Page 151 of Secret Shifters Next Door

“He’s right,” Tate said. “It’s her life. We’ll work around whatever she decides. For now, I like Steff’s plan. If she goes home, you can work remotely.”

I nodded. “That’s what I’d planned. Conference calls, video meetings, whatever to keep this place afloat. You know without me this whole place would totally crash and burn.”

We were all laughing when my phone rang. It was April. Probably ready for a ride home. I hit the green button. “Hey, beautiful. Ready for?—”

“Jesus, Steff. I need you. Oh, God.”

She was sobbing and almost screaming. I sat forward, and the smile on my face vanished. The others, with their enhanced hearing, had noticed her distress. Miles, Tate, and Blayne shot to their feet, ready for action. Knowing, like I did, that when someone sounded that freaked out, it was not a good sign.

“April? What’s wrong? What happened?”

She gasped twice, sucking in air almost like she was fighting off hyperventilation. Finally, she calmed herself enough to speak. “Aiden. He went outside to play with the neighbor’s kids. After a while, Kellan and I didn’t hear him anymore. We went to go check and… and… he’s gone. Christ, Steffen, he’s gone.”

A steel fist wrapped itself around my heart and clamped down. My jaw dropped, and I glanced up at the guys. Blayne had his hands on his head, looking as shocked as I did. Miles hadhis eyes covered and was shaking his head. Tate was showing his teeth, ready to kill. Aiden? Gone?

“We checked with the neighbors next door,” April continued. “We asked if he was inside. They told us the boys had finished playing and Aiden had headed back home. Somebody took him. Jesus, Steff, what if it was Ryland? What will he do to him?” Before she could say anything else, she broke down into huge, violent, sobs. I could hear Kellan in the background. It sounded like he was on the phone with the police.

“April, the guys and I will be there soon. Stay right there.”

We started moving. Blayne jogged to the surveillance room. “I’m gonna dig up all the camera footage I can find near Kellan’s house.”

“Good call. I’ll go with Steff,” Tate said.

Miles already had his cell phone out. “I’m gonna get hold of the guys we had watching Ryland. I need to find out if he somehow gave them the slip. I’ll get on the horn to all the other security tech we’ve got, get them out combing the streets, combing the neighborhoods. All hands on deck.”

Still numb and barely able to comprehend what was going on, I let Tate lead me to the truck. I was able to pull my mind back under control and hop into the passenger seat. Tate took the trip at damn near seventy. The truck almost went up on two wheels during one sharp turn. We arrived at Kellan’s house before the police got there.

I jumped out of the truck and saw Kellan was on his knees in the driveway. Tears poured down his face as he stared down the road, like he hoped Aiden would come running up at any moment. I heard the sirens approaching in the distance. April stood next to him, arms crossed and a steady stream of tears sliding down her cheeks. She, at least, looked a little less out of it than Kellan.

The second she saw me, she sprinted over to me, slinging her arms across my shoulders and almost collapsing into my arms. She was shaking so hard, she was almost vibrating. I could smell her fear and her terror. I glanced over at Tate, and he nodded. The smell of fear in that spot was overwhelming.

“It’s going to be okay,” I murmured.

April pulled back and looked at me. “Aiden’s a smart kid. There’s no way he would willingly go with a stranger.”

Tate looked from April to Kellan. “If that’s true, Aiden might know whoever took him. It would have to be a familiar face for him to go with someone.”

“Whoever it is,” Kellan hissed at us as he finally stood, “they’re gonna die. They are going to fucking die.”

In all the years I’d known Kellan, I’d never seen so much rage on his face. He’d gone from heartbroken loss straight to murderous rage. At that moment, looking into a father’s eyes, I was terrified for whatever son of a bitch had taken Aiden. If Kellan found them before anyone else, the guy stood zero chance of getting out of a painful and excruciating death.

The first police cruiser came screeching to a halt at the curb. The police started questioning Kellan first. April fell back with Tate and me. We were waiting for our turn to speak to the cops when my phone rang.

I checked the screen and looked at Tate. “It’s Miles.” I answered the phone. “What have you got?”

“Gone,” Miles roared. It sounded like he was talking through fangs. “Ryland is gone.”

“The fuck? How is that possible?” I asked.

“Body double. Some fucker who looked like him and walked around his house to screw with the guys watching. Once I gave them the go ahead, they moved in and got all the way to the front door before they realized it was the wrong guy. The asshole went outside and flipped them off. I think he knew they were there theentire time. He slipped out at some point. It’s gotta be him. He’s the one who took Aiden.”

I stiffened. Ryland, that fucking asshole. He had been out here, unwatched, and had taken Aiden. What would he do with him? Aiden was just a kid, for fuck’s sake! April’s phone rang, grabbing my attention.

She looked at her screen. “It’s a blocked number.”

I was still on the phone with Miles, and I heard Blayne yelling in the background. “I’m tracing an unknown number coming to April’s phone. It’s local, coming from a tower right here in town. Answer it. I’ll route the audio to your phone, Steff.”

We moved further away from the cops. We didn’t know what Ryland might say and didn’t want even more questions. I put my phone on speaker and nodded for April to answer. “Hello?”

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