Page 59 of Stalk the Dark
She dipped into her pocket and drew out a Polaroid snap. “It’s my favorite one of him, so I want it back.”
Lomax was a dark-haired youth with grayish skin and dishwater eyes and a dimple. Cute.
“Please find him.” Her eyes welled. “I need him back.”
I tucked the photo into my pocket. “I’m not gonna sugarcoat this. Two weeks is a long time. The trail will be cold, but I can promise you that we will do everything in our power to find him. I just can’t promise you that we will, or that if we do, you’ll like what we find.”
She nodded, dislodging tears. “I know. I know. I just…I need to know what happened to him, because if he could have come home…then he would have.”
“Okay,” Edwin said, pulling a notepad from his pocket. “What was he wearing the day he went missing?”
Ten minutes later, we were back at the van. Wayne and Charlie were gone. Whether Wayne kept his partof the deal or not was something we’d have to wait and see.
“There are way too many missing persons cases,” Merry said softly.
“Yeah, I know,” Padma replied.
“How the heck are we going to find out what happened to any of these people?” Edwin asked.
I climbed into the van. “We’ll do what we can. But I think…I think we’re definitely going to need some mystical help.” And if Micah couldn’t get it to us, then I knew someone who might be able to pull some strings.
Chapter 20
There was only one person who could pull the strings I needed to get me the mystical help we required, but he wasn’t always the easiest man to get ahold of. Not unless I rocked up to his mansion and banged on his door, that is. Yeah, I’d done that the first time we met and experienced a significant pulse jump at the silver fox that opened the door to me.
Lorenzo was one of the most powerful mageri in the city and a member of the consortium—the secret group of mageri that ran city affairs. No one knew their identities, but I’d gotten close to Lorenzo, close enough for him to share his secret. We could have been closer…maybe…The chemistry was there but…Yeah, being ordained sucked sometimes.
The last time we met, I’d been running an errand for my buddy Nyx, one I didn’t get to finish before theOrder called in a transfer, but he’d given me his number. A secret number that not many had.
I dialed it now as we drove toward the carriage stables.
The phone rang several times before he answered.
“Hello?” He sounded wary, and it hit me that he’d given me his number, but I’d never given him mine.
“Lorenzo, it’s Orina.”
A beat of silence followed before he spoke. “It’s good to hear your voice, Miss Lighthart. How is the transfer treating you?” His honey tone made my cheeks hot. But then, Lorenzo always had an effect on me.
“Well, I’m in Dracul territory and?—”
“What?” His tone sharpened. “One moment.” There was a rustling and then, “Please tell me you’re not the chosen watcher.”
“You know about the rising?”
He exhaled. “Orina, this is dangerous. You’re in danger.”
Edwin shot me a pointed look before focusing on the road ahead.
I shook my head. “I know. I can handle it.”
Tension saturated the line for several seconds. “I don’t doubt your capabilities, but I can’t help but worry.”
“Aw, it gives me the warm fuzzies to know you care.”
There was another beat of silence. “Of course Icare, Orina. You’re perceptive enough to have picked up on that fact.”
My throat was suddenly dry, words failing me, because this was something we’d never discussed. Never spoke of. It was merely…there.
