Storm settled Kit at the giant conference table. Normally he’d offer her tea, but he could not be more social than he was managing at the moment.
“Isak told me what happened,” Kit started in. “He also said your people are refusing his help.”
Digging deep for the manners Kit deserved and Evalle would expect of him, Storm explained, “We don’t want humans involved.”
“Too late. They are involved.” Kit leaned on the arm she’d placed on the table. “That’s why I’m here. You can’t refuse help when we need to find Evalle.”
Was she really lecturing him? “I will find her.”
“God save me from hardheaded men,” she muttered. “You aren’t the only one who cares about her.”
That just hit the wrong nerve for Storm. “Your son has no claim to her. She’s my mate.”
“He doesn’t want Evalle,” Kit said with plenty of exasperation. “He thinks of her only as a friend. My son is lucky Evalle didn’t smoke him over how he treated Adrianna, but he’ll have to fix that on his own. In the meantime, Evalle is our friend. She’s my friend.” Tears pooled in Kit’s eyes, but that woman did not break easily and would not allow a drop to fall. Kit added, “In fact, I saw Evalle right before this happened.”
Storm sat up. “When?”
“Very early this morning. She and Adrianna came to investigate a report of something preternatural in the woods near Chattahoochee Bend State Park. It was Jasper.”
He gave her a confused look. “Who?”
Kit explained how Jasper had been the forklift operator in their weapons facility, and had shifted into a Rías the first time Evalle visited.
Storm recalled that story. Yet another time that Evalle had been in danger, but still protected the humans around her.
Rushing to finish, Kit said, “I’ve been trying to train him so he can integrate into this world.”
Storm’s mouth opened and closed. “You’ve been ... are you nuts?”
“No. I’m actually making headway. Evalle was impressed.” She shook that off. “Back to Evalle. We don’t have time to visit.”
With this miniature general berating him, Storm had a fleeting moment of empathy for Isak.
Wouldn’t Evalle find that amusing? Just thinking about her being happy gutted him. The hell with past issues. He was not turning down help from any direction.
But he wanted to make one thing clear to Kit. “If you share information on humans involved, I can’t promise they’ll make it to a court of law, human or otherwise.”
“If I had them standing in front of me right now they’d beg for death,” she countered.
Alrighty then. “In that case, thank you for coming by. What have you got?”
For the first time since opening the ward for her, Kit’s face lost its fury, but was no less serious. “Two humans were involved. Our people have been combing through the traffic cam footage. We have facial recognition software. Once we have identities, you’ll know. In the meantime, Isak has everyone hunting for them. One thing though is that he can’t find the white van that was on the traffic video from that location.”
“That’s because it’s sitting in my garage.”
“Hmm. We need access to the van.”
Storm told her, “I’ve gone over it and have two human scents.”
“But do you have any fingerprints?”
Damn, she had him there. “No. We don’t work with fingerprints.”
“We do and we’re good at it. Will you let me bring in one of our team to pull prints and any DNA they can find?”
This hunt had clusterfuck written all over it, but Storm wouldn’t waste time trying to turn chaos into an orderly plan. He’d just manage it so that everyone pulled in the same direction.
He nodded. “I’m not going to be here long. Your person will have to get in and out before I leave.”
“He will. Now, what are you doing about the kids?”
“I’m ... ” Storm paused. What was he going to do?
“I know you are out of your mind worried about Evalle. So here’s the plan for our teens,” Kit said in the voice of a commanding officer. “You tell them whatever you want, but you’re going to leave the ward open so I can come and go. They can all go home with me—”
“Quinn won’t go for that for Lanna. This is the safest place for her to be and the twins won’t leave her here alone.”
“Good.” She smiled, sitting back. “That makes me proud of those two boys. In that case, I’m staying here while you’re gone. These teens will need someone to be here with them if ... this doesn’t turn out well.”
This woman was some powerhouse.
She’d blown in here and taken control without a shot fired. No wonder Evalle held Isak’s mom in such high regard.
Now that they were no longer on opposite sides of a line in the sand, her whole demeanor had eased. She gave Storm a compassionate look that matched the empathy wafting from her.
“Evalle loves you beyond anything in this world. You look like a man who has lost everything, but you haven’t. That young lady will battle to survive just to return to you. Keep your faith solid for both of you.”
That sounded like what Daegan had said and words his father would have given at this time. “Thanks, Kit. Sorry if I was not exactly friendly when you showed up.”
She huffed. “That was nothing. I deal with men all day long and I always get my way.”
He bet she did. “Once I head out with our team to track Evalle, I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. I will leave all of you a way to get out in case of emergency, but this is a stronghold against almost all beings. I have an additional apartment you’re welcome to use while here and all the apartments are stocked with food and other necessities. If you want to make yourself comfortable with some tea, everything is over there.” He pointed to the side. “I’ve got to talk to the kids.”
“Go ahead.”
He climbed two flights of stairs, bypassing the level with the apartments until he got the most difficult visit over first. When he stopped, he was on the level dedicated entirely as a playroom for Feenix, Evalle’s pet gargoyle who spent most of his time there when she was not home.
Storm and the little gargoyle had reached a point of acceptance, because they both loved Evalle and wanted her happy. Feenix had an internal clock for daylight and got antsy when Evalle wasn’t home by morning.
The sun had already begun rising.
Storm stopped at the door to the playroom and dropped his head against it as a new worry drilled into his mind.
Would whoever grabbed her know that Evalle couldn’t be exposed to the sun?
Storm couldn’t spend minutes on what-ifs.
The faster he told Feenix that Evalle had to go to Treoir for a few days, the quicker he could get hunting. Evalle would agree with the white lie, even though Storm would pay a price for lying. His ability to detect a lie was countered by a backlash on his body when he did not tell the truth.
But for her, he would do his best to leave Feenix as at peace as possible.
Opening the door, he expected Feenix to be chasing one of the many whirligig toys Storm had created for him that ran on majik.
Or even playing with the big flat-screen television Storm had installed and customized so Evalle’s two-foot-tall critter could operate it with his pudgy, four-fingered paws.
He hadn’t expected to find Feenix standing just inside the door, having abandoned his stuffed alligator toy, which he’d left lying on his favorite beanbag.
Feenix’s normally bright-orange eyes were dull and drooping. He whispered, “Evalle.”
Oh, hell. How did this little guy know something was up?
Storm started in, “Evalle had to go to Treoir and ... ”
Feenix shook his head slowly from side to side. A fat tear rolled down one green, leathery cheek.
Storm dropped to his knees. “Come here, buddy.”
Standing very still at first, Feenix frowned with deep concentration, but over time he’d learned that Storm was not the enemy. Storm had created a place for Feenix to live happily with him and Evalle, but her pet did not trust easily.
The little creature waddled over to Storm and stepped into his arms. Storm had never held a gargoyle, but this one was warm and soft.
Petting Feenix on the back, Storm swallowed hard and said, “Evalle was captured.”
Feenix made a sound that broke his heart. He kept explaining, “I’m taking a team of powerful friends to help me find her.”
“I go,” Feenix said in his tiny voice.
“No, Feenix. If I let anything happen to you it would kill Evalle.”
“Evalle mine.”
Storm smiled at the word that had annoyed him so many times in the early days when Feenix did not want Storm there. “Yes, she’s yours, but I love her, too. Will you watch our home so I can go save her?”
Feenix sniffled, which was something, considering he could torch this room with his fiery snout. “’Kay.”
“Thank you.” Storm hadn’t realized how much he’d been dreading this until relief swept across him from Feenix agreeing to work with him. “I’m leaving soon, but Lanna and the boys will be here. So will Kit. I think Evalle told you about the woman the boys stayed with for a while. That woman is Kit and a friend of Evalle’s.”
“’Kay.”
The little guy didn’t have much vocabulary, but he said a lot with one broken word.
Easing away from Feenix, Storm stood.
Turning away, Feenix walked with a sad gait to his beanbag where he sank into it and pulled his stuffed gator to him.
Storm could see how Evalle had gotten so attached to Feenix.
He had just closed the door and started back down the stairs to the second landing when he felt power move toward him. That would be Lanna. He’d become accustomed to the energy she exuded.
She waited at the bottom of the stairs on the next level down. “What is wrong with Evalle?” she whispered.
No secrets around here. Lanna had a crazy amount of power, and even she didn’t know for sure what she was, but it was more than a witch.
For all the times he’d used gentle words with Evalle, he was struggling to keep his voice even right now. “She’s in a jam and I have to go help her.”
“Is not truth,” Lanna accused.
“So now you’re a lie detector, too?”
“Not like you, Storm, but I can tell. Evalle has been in trouble before. Is bad this time. You would not be here if you knew where she was.”
He couldn’t argue with that logic. “You’re right. She’s been kidnapped and I have no idea where she is.”
Lanna’s face started to crumble.
Storm rushed ahead to console her. “But I will find her.” He wished he could believe his own words. Doubt was having a field day with his mind right now.
The nineteen-year-old pulled her emotions together. She’d shown scary control after having been attacked by a crazy wizard who had been determined to drain her power.
Lanna stated, “I can help.”
“Can you find someone in another realm?”
She frowned. “Evalle is not here?”
“I don’t think so.” He finished descending the steps to stand next to her. “Best we can tell, she was teleported away and I ... ” He took a breath. “I can’t feel her at all. If she was in the human realm, I would at least feel her as my mate.”
Nibbling on her lips, Lanna said, “You give me something very important to her and I will tell you ... what I can.”
She’d stopped short of saying she’d confirm if Evalle was alive or dead.
Storm had the emerald in his pocket.
Why was he hesitating to hand it to Lanna? Because as much as he tried to be realistic about all this, he wasn’t ready to hear that Evalle was dead.
The air backed up in his lungs.
Lanna reached out and hugged him. “We will find her, Storm.”
He patted her on the back. When she stepped back, he sucked up his courage and withdrew the emerald.
Her eyes rounded in horror. “Is that the ... ”
“Yes. The one I put on her so I could find her.”
She extended a trembling hand.
He started to hand her the emerald then lifted the stone out of her reach. “Wait. This might harm you like that braided hair bracelet Quinn had that burned your hand.”
Gifting him with a watery smile, she said, “It will not harm me. That emerald was bound with love on both sides.”
Accepting the confidence in Lanna’s voice, Storm placed the stone in her hand, then held his breath.
Sandwiching the stone between her small hands, Lanna closed her eyes and nothing happened at first. Then her whole body shook. She moaned, “No, is bad, no.”
“Lanna, open your eyes.” His heart thrummed rapidly.
When she looked at him through tear-flooded eyes, she said, “Evalle is alive.”
He leaned over, propping his hands on his thighs to keep from folding to his knees. She was alive.
“But you must hurry, Storm.”
He jerked his head up. “Why?”
“Her energy very weak. I barely feel it. She is alive, but not well. Almost like ... hurt and not healing.”