Page 99 of Unlocking Melodies

The words hit home, forcing me to really look at the people around me - all wearing different versions of the same fear I felt. Even Clark's carefully crafted nonchalance had cracks showing.

“The barn's isolated,” Jake said into the heavy silence. “But there are back roads we can use for approach. What we need is eyes inside before we move.”

“I can help with that.” Clark's voice had lost some of its affected drawl. “Know some people who owe me favors. Folks who can get close without raising alarms.”

I wanted to argue, to demand we move now, to do something besides stand here talking while Jimmy was God knows where. But Liam was right - rushing in would only put Jimmy in more danger.

“How long?” I managed through clenched teeth.

“Give me an hour.” Clark stood, all pretense of casualness gone. “Maybe less.”

“One hour.” I met his eyes, letting him see exactly what would happen if this was some kind of game. “Then we move, with or without your intel.”

He nodded once, already pulling out his phone as he headed for the door.

“Not so fast,” Liam interjected, his tone calm but firm. “We need a plan, Ethan. We can’t just rush in without knowing what we’re walking into.”

“Plan?” I couldn't keep the edge from my voice. “While we're sitting here planning, Jimmy's out there somewhere, probably terrified, and you want to what - draw up spreadsheets? Create a PowerPoint presentation on rescue operations?”

A warm weight suddenly landed in my lap - Luna, apparently deciding my expensive suit was the perfect place for a concerned cat intervention. Her purring felt like an engine against my chest as she headbutted my chin with surprising force.

“She's been restless all day,” Clark said softly from his corner. Despite only having opened his cat cafe a few days ago, he had this way of moving that seemed almost... otherworldly. Like gravity was more of a suggestion than a law. “Animals sensethings, you know. Especially when something's wrong with someone they love.”

Luna's purring intensified, as if agreeing. For a cat who usually treated my designer clothes like personal scratching posts, she was being unusually gentle.

“You'll make time for a plan,” Caleb insisted, though his voice softened watching Luna attempt to groom my tie. “Because rushing in like some corporate knight in shining suit isn't going to help Jimmy.”

I stroked Luna absently, trying to ground myself in her steady purring. “And what about Gary? He's the reason Jimmy's in this mess, isn't he? Where's dear old dad while his son's life is on the line?”

Jake shook his head. “Off the grid. But right now, Gary Reed isn't our priority. Jimmy is.”

“The barn's our best lead,” Clark said, rising from his chair with an almost floating grace. For someone who spent his days serving cat-themed lattes, he moved with an uncanny precision. “You'd be amazed what people let slip when they think they're just talking to the friendly cafe owner.” His eyes, an impossible shade of blue in the right light, sparkled with hidden knowledge. “Especially when they're distracted by kittens.”

Luna chirped softly, turning her golden eyes to Clark with an intensity that felt almost like communication. He smiled back - not his usual sunny cafe owner grin, but something older, wiser.

“How can you be sure?” I pressed, even as Luna kneaded my leg with surprising purpose.

“Let's just say I have a... special insight into things that try to stay hidden.” Clark's smile turned mysterious. “It's kind of my thing. You could say I was born for it.”

Something about the way he said it made me look closer - really look, past the cheerful exterior and cat-themed apronhe still wore. There was something else there, something that reminded me of old stories about guardians and watchers and...

Luna headbutted my chin again, effectively derailing that train of thought.

“Jimmy needs us,” Clark said simply, his voice carrying an authority that seemed to come from somewhere beyond his apparent years. “All of us. Even if some of us are more than we appear to be.”

The clock ticked away precious seconds, but somehow Clark's steady presence made them feel less like a countdown and more like gathering strength. Luna's purring had taken on an almost musical quality, a rhythm that seemed to match the determination building in the room.

“Time to decide, Ethan,” Clark said softly. “Do you trust us? All of us?”

Looking between them - Caleb with his grounding strength, Jake with his tactical mind, and Clark with his... whatever he was - I realized I didn't really have a choice. Jimmy was out there somewhere, probably giving his kidnappers lectures about proper cat care protocols, and he needed every ally we could get.

Even if some of those allies seemed to defy the laws of physics and had an unusually strong connection to cats.

Luna stretched in my lap, her golden eyes seeming to say “Finally, he's getting it.” Clark's answering smile was just a touch too bright to be entirely human.

Sometimes saving the people you love meant accepting help from beings you didn't fully understand. And right now, Jimmy needed all the otherworldly assistance we could get.

Besides, who was I to question someone's true nature? I was just a corporate titan sitting in a farmhouse with a lap full of surprisingly strategic cat, taking rescue planning advice from a cafe owner who occasionally seemed to forget about little things like gravity.

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