In his puma form, Blade was ferocity and liquid speed combined. Leaping over rotted logs and ramming his way through the tangled undergrowth, he headed toward the center of the Wildlands.
Fucking hell. This was entirely his fault.
He should have returned directly to Valli when he was done meeting with Raphael. No. He should never have left the cottage in the first place. Not without her, anyway. He’d been foolish. He didn’t need fancy dinners and bouquets of flowers to impress a female.
Even though he’d truly believed she’d have loved it.
But in doing so, he’d wasted over an hour arranging the romantic dinner, only to return home to find that Valli was not there.
At first he’d assumed she’d gone for a walk. Since her arrival, she’d spent a few hours every day strolling through the lush, exotic beauty of the Wildlands, sometimes with his cat beside her. But when he’d decided once again to join her, he quickly discovered that she hadn’t headed toward the waterfalls or the pretty grotto that was built in the middle of a nearby marsh. Her scent trailed farther out. In fact, it had led him past the bogs that he’d warned her could be dangerous to a human, and then out of the Wildlands.
An expanding sense of concern had spread through him as he’d stepped through the magical barrier that protected his homeland and instantly transformed into his male form. Valli had never left the cottage without telling him where she was going or having him beside her. And while he’d told her early on that there was a nearby town if she ever wanted to shop or just spend time with other humans, she’d never expressed an interest in going.
Still, it wasn’t until he’d realized that her scent simply disappeared when it reached the narrow dirt road that real panic set in.
Calling on his inner cat, he’d run full speed back through the barriers and headed straight for the Headquarters of the Pantera. Valli had been taken. He was going to need help to get her back.
He skirted the edge of the communal center and headed up the steps of the Headquarters that were still under construction after being destroyed by one of Benson’s soldiers.
He was so intent on reaching Raphael that he didn’t notice the male who was just exiting the double doors.
“What the hell?” Hiss muttered in surprise, bracing himself as Blade nearly rammed him down.
With a surge of magic, Blade shifted back to his human form.
He’d intended to find Raph, but Hiss was even better. No one in the Wildlands knew more about the enemy.
Reaching out, he grasped Hiss by the shoulders. “She’s been taken.”
Hiss frowned. “Who’s been taken?”
“Valli.”
Hiss stilled, the air prickling with the heat of his cat. “Tell me what’s happened.”
Blade was forced to take a deep breath. His panic was threatening to overwhelm him, something he couldn’t let happen. Not when Valli needed him the most.
“I returned to the cottage and she was gone. No messages, no phone call.”
Hiss blinked, clearly puzzled by his explanation. “That doesn’t mean anything happened to her. She could be out exploring the Wildlands.”
Blade gave a sharp shake of his head. “I followed her trail to the road leading into La Pierre.”
Hiss remained unconvinced. “Surely she’s allowed to come and go as she pleases, isn’t she?”
“Of course she is,” Blade snapped.
“Then let her have some space, mon ami,” Hiss urged in gentle tones, clearly assuming that Blade was simply being an over-possessive male. “An hour or so in town and she’ll be ready to come home to you. She’s not wanted by anyone. Not in any danger.”
Blade released a frustrated growl. “You don’t understand. She’s disappeared.”
“From La Pierre?”
“She never made it there.”
Hiss was once again on alert, his expression tightening. “Explain.”
“I followed her scent to the road and then it just vanished.”
Hiss took a moment to consider the possibilities. “She must have gotten into a vehicle.”
“Or more likely forced into a vehicle.”
Hiss held his gaze. “Could you detect any sign of a struggle?”
Blade jerked as if he’d been struck. Hell, the words were worse than a physical blow. The male had managed to touch a nerve that was brutally raw.
Dropping his hands, he took a step back. “She didn’t leave me,” he rasped, a sick fear rolling through his stomach. “Not willingly.”
Perhaps sensing that Blade was at a snapping point, Hiss lifted a hand.
“Okay. Let’s check the surveillance videos,” he said in soothing tones. “They’ll show us what happened.”
Blade gave a short nod, allowing the male to lead him through one of the double doors into the massive room that would eventually be a reception area, but for now was being used by the Geeks to monitor the numerous computers that were set on long tables.
Once they realized that there were humans out in the world kidnapping and abusing Pantera, they’d poured a massive amount of resources into tracking down their enemies. Magic was all well and good, but nothing replaced Pentagon-grade technology. And as an added bonus, they’d installed a kick-ass surveillance system that kept constant watch on the perimeter of their homeland.
Ignoring the questioning looks, Hiss and Blade crossed toward a shadowed corner. It was close enough to noon for many of the Geeks to be with their families to share lunch, which meant it was easy to find a couple computers that weren’t being used.
Hiss sat down on a swivel chair and typed in his password. Blade didn’t protest. He was a Suit, not a Geek, which meant he was unfamiliar with the security system.
“What area did she leave the Wildlands?” Hiss demanded, tapping on the keyboard to bring up images from the various cameras.
“The southern quadrant,” Blade said. “Near the bogs.”
Hiss leaned forward, concentrating on the monitor as he pulled up the video and then pressed the button that would reset it to early that morning. Then, putting the video back in motion, they watched in silence as the dawn chased away the shadows and the landscape was washed in gold.
The minutes passed, stretching Blade’s patience until he thought he might snap. At last they could see the bushes that marked the boundary of the Wildlands being pushed aside and a slender female step into view of the camera.
Blade’s heart twitched at the sight of her. It’d only been a few hours, but already he felt as if he had a hole in his soul, one that would only be healed when Valli was home.
And in his arms.
“There she is,” Hiss murmured.
Blade watched as she hesitantly walked toward the road, as if she was inwardly debating what she wanted to do. Then her head turned, as if she was startled by a sudden noise.
“There’s a car approaching.”
They both leaned even closer to the screen, watching as a man stopped the vehicle and stepped out to walk directly toward Valli.
“Do you recognize him?” Hiss asked.
Blade furrowed his brow. The man’s lack of grace proved he was a human. He was average height and weight, with no distinguishable features. He looked remarkably like a hundred other humans. But Blade had a talent for remembering faces, even the most mundane ones. He would know if he’d seen the man before.
“No.”
His hands clenched as the stranger reached out to grab Valli.
“It doesn’t look like she’s fighting him,” Hiss pointed out in wary tones as Valli allowed herself to be urged into the passenger seat of the car.
He should be wary.
Inside Blade, his cat was roaring with fury, thrashing against his skin in an effort to be released so it could hunt down the man and kill him.
His male half wasn’t any happier, but he wasn’t going to give in to mindless rage. Until he knew exactly what had happened to Valli, he was focused on tracking her down and bringing her back to the Wildlands.
“He might have threatened to hurt her if she tried to get away,” he said, a sharp edge in his voice. “She would’ve done anything to protect our child.”
“True,” Hiss hastily agreed. “And she doesn’t look particularly happy.”
Blade pointed toward the monitor. “Can you zoom in on the front of the car?”
“Hold on.” Hiss did more tapping on the keyboard and the screen was filled with the chrome grill and bumper.
A grim smile touched Blade’s lips as he took a seat at the computer next to Hiss. He didn’t know much about the security system, but he was an expert spy. Being a Diplomat meant knowing everything possible about the people who could be an asset or a threat to his people.
He quickly logged into the system and typed in the car’s license number. He had several backdoors into government databases, which made it easy enough to identify the owner of the vehicle.
“Shit,” he breathed as the information popped up on the screen.
Hiss moved his chair to glance at Blade’s computer. “What did you find?”
“The vehicle belongs to Dr. Scott Richards.”
“Should I recognize the name?” Hiss demanded.
“He’s the doctor who convinced Valli to go to the clinic in Baton Rouge.”
“Oh, fuck me, no.” Hiss slammed his hand on the table. “He must work for Benson.”
Blade shoved himself out of his chair. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?” Hiss asked as Blade led him toward the door.
“To have a word with the good doctor.”
“To have a word with him or to kill him?” Hiss asked as he lengthened his strides to keep up with Blade.
“First the words, and then the killing,” Blade said, then he growled, low and feral. “On second thought, maybe just the killing. Words are overrated.”