Page 136 of Visions, Paws, and Claws

“That’s Vic. Has to be. He looks about twelve.” Crank’s breathing hitched. “He’s alive?”

“Yes. He’s locked in what appears to be a storeroom.” He paused. “He appears to be okay. Quite calm.”

Jake sat up. “Seth? Expand your horizon. See beyond the walls. You can do it.” His skin tingled and his heartbeat raced.

Seth frowned. “Wow. It’s… it looks like a castle. There’s a stream around it.”

“Are you talking about a moat?” Aelryn asked.

Seth nodded. “Yeah, that’s it.” He paused. “There are people working here. I can hear them talking, but… they sound a little strange.” He frowned. “Ithinkthey’re British, but it’s the weirdest accent. I’m having trouble understanding them.”

Jake gaped at him. “You tracked him all the way to the UK? You areawesome.”

Seth flushed. “I think that’s the farthest I’ve managed so far.”

Saul leaned forward. “Can you repeat what you’re hearing,exactlyas you hear it?”

“I think so.”

Saul pulled his phone from his pocket and stabbed at the keyboard. “Eve? I want you to listen to Seth, then tell me wherethis UK accent is from.” He snorted. “No, I haven’t heard it. I’m just cutting out the middleman and coming directly to you. Putting Seth on now.” He held out the phone, and Seth repeated the strange-sounding words. When he finished, Saul brought the phone to his ear. “Well?” He listened for a moment, then grinned. “You beauty. Thank you.” He finished the call. “Okay, that narrows the field a bit. Eve says we should be looking in Lancashire, in the north of England. And if Vic is there, so is Alec.”

“And the contents of Berengar’s tomb,” Aelryn added.

Saul peered at Seth. “If we find photos of castles in Lancashire—”

“With a moat,” Crank interjected. “They gotta have a moat. Can’t be allthatmany of them, right?”

Saul speared him with a glance. “Okay, photos of castles in Lancashire—with amoat—you think you can identify the one you saw?”

Seth nodded, and Jake’s chest swelled with pride.

Saul met Horvan’s gaze. “Then it’s Google time.”

Aelryn gave Jake a sympathetic glance. “Get some rest. We’re going to need you.”

“We need Orsini too,” Jake reminded him. “Give me an hour to recharge my batteries and I’ll make the call.”

“And Fielding?” Horvan inclined his head toward the block where Fielding was stowed.

Aelryn smiled. “He’s going to be my guest a while longer. I don’t think he’ll be in any hurry to return to his master, do you?”

Judging by what Jake had felt while he’d crawled through Fielding’s mind during the last half hour, Aelryn had nailed it.

And speaking of crawling, Jake was in dire need of a shower after that. He felt soiled.

At least now they had a name. A target.

One line of that conversation gave him hope.

Theron is hiding something that could lead to peace.

Whatever it was, Jake was going to help bring it out of the darkness and into the light.

Keep Reading for an Exclusive Excerpt from

Mysteries, Menace, and Mates

Book #4 in the Lions & Tigers & Bears series

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