
“Okay…” Maxine and Hunter hovered closer and I strung together a scowl to ward them off, hissing my frustration with a hand over the mic. “Can you two just give me a fucking second.”
Hunter met my glare with one of her own and Maxine rolled her eyes. I turned my back on both of them.
Laurie was still talking and I tried to decipher her babble. “Arlon tracked them to a warehouse outside the city. It’s all on camera. I’m not making this up!”
“I’m not doubting you!” I said quickly. “It’s just—” My voice choked off. A cold tremor of dread crept under my skin, recalling Ethan’s earlier interaction.
A polite, murmured apology and that strange man’s hand on his shoulder.
My head snapped up. Surely not…? Hunter and Maxine read the alarm in my eyes because their own expressions turned serious. My gaze drifted to the corridor Ethan disappeared down earlier.
I started toward it, pressing the phone tightly to my ear. “What did the guy look like? The one who approached those people?”
“I don’t know, the footage wasn’t exactly high definition.” Laurie fell silent for a moment, then stammered out a few details. “From what I could see, he was handsome? But vampire handsome, you know? Too perfect. And he was always wearing the same suit. Kinda silvery.”
My blood ran cold in my veins. “Laurie, are you absolutely sure about this?”
She let out a bitter snort. “Obviously I’m sure. I wouldn’t be calling if I didn’t think it was important. Look, I’ll send you the location. Can you meet me—”
“River?” Maxine’s voice at my shoulder, tight and shrill. “What’s going on?”
I ignored her and picked up the pace, hurrying toward the corridor with a growing sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. “Laurie, text me the pin. Right now.”
I marched down the dim hallway with Hunter and Maxine in tow, ignoring the startled looks of a few lingering guests. At the far end, a solitary door.
Laurie’s voice crackled faintly over the line, “—sent it to you. We’ve got to check it out tonight.”
I couldn’t respond, not yet. Not with my heart in my throat. I threw the door open. Outside, I found nothing but an empty lot and chilly night air. Tossed gravel, faint tire marks. A knot of horror coiled in my stomach.
But… Ethan was a vampire. Why would they take him? From what we’d gathered so far, the organization was specifically targeting humans, and only humans. Unless there was more to this organization than we initially thought.
“River?” Laurie’s voice reached me from the cell left dangling in my hand. “River, I know I sound crazy right now, but you have to—”
I brought it to my ear, croaking out a reply, “I believe you.”
There was a slight pause on the line, like she hadn’t expected that response. “Really? So… you’ll meet me there?”
“No.” The word left my mouth before I could temper it.
I turned away from the scuffed gravel, ignoring the questioning looks of Hunter and Maxine. Some odd, protective urge roared through me, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint its origin. My voice sharpened with urgency. “Laurie, listen to me—you stay put. Do not go there alone.”
She let out an irritated sigh that crackled over the call. “What am I supposed to do!? Twiddle my thumbs? We don’t have time—”
“I’ll handle it,” I interrupted, voice rising despite my best efforts to contain my panic. “Stay where you are.”
Why do I care so much? We’d barely met, and Laurie was about as approachable as a porcupine on a bad day. Yet something about seeing her fall apart—twice now—ignited something in me, a strange sensation that felt like splinters in my chest when I pictured her running headlong into danger.
Laurie answered with a frustrated groan. “This is my fight too, River. I’ve been chasing these monsters for—”
“Not tonight.” I gritted out the words, tension rolling up my spine, and I forced an exhale, willing my tone to soften. “I’ll check it out, okay? Just… trust me.”
She made a low sound of disgruntled agreement. “Fine. Call me if you find anything.”
I ended the call, shoulders trembling with adrenaline. Hunter and Maxine waited at my side, confusion and concern etched into their features.
Hunter cocked her head, arms folded. “What was that about?”
I stared at my phone, sucking in deep breaths through my nose. “Ethan’s in trouble.”
“What?” Maxine’s lips parted in alarm. “How do you know—?”
“I just do. Someone got into his head and led him away,” I murmured, scanning the coordinates Laurie texted through. “But I know where to find him.”
Maxine’s face paled and Hunter muttered a curse under her breath. I cast one last glance out at the empty lot and pocketed my phone. “We’ve got to go—now.”
And hope like hell we weren’t too late.