Page 118 of Master of My Heart

“We’ve had all the roads in and out of Boston and surrounding areas being watched almost since she was taken,” Ethan said, coming over to lean on the edge of the desk. “The guys are looking for her. We’ll find her.”

Ethan wasn’t out with the others because Chase needed someone around to help keep his head on straight. He normally kept his mind pretty firm, but this time... Several times, he’d felt like he was on the brink of losing it. Ethan knew him better than almost anyone and knew what to do to bring him back from the edge.

He smiled gratefully at Ethan, then turned back to Richard. “When did you last sense her?”

He looked thoughtful. “About eight, I think.”

Chase nodded. That would be just a little while after she was supposed to arrive home. “What could possibly block you from sensing her?”

“Several things. Being out of Boston would be the main one. But there are beings who can shield Immortality from being sensed. Other Immortals, for one. Elders can do it, too, but I’ve called the others. They don’t know anything about her, aside from what I’ve told them.”

Chase thought back to his conversation with Sabrina. “We were talking about her kidnapping at dinner. I told her how we’d searched and couldn’t find her. She said that maybe she was somewhere she couldn’t be found.” He looked at Richard. “Is it possible that someone was shielding her all that time?”

“It’s definitely possible. I just don’t understand why someone would be blocking her. Maybe her father... to protect her from us.”

“Her father was killed.”

Richard shook his head. “Her biological father. The Immortal.”

“Why would her biological father put her into a situation where she was abused?”

“There are good Immortals and bad Immortals, Chase,” Richard reminded him. “They sometimes have peculiar tastes. Maybe he wanted her for himself.”

Chase recoiled at the thought. “He’d do that to his own daughter?”

“Immortal fatherhood... Their reproduction process isn’t like humans. They don’t have DNA or anything like that. Even if they did, fatherhood isn’t a concept most of them embrace. They reproduce for a purpose, not to have a daughter to love.”

“Not all the time,” Chase protested. “What about Anna?” Alex’s wife had been born out of love.

Richard nodded. “True. But that’s not normal for them.”

“So you’re saying they’ll have a daughter just so they can use them?”

“Sometimes.”

Chase growled.

“Chase, don’t judge what you don’t understand. Sabrina was somehow adopted by human parents. Either they just happened to find her or someone brought her to them. Being raised in that environment allows the human side to develop in a manner that doesn’t naturally occur. There was a purpose in her birth. We just have to figure out what it is.”

Chase stood and walked to the French doors that looked out onto the city.

“Tom will be here in a few hours,” Richard continued. “He’s hoping we can locate her together.”

“If she’s still in Boston.”

“She couldn’t have gotten out of Boston so quickly. I’m pretty certain some sort of shield is keeping us from finding her. Together, maybe we can sense something.”

Ethan’s phone beeped. “Corey’s almost here,” Ethan said, looking at the message. “He can start working his computer magic, if he hasn’t already.”

Knowing Corey, he already had everything up on his computer and was searching for any anomalies that might lead them to Sabrina. If there was any sort of computer presence, he’d find it. But Chase didn’t think technology would help. If what Richard said was true, this was a supernatural issue, not a human one. And Chase had no idea how to battle in the supernatural realm.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Sabrina woke up screaming, feeling like acid ran through her veins. She lay on her stomach on a relatively soft surface, everything hurting inside her. She had the taste of cum in her mouth. She swallowed several times, trying to rid her tongue of the taste. Gradually, the burn died away and she opened her eyes to the same dimly lit room as before. She sat up slowly, wincing at the pain in her joints.

She sighed in relief when she didn’t sense anyone else in the room and swung her legs around to the edge of the bed and stood. Her legs gave out and she fell heavily to the floor.

The door across the room opened, giving Sabrina a tiny glimpse of sunlit nature beyond it before Neil walked inside and slammed the door shut behind him. He looked amused as he watched her struggle to her feet. When he reached her, he grabbed a fistful of hair and dragged her back onto the bed.

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