Page 24 of Fanged Embrace
Ethan nodded, slipping away to continue his round of small talk, though tension still marked his posture. I watched him go, unsure of what exactly had just gone down, but the encounter tickled goosebumps on the back of my neck.
Hunter returned then and snapped me back to the present. She appeared at my elbow, looking around casually while she murmured in my ear, “Still haven’t heard anything useful. It’s all quiet out there.”
I shifted in place, plastering a vague smile on my face while my lips moved in increments. “How quiet?”
She shrugged. “Suspiciously quiet.” I watched her eye a woman in an emerald gown who glided past, fangs barely hidden behind a polite grin. “I don’t like the vibe. Too polished. Something isn’t right here.”
I caught another glimpse of Ethan slinking through the crowd, glancing over his shoulder like he thought he was being watched. His eyes flicked all over the place as he dipped out of sight, disappearing down a dark corridor behind the champagne tower. I had to agree with Hunter.
Something wasn’t quite right.
12
Laurie
I’d never been a fan of Arlon’s place. It was cozy, sure, but it carried too many reminders of the past. I could still remember the first time I’d set foot inside, still wrapping my head around the idea offreedom.
I should have felt better. Instead, I was plagued by nightmares and creeping paranoia that only grew worse the more comfortable Arlon tried to make me. The more I gained with my newfound freedom, the more I had to lose.
So I rejected it all. I grew to resent the warm bed and the private bathroom and Arlon’s fumbled attempts at helping me adjust. Eventually, I rejected Arlon’s place entirely. It was safe, in theory, but that safety chafed.
“So, what am I looking at exactly?” I settled on Arlon’s couch, tucking one leg under me and squinting. “And what does this have to do with the organization?”
Arlon had his laptop balanced on the coffee table, paused on a piece of grainy footage from what looked like a security camera set up in some random bar.
“Just watch,” he murmured, meeting my bemused expression with a look that was far more serious than I expected from him. He hit play on the video and we both scooted closer to watch.
On the screen, five people sat at a table. The video was silent, but I could see them chatting and laughing, throwing back shots. I swept a sidelong glance at Arlon. “Do I know these people?”
“No.” Arlon had his fingers laced, knuckles pressed to his lips. His brow was furrowed and his eyes remained glued to the screen. I hadn’t seen him looking so stoic in a long time, so I shut my mouth and kept watching.
The five people in the footage were still chatting, downing drinks and acting like any normal patrons would. Nothing unusual. Then a man walked by, casually tapping one person on the shoulder. He didn’t even look their way, but his mouth moved like he was murmuring something.
Confusion pinched my brow and my gaze slid to Arlon again. He rolled his shoulders, still watching the video with scorching intensity. I returned my attention to the screen.
The group at the table continued their conversation, but a moment later, the person whose shoulder was tapped stood up abruptly and walked out of frame. No words spoken, no excuse. The others watched them go, confusion apparent even through layers of grainy pixels.
Arlon leaned forward, pressing another button. “Watch carefully,” he murmured. The footage sped up. The same bar, different day, same phenomenon: a man tapped someone on the shoulder, that someone stood up and left. It was always the same man—tall, well-dressed. Handsome, but in a blank, airbrushed kind of way.
I exhaled slowly as it dawned on me. “They left with him.”
Arlon nodded grimly, clicking through a few more clips. “In every instance, the person eventually disappears off the bar’sexterior cam. They get into a car, always the same make and model.”
My stomach twisted. “So you suspect this is how they’re recruiting… or grabbing victims?”
“Exactly,” he said, folding his arms. “I’ve been tracking it for a while, but this last week has been especially active. Different bars, same M.O.”
I rubbed my temples. “How do you know this is connected to the organization? I mean, it could just be some weird fetish thing for all we know. It looks like all those people went willingly.”
Arlon blinked at me. “I got this footage from the station. All of those people have been reported missing. None of them have been seen since.” He closed the laptop with a snap. “And I don’t think they went willingly. I think they were threatened, or coerced or…something. I don’t know. No one on my team knows what to make of it.”
My mind snagged on that word: coerced.
My mouth went dry. I’d seen something like this before, back at the facility. Vampires with the uncanny ability to get into people’s heads. It wasn’t just coercion, it was compulsion. And if they were using those abilities to pick up victims, to get them spirited away without a fuss…
I balled my fists. “So, what do we do about it?”
Arlon pulled out his phone, swiping open what looked like a map with a few red pin drops dotted around it. “I found a pattern. This man has shown up in at least six bars around the city. I went undercover last night to one of them. He was there, and I watched him all night. I followed him outside when he left with two people in tow.”
