“He’s unconscious,” said Ruben.

“He’s lucky he’s not dead,” I growled, heaving in deep breaths and trying to come back from the maddening rage. “How’d you get here so fast?”

“My grim got another signal right after you left.” Ruben let me go and nodded toward Adam. “I’ve got him. Go to Isadora.”

Isadora.

I wrenched away and marched to her. I knelt in front of the mattress, trembling with uncontrollable fear at the thought of her in harm’s way. Ruben had arrived on scene first, his speed much faster than his other men. He was older and stronger than them.

I brushed her hair away from her face, which had fallen from the ponytail. Moving my hands to her neck, I checked for new wounds with trembling hands, but I found none and breathed a shaky sigh of relief.

By the time I’d gotten my shit together and pulled her into my arms, Ruben had zip-tied Adam’s wrists, though he was still comatose and would be for a while if the sting on my knuckles had anything to say about it.

Ruben crooned to the girl paralyzed with fear, “It’s all over, Kara. You’re safe now.” She didn’t believe him, but then a wash of glamour draped the room as he pulled her into his web. It was necessary. These girls had been through an ordeal and would need glamour to wipe the fear away so Ruben could get them out of here and to a supernatural healer. Then they’d need their memories erased before they were delivered back to their families.

“I’m taking her home,” I told Ruben as he removed the restraints around Kara’s wrists.

“I’ll text Jules and tell her you’re on your way.” He stopped and looked up at me. “Is she unharmed?”

Meaning, did that fucker have time to bite her?

“She is. Though she’ll have a headache from the heavy dose of Rohypnol he obviously used on her.”

He gritted his teeth and pulled his phone out to send a text, Kara now sleeping from his glamour. “Jules is going to kill me.”

“What’s new?” I asked, trying for levity now that Isadora was cradled safely in my arms.

Ruben had a fucking mess to clean up and set straight with the vampires under his district. And no doubt, Jules would give him hell for letting it get this out of hand.

Roland, Gabriel, and two others suddenly appeared, a gust of wind coming with them. They quickly scanned the open garage.

Ruben nodded to the container next door. “Get the other girls. Use glamour to put them to sleep. They’ll fear your intentions. Let’s get them out of here. Gabriel, text Barbara and tell her we need the cleaning crew down here ASAP.”

“Done.”

Then an unexpected but familiar face appeared in the torn doorway. In stepped the black-haired, black-eyed grim who’d helped us track and catch these assholes. He walked into the enclosure, surveying the situation, especially Adam, bloody and unconscious on the floor.

“Nice work.” He seemed pleased and impressed by my carnage. Not sure what to think other than I liked this grim.

He stepped over to me where I crouched with Isadora half across my lap, her head in the crook of my arm. I held out my other hand for him to shake. “I can’t thank you enough for your help.” And I sure as hell meant it.

“Looks like you didn’t need it in the end.” He leaned over and shook my hand. “Henry Blackwater.” Then he exited, pulling out a cigarette to light as he watched the rest of the rescue unfold.

I glanced at Ruben as I lifted Isadora in my arms, snickering at that strange exchange. “Did you see that?” I’d finally gotten the grim’s name.

“You have a grim’s admiration. Not an easy feat,” said Ruben, grinning while wrapping the sleeping woman Kara in a blanket.

With that, I nodded to Ruben, then took off, tracing as quickly as possible back along the interstate shoulder. Once I’d gotten off the interstate, I took backroads through neighborhoods to finally make it to Magazine Street and then the doorstep of the Savoie house. As if she sensed me, the door was wrenched open, Jules standing there with a furious glare. Thankfully, she didn’t bite my head off. Just said, “Come with me.”

I followed her upstairs to Isadora’s bedroom, all five sisters right on my heels.

“What the fuck happened?” demanded Violet, hot on my tail.

“Is she okay?” demanded Livvy, still wearing the dress she had to the bar.

“He dosed her with Rohypnol, but she’ll be okay,” I said as I entered Isadora’s bedroom and set her gently on the bed.

Clara had already peeled back the covers. Evie stood on the other side, worry creasing her brow.

“Clara, go call Tia and get her here at once. I know she’s on standby for the other girls, but I want her here.”

Clara zipped out of the room.

I leaned forward and put my palm to Isadora’s forehead. “It should wear off soon.” I wouldn’t admit that I was worried, too. Knowing Adam, he was aware she was a witch and probably dosed her too much to ensure she’d go out quickly. The thought of him snatching her right underneath me, the fear she must’ve felt before she went under, had my blood boiling again. I fisted one hand, relishing the sting on my knuckles from pounding his face.

“You seem to care quite a bit about our sister, Devraj,” said Livvy, her big blue eyes focused on the way I had one hand on Isadora’s cheek, the other spread across the blanket over her torso.

“Because he does,” said Violet on a heavy exhale.

Evie, Livvy, and Jules all swiveled their heads to her. Violet just shrugged. “What? I’m a Seer. They belong to each other.”

At that moment, I loved that foul-mouthed sister almost as much as I loved Isadora. Then I looked at my girl, remembering the Tarot reading Violet had done for me. She’d said my determination had to match my intentions. Otherwise, I’d lose.

She was right. And there were a few things I had to do to make that happen. She’d given me a gift with spilling her feelings onto a piece of parchment, weaving my name with the magic in her heart. Now it was my turn.

I leaned closer, pressed a long kiss to her forehead, and then stood and marched for the door.

Violet grabbed my arm as I passed her. “Where are you going, Stygorn?”

I glanced back, recognizing that sting in my sternum for what it was. The clenching of my heart. The longing to be with this woman for all time. I huffed out a breath and turned back to Violet. “Need to take care of some things.” Then I gave Violet a wink. “So she knows I’m all in.”

Her eyes gleamed, sparkling with her Seer magic, as she smirked. “It’s about fucking time.”

With that resounding vote of confidence, I set off to find Ruben.

Chapter 32

~ISADORA~

I woke to the sound of low voices and light laughter. When I peeked open my eyes, the sunlight pouring through my open balcony doors had me squeezing them shut again against a piercing pain.

“There she is,” said Tia, hopping over and sitting on the edge of my bed. “How do you feel, sweetie?”

“Like crap,” I muffled, my head pounding like mad. “Nauseous.”

The headache was so bad I wanted to vomit. Tia put both her hands on either side of my head, cradling me in her palms.

“You need a little Tia love, my friend,” she said sweetly and then washed me with her Conduit power.

“Oh, my God,” I moaned, the relief so fast and so wonderful my adrenaline spiked. “That feels so good.”

“That’s what Marcus says all the time.”

I giggled, the painful throbbing having vanished with her magical hands. “You still got that Italian stallion?” I asked, opening my eyes to find Jules and Clara sitting at the foot of the bed, both smiling.

“Yes indeed. Once you’ve got a good man, girl, you don’t let him go.”

I scooted up to sit against the headboard, my heart lurching at the realization that one person was definitely absent from the room.

“How’d I get back here? What happened with Adam?”

Jules sat forward on the chair she’d brought in from Evie’s bedroom next door. “Devraj, Ruben, and his men were able to track the trace to where Adam had taken you.”

“Track the trace? I didn’t know that was possible.”

“Neither did I until very recently,” Jules said calmly. “Apparently, Ruben knows a grim who has this technology I wasn’t aware of before all of this.”

“Oh,” piped up Clara. “The cute one who’s always on the corner of Ruben’s bookstore?”

Cute? The grim I’d seen hanging on that corner was seriously dark and mysterious, striking in his sharp features. I’d never describe him as cute.

“Yeah, that one,” said Jules. “Anyway, he followed the trace where Adam had brought you to a storage unit where the other girls were.”

I sat up straighter, afraid for them. “How were they? Have they been healed? How much damage was done to them?” My heart ached for those young women, having to live through the nightmare of captivity and forced blood-drinking.

Tia put a calming hand on top of mine. “Aunt Beryl and I took care of them. And the guys used glamour to wipe the painful memories away before delivering them to their parents’ doorsteps.

“Yeah, you should see all the wonderful articles being posted to the Internet,” said Clara, beaming with joy. “The happy tears and reunions. It’s been so amazing.”

“How long have I been out?” I asked.

“Two days,” said Tia. “You had a lot of Rohypnol in your system. I’ve been slowly purging it and had to keep you under longer than normal.”

“Two days?”

And Devraj wasn’t here. No, he’d be packing. Hell, maybe he was already gone. No. He wouldn’t leave without telling me goodbye, would he? Tears welled in my eyes. Tia leaned forward and pulled me into a hug.

“Don’t worry, my sweet friend. All is well.”