35. Chapter 35 - Chayce
Chapter 35 - Chayce
T his party has been a lot of fun and I need to make sure Regina knows it. We all needed this. Frustration has grown over our inability to find this person terrorizing our small town.
When Adyr called me away from Regina, I loathed having to separate from her. She needs her space and can’t have me hovering all the time, and it’s something I have to remind myself of often. It has taken a lot to let her go tonight. Knowing that she is safe in our home is the only thing that has kept me sane. That and being surrounded by so many friends and predators.
The crowd is starting to thin, finally. Roree, Raelee, and Rhodee are walking around picking up empty plates and bottles, helping to clean up. Emmalee is in the kitchen washing dishes and putting food away. It’s then that my blood runs cold as it occurs to me that Regina is nowhere in sight. An uneasiness creeps up my spine. Approaching the girls, I stumble over my words, fearing the worst.
“Have any of you seen Regina lately?”
Our remaining guests all stop whatever conversations they are in the middle of. Everyone is now focused on me. One by one, as my gaze meets each of theirs, a shake of the head brings my greatest fear to life.
My dragon pushes to the surface, causing Emmalee’s eyes to widen as smoke billows from my nose and mouth. Taking the stairs two at a time to make sure she hadn’t just fallen asleep or passed out, each room gets thoroughly checked.
Confirming her absence on the second floor, I repeat my action, moving room by room on the first floor. Still unable to find her, I step outside. On the patio, where I saw her last, is a water bottle. It’s lying on its side on the concrete, a small puddle underneath it on the ground.
This time, my dragon does break loose, my clothes shredding. My fire lights up the sky as my wings lift me into the air.
Doing several loops around the surrounding area does nothing to calm me down. There is no trace or sign of Regina. I am more angry now than before I took flight after realizing she is missing.
Returning to the house, a pile of clothes is sitting there, waiting for me. Pulling them on, I step inside. All of the alphas are here, along with several betas and hunters, as well as my brothers.
“Has anyone seen my phone?” I call out, having lost track of it.
Deakon pulls his phone out, and a few seconds later, a ringing can be heard coming from upstairs. Sprinting to grab it and scrolling through my contacts, I connect the call I never expected to make.
“Yeah,” the sleepy voice answers. A glance at the clock tells me it’s after midnight. Without a preamble, my voice is harsh as my dragon bleeds through.
“Have you located Jaygon Jones yet?” I bite out, misdirecting my anger at Rafferty.
“No, why?” He is wide awake now, and I have his full attention.
“Regina is missing.”
“What. The. Fuck. Do. You. Mean. Missing?” Rafferty bites out every word, and he has every right to be pissed.
“We had a party tonight, so she and Emmalee could meet some of the townspeople,” I tell him with the briefest of explanations. “Last week, Regina said that she felt like someone was watching her. Not knowing anyone, she was unable to identify it there was a real cause for alarm.”
“Where the fuck were you during this party?” he sneers.
“Do not go there,” I say in warning. “I have already been out searching and can find no trace of her.”
“Fuck,” he heaves out. “All right, let me make some calls. Keep your phone handy, and keep me updated on Regina.”
Rafferty hangs up, not saying another word.
Moving back to the living room, all eyes are on me. Approaching my friends, I review the conversation with Rafferty Chaney.
“My wolves are already on the move,” Crispin says.
“Looking over our grid map, this area hasn’t been checked yet in our search for our thief. Jaygon could be hiding in an unknown cave,” Deakon says, looking at the map on his phone.
The safe thing to do is wait until morning to start our search when it’s daylight. Crispin’s wolves have Regina’s scent, so it should be pretty easy to catch up with her and Jones. That’s assuming it’s him and not one of the people he has contracts with who have her.
Mentally running through every face that I saw tonight, no unknown sticks out.
“Did any of you see anyone strange tonight?” I ask, voicing my thoughts in case our kidnapper is avoiding me. “This town isn’t that big.”
The group shakes their head “no” at my question. Jorden surprises everyone when he points at Emmalee.
“What about her?” he says accusatorily.
Hurt crosses her face before a mask of anger takes over. Marching over to stand in front of Jorden, she pokes him in the chest with each word as she tries to hold back tears.
“If you think for one fucking moment that I have anything to do with this, you are out of your mind. That girl is like a sister to me and I would rather cut my arm off than see anything bad happen to her,” Emmalee seethes. “I hate Jaygon Jones with a passion. The guy is a snake. When G met him, I told her he was no good. She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt because she is too fuckin’ nice.” By the time her rant is over, Emmalee’s chest is heaving as tears stream down her cheeks.
The triplets pull her into a group hug, glaring at Jorden. Jorden storms outside, slamming the door closed behind him in frustration.
Suddenly “Bitch” by Meredith Brooks starts playing, drawing confused looks. Emmalee is a flurry of activity as she fumbles with her cell phone, struggling to get it out of her pocket.
“Regina…” she asks hopefully, as everyone’s attention is focused on Emmalee.
“Em…help,” is all she gets out before the line goes dead and the room erupts into total chaos.