Chapter 19
NINETEEN
The first piece of information we needed was Tabitha’s username for the online gaming website, and I had no idea whether her mother would even consent to speak to me, let alone share something so personal about her daughter.
So, in an attempt to avoid frightening her, I suggested Callum wait down the hall a ways while I knocked on her door. He was, after all, a very tall, muscular man, who might come across as threatening to a woman who lived alone.
A few seconds after my knock, the door flew open to reveal my nemesis. She looked haggard and exhausted, with red eyes and hands that trembled as they clutched the edge of the door.
“You.” Her voice was dull. “I thought it might be the police.”
She might be a raging bigot—and a terrible neighbor—but she was also a scared mom, and in that moment, I could find it in my soul to feel just a tiny bit sorry for her.
“Have they made any progress?” I asked carefully, hoping she wasn’t able to read any of my complicated feelings from my expression.
“Like they actually care,” she hissed. “They took my statement and searched her room, and then said the security camera showed she never actually came home Saturday night! And she had her backpack when she left, so now they think she ran away because I’m a bad mom and she hates me.
” Her gaze raked me with disgust before darting off again, unable to risk meeting my eyes.
“She doesn’t hate me. I’m her mom. She wouldn’t do this to me. ”
I wished I’d known them well enough to tell whether this was likely to be true, but for the moment I was going to have to take her word for it.
“I know you don’t like me,” I said bluntly. “And I know you think I had something to do with your daughter’s disappearance. But the truth is, I didn’t even know you had a daughter until yesterday. And I’d like to help if you’ll let me.”
Her answering glare stabbed with twin blades of suspicion and doubt. “If you didn’t care then, why would you care now? You lot are all the same. Human lives mean nothing to you. You could kill us all before we even knew you were there.”
I wished for a tiny fraction of a second that I could tell her the truth—that I was as human as she was. But we couldn’t allow humans to learn that it was possible for them to use stolen magic, so as far as she needed to know, I was one hundred percent Idrian.
“I might be different, and I might seem scary to you, but I’m not a monster,” I told her coolly.
“And you might be interested to know that your daughter isn’t the only teen who’s missing.
There’s another—a boy about her age—who disappeared around the same time.
I’m trying to find out whether they’re connected, because it might provide clues to who took them. ”
Her glare instantly sharpened. “Did they go to the same school?”
I shrugged. “I don’t actually know. But I think they may have played the same online games.”
It was like witnessing a dam failure in real time. An unstoppable tirade of complaints and abuse against games and gamers and very nearly the entire internet washed over me, concluding with, “She never listened, and that’s why she’s gone!”
“I’m sorry,” I said, wondering if it might work better to establish a sympathetic connection. “My kid is thirteen, so he’s just getting started on the teen phase, but it’s definitely been difficult to convince him to listen to my advice lately.”
“He’s not even your kid,” the woman snapped. “You’re not old enough to have a thirteen year old.”
“He might not be my blood,” I replied, keeping my temper firmly reined in, “but I love him as best I can. I try to provide a better life than I had, and I want the best for him every single day. Isn’t that what being a mom really means?”
For a moment, I thought I had her. Her lips wobbled, and her hands shook where they clutched the door. But the habits of hatred won out in the end, and her brief instant of fellow feeling ended with a sneer and a curse.
“I don’t know why I’m wasting time talking to you,” she grumbled. “I should be waiting for the police to call, not fraternizing with…”
I was suddenly aware of Callum’s looming presence at my elbow. Whether he’d realized I was about to fail, or been afraid I was about to be attacked, he’d clearly given up on lurking in the background.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he inquired, directing his intense amber gaze right at my neighbor with devastating results.
Her jaw dropped, her eyes bugged out, and she dropped her phone directly on her foot.
“I, uh…” A few muttered curses escaped her as she scooped up her phone, frantically patted her hair, brushed at her clothes, and stood up a little straighter. “I’m Ellen. Ellen Fremont.”
“And I’m Callum.”
I’d always been aware that Callum was a devastatingly attractive man, but when we first met, his looks had taken a distant back seat to the fact that he was a direct and ever-present threat to our lives.
And once I’d learned to trust him—to believe that he genuinely cared about me and wasn’t going anywhere—I loved him for so much more than his appearance.
So, in a sense, I’d almost forgotten about the effect he had on women who didn’t know enough to be terrified.
I wondered a little wryly whether Ellen Fremont would be falling all over herself to flirt with my mate if she knew he turned into a giant, fanged monster that could set her house on fire.
“I know these last twenty-four hours have been incredibly difficult for you,” he said, somehow projecting both warmth and dignity.
“And I hope you can believe that we genuinely want to help. Someone is out there taking kids from their homes, and we want them stopped before any other families have to suffer the same pain and uncertainty that you have.”
All true. But also presented in a way that reminded me—Callum-ro-Deverin was far better at politics than he wanted anyone to know.
“Oh… uh… Okay.” Ellen wiped her hands nervously on her cardigan. “What do you need?”
“Could we by any chance see your daughter’s laptop? We only want to know what games she’s been playing and what her username is. We won’t ask for her password, or to see any other sensitive information.”
Ellen nodded vigorously and disappeared into her apartment, reappearing only a moment later and thrusting a familiar laptop into our hands. I’d seen her waving it at the cops only the previous day.
“No password. I don’t like her keeping secrets from me, so you can check whatever you want.”
Callum’s gaze flashed briefly, and I felt a quick surge of disgust from him as he accepted the computer.
Not towards the girl who’d owned it, but towards the mother who treated her child with more suspicion than love, yet had fallen all over herself to accommodate him for no better reason than his looks.
“We won’t even take it out of your sight,” he said firmly, opening the computer and balancing it on one hand as he found the browser and opened the “History” tab.
I scanned the list of sites Tabitha had visited, and there it was.
“This one.” I pointed to the name of the gaming website. “Hopefully, she’s still signed in…”
He clicked, and the window opened, showing a similar view to what I’d seen on Jeremiah’s computer. My gaze darted to the upper right-hand side, to the tiny icon that indicated account information. “There.”
At the top of the new screen was the name we needed: TabbyCat409
Bingo.
“Now we just need to find her frequently played games.”
I scanned the home screen, trying to ignore all the ads and pop-up windows, looking for titles…
Through the Portal to Everwhere.
It was part of a “frequently played” list near the top of the page.
“She played the same game,” I murmured to Callum. “Now see if you can find a list of her friends.”
It was almost ridiculously easy. Under her account menu was a tab for friends, and there near the top was Jeremiah’s username: bullfrog08.
They’d known each other. Played together. Even if it did look like Tabitha might have run away, there was no way this was a coincidence. I needed to get into that game and figure out what was happening.
“I’ve got what I need,” I confirmed.
Callum shut the laptop and handed it back. “Thank you. This was very helpful. We’ve found the link we were looking for.”
Ellen reached out with her free hand and clutched his sleeve. “Are you leaving already? Will you come back and tell me if you find anything?”
“We will definitely notify you as soon as we have any hints of what might have happened to your daughter,” I told Ellen coolly, fighting the urge to rip her hand from Callum’s arm.
“And you can reach me through our landlord if you hear from the police, from Tabitha, or from anyone making demands for her return.”
She drew back a little, clearly unhappy now that she remembered I was a part of this equation and not just the hot guy with broad shoulders, gorgeous auburn hair, and smolder for days.
“Fine,” she muttered. “But if my credit card is hacked or my identity ends up stolen, I’ll know who’s responsible.”
She took one last look at Callum, then backed through the door and slammed it right in our faces.
“That went well,” I mumbled, scowling at the closed door without bothering to hide my disgust. “I’m sorry she objectified you.”
“I’ll admit that was a new experience for me.” Callum was clearly fighting back a grin as he surveyed my disgruntled expression.
“Oh please. Don’t pretend you don’t know how you look.”
His eyes brightened with amusement. “Oh? Maybe you should tell me just in case I’ve been getting it wrong. How do I look?”
I elbowed him in the ribs while trying to hide the blush I could feel spreading across my face.
“Stop fishing, Your Majesty. You already know I like you.”
“But you’ve never actually said you think I’m attractive. What if you’re willing to overlook my face just because I have a fleet of expensive cars, a private jet at my command, and a super wealthy family at my back?”