Page 54 of Soulmates
And shite again. “David?” I call his name, knowing it won’t do any good. My pistol is no longer in the holster. I’ve drawn it, and I move down the hall, opening each door, searching for how they got him past me. There must be another way out.
There.
One of the empty offices has an inner door marked by an unlit exit sign. The door opens into a stairwell. Everything’s painted a glossy gray, except for the danger-yellow handrail. I stop on the top stair, eyes half-closed, tapping my other sense, the one I keep secret. Even from the vampire I love.
Just one of many secrets I keep from him.
High windows give the stairwell a silvery cast. I reach out, seeking the residue of the living beings who have passed this way before me. I see auras, the shrouds of light surrounding all life. With luck and concentration, I can detect the echoes of those who’re no longer present.
David came thisway. I can feel his golden light.
I head down the stairs, alert for any signs of wolf. On some floors, I hear the normal voices or low music associated with business. The stairwell is dead quiet. I go all the way down to theparking garage at thebottom.
The stairwell ends in a small,glassed-in foyer. There’s a window in the door. Aneatrow of identical Honda sedans are parked along the far wall. The place appears to be deserted, but a scent catches me.
I give the area a quick scan and see a spray of red on one of the windows.Taking another piece of test paper from my pocket, I press it against thedroplets and return it to itsenvelope. It’ll be useful if the DNA matches David’s saliva sample, and if it doesn’t, I’ll use it as evidence.
I’mcertain David was brought down here—faking an aural residue is nearly impossible, even if his abductors had guessed at my ability—but I’ll need help to figure out where he’s gone.
I pull out my cell phone and make a call, reaching my contacton the second ring. I rarely work with a partner in the field, instead relying on the hands and eyes and intellect of a wizard named Dante.
He sounds sleepy and annoyed, neither of which is out of character.
“The son of the American Alpha is missing, and I need a pair of bloodhounds and a courier ASAP.” I spit out the address, waiting till he grunts to continue. “The courier will bring you two samples. One blood, the other saliva. Some of the saliva is mine. The rest belongsto the missing man.” After the kiss, I’d distracted David long enough to lick the sample paper, leavingtracesof us both. “I need a selection of tracers keyed to his DNA. The blood may be a match, and if itis, use it to strengthen thetrace. If it’s nota match, I want a profile on whoever it belongs to.”
Dante harrumphs. “Anything else?”
“That’s it.” I bite back some less-affectionate responses. “As soon as you have the tracers, message me, please.”
“Whatever.”
I end the call before my juvenile side rises to his bait. Dante is difficult, but he’s very, very good at what he does.
I’m going toneed a combination of luck, magic, and good detective workto catch up.
But first I need to tell the vampire.
OXO
The courier arrives first. A stocky middle-aged man, he accepts my samples and tells me he’ll let Dante know what he found. On his heels, the bloodhounds arrive, a pair of shifters who work as a team. Tall and lanky, dressed in marathon gear, they look human enough, but I know better. Their nickname comes from their keen sense of smell. While they won’t have a lot to go on, they’re my best chance for finding clues about David’s location.
I take them up the stairway to the empty office, giving them every opportunity to catch David’s scent. We exchange cell phone numbers, and they promise to call. I’ve never worked in the DC office, but members of the Elite are marked in a way that’s impossible to duplicate. I trust them.
I must.
After sending the bloodhounds on their way, I tour the empty offices again. Nothing. Whoever is responsible had to have marched David out as soon as he came through the door. I tried to reassure myself that if their goal had been to kill him, a bullet through the head would have done the trick. No, they have a different game in mind.
I just don’t know the rules.
I leave the empty offices, cut through the waiting room, and head out into the main complex. The scene hits the same level of banal everyday office activity as on our way in, but this time, I look closer. Weres, most of them wolves, walk alone or in small groups. Office doors are open, and there’s chatter, laughter, busy work. No one stops me. No one seems to notice me at all.
I take the elevator to the ground floor. There, a security guard presides over a glass-topped desk. I catch his attention.
“Can you tell me where the American Were Authority Alpha’s offices are?”
He doesn’t miss a beat. “He moved two months ago. There’s still wolves up there, but the big kahuna’s over on O Street.”
I make a note of the address and thank him. It’s barely noon, so I’ve got several hours before Trajan rises. I could go back to our hotel and wait, or I could face the wolf in his den. It’s possible he’ll slip up, and I’ll be able to retrieve David before the vampire wakes.
