Page 15 of Chasing Secrets
“Same here.” Chase frowned, scanning the parking lot again. “It doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t just leave.”
“Maybe he saw someone he knew? Went for a walk?” Wade suggested, though his tone made it clear he was grasping at straws.
“With six dozen donuts sitting out?” Chase shook his head. “Not a chance.”
Zeppelin’s Jeep pulled into the lot, parking beside Chase’s SUV. Their alpha climbed out, face grim as he pocketed his keys and approached.
“Tell me everything,” he said, glancing around.
Chase quickly filled him in on what little they knew while Zeppelin listened intently.
“No security cameras,” Wade noted, pointing to the empty brackets above the bakery’s entrance. “Casey said they’ve been broken for months.”
“Of course they have,” Chase sighed. Just their luck. “Town needs to get its shit together with surveillance.” He ran a hand through his hair. First a vampire stalking his mate, now Vaughn disappearing without a trace. The universe seemed determined to test his patience this week.
Something caught Chase’s eye. A glint of metal in the corner of the lot where the building cast a deep shadow. He moved toward it, crouching down to find Vaughn’s key ring half hidden beneath a crumpled fast food wrapper.
The keyring included his truck fob, house key, and a small silver wolf charm Quinn had given him as a joke last Christmas.
Chase picked them up, a chill running through him that had nothing to do with the morning air. “Found his keys,” he called to the others, holding them up.
Zeppelin and Wade joined him, staring at the dark corner of the lot. The morning sun hadn’t yet reached this spot, leaving it in murky darkness despite the brightening day.
“He wouldn’t drop these,” Wade said, stating the obvious. “Not voluntarily.”
“And not this far from his truck,” Chase added, looking back at the vehicle parked nearly thirty feet away.
“Right at the edge of a shadow,” Zeppelin observed, his voice dropping lower. “You thinking what I’m thinking?”
“Demons?” Wade asked.
“Maybe.” Zeppelin’s jaw tightened. “But why take Vaughn? He hasn’t pissed off any demons lately... that I know of.”
Chase snorted. “It’s Vaughn. He pisses off everyone eventually.”
“Only explanation that fits.” Zeppelin took the keys from Chase, turning them over in his hand. “No signs of struggle, no scent trail, keys dropped in a shadowed area.”
Demons used the shadows to travel between realms. If a demon had taken Vaughn, that didn’t necessarily mean he ended up in the demon realm. He could be anywhere. Trying to find him would be like trying to track a single drop of ink through a river at midnight.
Zeppelin pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Panahasi, see if he knows anything about this or knows anyone who can help us find him.”
“He’ll be okay,” Wade said, as if reading Chase’s thoughts. “Vaughn’s too annoying to kidnap. Even demons would get tired of his shit and send him back.”
Chase managed a tight smile. “Let’s hope so.”
While Zeppelin stepped away to make the call, Chase and Wade gathered the abandoned breakfast from Vaughn’s truck. No sense letting perfectly good donuts go to waste, especially when they might need the energy later. Besides, Vaughn would be pissed if they left the treats to get stale.
“This is fucked up,” Wade said quietly, balancing three boxes of donuts. “First your mate gets targeted by a vampire, now Vaughn disappears. What’s next?”
“Don’t ask,” Chase warned. “The universe might take it as a challenge.”
They loaded everything into Chase’s SUV then rejoined Zeppelin, who’d just finished his call.
Welcome to Crimson Hollow, where even picking up breakfast can get you kidnapped by interdimensional beings. Maybe that should be on the welcome sign.
By the time they returned, Zeppelin was finishing his call, his expression unreadable.
“Panahasi’s not answering. I left a message,” Zeppelin said, pocketing his phone.
