Chris was on the treadmill, lost in thought as he jogged, when the music in his ears stopped and the phone supplying it started ringing. He hit the button to slow the machine then reached up and hit the button on his headphones to answer the call.

“This is Walters.”

“Chris.” The single word was enough to send a wave of delight through him. He loved hearing his name from Rachel's voice.

“Rachel. Is something wrong?” Chris glanced at the clock hanging on the wall across the room. Four forty-eight PM. Still hours before the time she'd said he could come by.

“No, nothing is wrong.” Her sigh echoed over the line. “You and I were invited to dinner, and I wanted to check with you before I accepted. It's all right if you don't want to go, but my Alpha wants to meet you.”

“Well, I was hoping to show you the information the shifter Alpha sent me, but we can do that.”

“Bring it. Teya and I were talking about Ricky and my search for him today. She may have some input on what you've found out. She's led our Fraction for more than thirty years, let’s take advantage of any insight she may have.”

“Sounds good.” The treadmill slowed to an easy walk and Chris with it. “Did she happen to say why she wanted to get together?”

“She said something about getting to know you some and the possibility of discussing an alliance be-tween the two Fractions.”

Chris's heart thundered in his chest, more than his running could account for. An alliance between the weres and dragons? Not only would that help make his hold on the weres more secure, but it would also let him have a relationship with Rachel. He knew a lot of shifters mated for life, but he didn't know any weres who had. Well, his father had found Tiffany and they claimed they were mates, but their lives weren't bound together in the same way many shifters were. He would be happy if Rachel agreed to be with him long term.

“Sure. Let's do the dinner thing. I'd like to discuss an alliance.”

“Great.” Rachel sounded excited that he'd agreed. “You still planning on seven?”

“I was, but I could do six thirty, if you'd rather.”

“Either is good. I'll see you when you get here.”

“All right. I'll call you when I get to the casino door.” He hated having to disturb her to let him into the elevator, but he understood it and at the same time, was thankful that security was good and Rachel was safe.

After hanging up with Rachel, Chris shut off the treadmill and stepped off without waiting for it to stop. His mind still spinning with possibilities, he headed for the shower. He wanted Rachel with him, always.

Chris didn't care if it was here or at the MesoAmerican. An alliance between the Fractions would make that possible. His pack wouldn't like him being in a permanent relationship with someone not a were, but he was certain he could convince those that mattered. Chris was sure he could get his major supporters in the pack to see the benefits of having such a powerful and long-standing ally.

While he showered, Chris continued to think about his situation with Rachel. As much as he wanted to make things more official with her, she was too engrossed in her missing brother right now. Chris needed to wait until something was deter-mined about Ricky, one way or another, before he approached Rachel about their being mated. That meant they needed to find Ricky. His mind went back to the file Dennis had delivered and tried to remember if there was anything there that might help.

––––––––

AFTER DINNER, THEY were sitting in the dragon al-pha's apartment discussing the best way to find their missing people and the illicit market of human meat when Rachel's phone rang. She frowned as she stared down at the screen.

“I don't recognize the number, but it's local.”

“Answer it.” Teya said.

“Hello?” Rachel put the phone to her ear.

“She's dead, Rach. She's gone.” Chris's enhanced hearing picked up a voice he didn't recognize sobbing on the other end. He watched Rachel's face for some sign of who it was. Shocked disbelief was her only expression.

“Ricky?” Tears pooled in her eyes. “Is this really you?”

“It's me Rach, but she's dead.” There was a ragged intake of breath. “I don't know what to do now.”

“First things first, where are you?” While tears streamed down her face, Rachel's voice was amazingly calm. She spoke to her brother for a couple of minutes, and then ended with, “Just stay there, I'll be there to pick you up as soon as I can.” Hanging up the phone, she looked at him first. Relief and joy shined in her eyes. “He's alive. Oh my god. He's alive.” She stood up and scrambled to gather her things. “I have to go get him.”

“Hold up,” Chris stood. “You're not driving any-where in this state. Tell me where you need to go, and I'll take you.” He turned to Teya. “Thank you for dinner, and I'd like to continue our talk about how our Fractions can help each other, but I've got to go just now.”

Teya waved one hand. “Understood. You go take care of Rachel and Ricky, and we'll talk more later.”

Chris herded Rachel out the door and down the hall to her apartment as she muttered under her breath.

“He's alive. I have to go get him.” She kept repeating the same words, and Chris understood her shock.

“Where is he?” He waited while she collected her jacket and purse then he stopped her at the door. He put his hands on her shoulders and waited until she stopped muttering and met his gaze. “Rachel, where is Ricky?”

“The dam. He's at the dam.”

“Okay. Good, we can get to the dam. How do you get to the tunnels from here?”

Rachel looked at him wide-eyed and lost for a moment. Then he saw something in them click. She turned around and grabbed a set of keys off the hook behind the door.

“The elevator.”

––––––––

THE ELEVATOR RIDE SEEMED to take forever and opened into a tiny room, just a waiting room for the elevator. Rachel pushed out the door and stepped out into the dark cavern. As Chris followed her, lights flickered and lit the area. Rachel hurried a few steps down the enormous tunnel and pressed her hand against a scanner. After a few seconds, a large garage like door started rolling up. Once it was a few feet off the ground, Rachel ducked under the door and into the garage beyond.

“Here, you drive.” She tossed the keys she'd taken off the hook at him and went to the passenger side of one of two small SUV's parked inside. The shock of Ricky's call seemed to be wearing off, but Chris was going to keep an eye on her just in case. He slid in behind the wheel, started the car, and eased out of the garage and into the tunnel. It was the occasional moment like this that Chris was glad he'd prowled these tunnels for hours and days on end as a teenager and knew them well. Hitting the gas, he sped off to retrieve his mate's brother.