Chapter Seventeen
“And so, Evie and her ex-boyfriend, Dick—”
“Richard,” Evie corrected, “His name is Richard.”
Selena took another sip of wine and ignored her. “So, anyway, Dick,” she emphasized the name, “broke up over the phone with her all the way from Kansas, for like, the umpteenth time and I thought I’d cheer her up.”
“By bringing her to a male strip club?” Luna asked.
“Hell yeah,” Meredith raised her hand and Selena heartily high-fived her.
Luna shook her head. Their quick lunch had somehow turned into a three-hour affair, and Selena had already finished half a bottle of wine by herself. Totally sloshed, the redhead decided it would be fun to reveal all her best friend’s secrets, much to Evie’s mortification.
“Selena,” Evie warned.
“C’mon, Evie, be a good sport,” Selena said. “Look, we’re trying to cheer up poor Luna. I’m sure she’ll want to hear the rest of this story.”
Luna chuckled. Growing up, she’d never had any close female friends. She never thought it was such a loss, but now she realized how nice it was to have people she could talk to and make her laugh. “Yes, please.” She took a bite of the tiramisu. “Hmm, try this first, though. It’s heavenly.”
“Now, that is heavenly,” Selena said as Dante Muccino came out of the kitchen to talk to some staff members. He was showing them something under one of the tables, and he bent over, showing off a well-formed backside.
Evie rolled her eyes. “Selena, you’re impossible.”
“What?”
“He’s a Lycan. I thought you said you’re—”
“Pshaw, a girl can dream, right?”
“Wait,” Meredith interrupted. “Tell us the next part of the story of how Evie ended up at Merlin’s and smacked Connor with her handbag.”
“Oh, right,” Selena giggled. “So, I told Evie to meet me at Merlin’s that night and—”
“Selena!” Evie hissed and slapped her hand over the redhead’s mouth.
Selena pulled the hand away. “Evie, what the he—llo, boys!” She greeted brightly.
Luna turned her head. Connor and Quinn were standing right behind them. Both wore serious expressions on their faces.
“Have you seen Killian?” Quinn asked.
“Not since this morning,” Luna said. “I mean, early this morning. He left while I was asleep.” A cold dread filled the growing pit in her stomach.
Meredith’s back stiffened. “What’s wrong?”
The two Lycans looked at each other then Quinn spoke. “We just came from the office. The doors were open and the lights were on, but Killian wasn’t there. It was like he just left all of a sudden.”
“Or was taken,” Connor added.
“No,” Luna cried. Selena put a comforting arm around Luna, but it did nothing to stop the icy fear filling her veins.
“Maybe he just went out?” Evie offered. “Were there signs of a break-in or struggle?”
“No,” Connor said.
“Shit,” Meredith stood up with such force that the table shook. “You know Killian wouldn’t just leave like that.”
“What’s happening?” Luna asked. Her hand went to her belly. The baby was suddenly awake and she ran her palms over her stomach in a soothing manner.
Quinn let out a breath. “I think something may have happened to Killian.”
***
They all headed back to Lone Wolf Security to try and piece together what happened to Killian. As soon as she saw his empty office with all the lights on, dread crept into Luna’s heart. No, she told herself. It couldn’t be.
“What was he working on?” Meredith asked as Quinn sat down in front of Killian’s laptop.
“Hmmm…looks like he was doing more research on—” He stopped suddenly, but his eyes clashed with Luna’s.
“What is it?” she asked, running to his side.
“He was looking into your father,” Quinn said. “And into your mother’s employers,” he added quickly.
“He knew about my dad?” Luna asked, her voice quivering.
“I’m sorry Luna.” Quinn lowered his head. “I had to do a background check to find out who was trying to kidnap you.”
“But this doesn’t make sense.” Luna sank down on a chair, a look of disbelief on her face. “My dad’s serving a life sentence. I doubt he even knows where I am.”
“It was just an angle.” Quinn stood up. “Wait here.” He leaped up from the chair and left the office, then came back seconds later with his laptop in tow. “We had security cameras installed just yesterday outside the building. I haven’t had a chance to test them yet but…” He tapped the keys, and a window popped up on the screen, showing the outside of the building. “Let me scroll back…and there.” Quinn swiveled his screen around. He tapped on the space bar, and the screen showed Killian running out of the building to a white van across the street. He opened the van’s door and then suddenly collapsed. A man slipped out of the passenger seat and pushed Killian all the way into the back of the van, then shut the door. As soon as the man went back inside, the van sped off.
“Motherfucker!” Connor slammed his fist into the wall, his hand going right into the plaster. Quinn shut the laptop lid and began to pace. Meredith, meanwhile, was taking deep breaths. Evie and Selena looked at each other with worry.
“No!” Luna cried, clutching at her belly.
Selena put an arm around her. “Are you okay?”
“Killian…” The movement inside of her grew more restless as if the baby knew she was in distress. Someone had taken Killian, but who? How could they have fooled him?
“Has anyone found Killian’s phone?” Quinn asked.
Meredith took her phone out of her purse and tapped on the screen. “I can’t hear it anywhere. He’s not answering either. But it’s ringing.”
“Good.” Quinn set his laptop down and began rapidly typing. “Bingo!” He raised his fist in victory. “I’m glad Creed Security issued us those super phones. I can track him. It looks like they’re still on the move. Heading East.”
“Let’s go,” Connor said.
“I’m coming with you,” Luna said, as she stood up.
“No way.” Connor looked at her, his face dead serious. “You’ll stay right here with Meredith and the girls.”
“Hey, wait a minute!” Meredith put her hands on her hips. “What do you mean ‘with Meredith’? I’m coming with you, dick-weed.”
“You can’t—”
“He’s my brother!”
“And he’s my mate,” Luna said. “So I’m coming too.”
“Are you insane? No fucking way.”
“Luna and I are indestructible,” Meredith reminded them.
“For fuck’s sake.” Connor’s jaw clenched, and his eyes hardened. “You two are going to stay here, and that’s final.”
Quinn opened his laptop. “We should follow them now and see what they’re taking him. Then, we can figure out what to do afterward. Evie,” Quinn turned to the brunette, “call Creed and tell him what happened. We’ll be right back after our scouting mission and regroup with him.”
“Got it,” Evie said, racing to her desk.
“Now, let’s go track that van down. You all stay here and wait for word.” Before any of them could protest, the two Lycans left.
“Are we really just going to stay here and do nothing?” Luna asked, wringing her hands. Killian was in trouble, and she just couldn’t sit around.
“My brothers are stubborn, but I’m smarter and more evil,” Meredith cackled. She tapped a message into her phone and a few seconds later, Daric materialized beside her.
“What’s wrong, min kjære?” he asked, a worried mask marring his face. “Is it the baby? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she pouted. “It’s my stubborn, asshole brothers.”
“Holy shit balls!” Selena exclaimed, her jaw dropping. “You’re a blessed warlock! What else can you do?”
Daric stared at the two women for a moment, and then a small smile began to tug at the corner of his lips. His ocean-colored eyes twinkled mischievously. “Hello, ladies. Nice to finally meet you. I’m Daric, Meredith’s husband.”
“And baby-daddy,” she added. “Anyway, Daric, Killian’s in trouble.” She relayed what happened to her husband, who listened intently. “…And they just went off like that! The nerve.”
“I’m sure Connor and Quinn are quite capable of doing a reconnaissance mission.” Daric eyed his wife suspiciously. “All right, what do you want?”
“We,” Meredith emphasized, looping her arm through Luna’s, “want to come with them.”
Daric crossed his arms over his chest. “And then what?”
“Well, we rescue Killian, that’s what!” Meredith grabbed her husband’s arm. “Please? Can you help us?”
The warlock let out a resigned sigh. “Fine. What is your plan?”
“Aww, thanks, baby!” Meredith gave Daric a kiss on the cheek. “Here’s what we’re going to do...”