Page 36 of Seducing Hope (The Hope Legacy)

Duncan continues, “I’m not sure why it’s only happening now. Maybe stress triggered it? I’ll need to work with you to master it. But right now, it’s time to get up. We need to look at Archan’s files.”

I stretch my body, extending my toes and arms, and contemplate telling Duncan about Lawrence. But I know Duncan will hunt him, and we’ve got enough going on without opening this box. It can wait.

My heart beats faster with every step my bare feet take down the stairs. I’d hurt Zee—how could he ever trust me? Standing in the living room, I hug my chest. Aaden and Zee are hunched over the laptop at the dining table with their backs to me.

“Hi,” I murmur. Duncan places his hands on my shoulders and pushes me forward.

Aaden looks at me over his shoulder with a small smile. “Hey, how are you feeling?”

“Erm, tired, I guess.”

He nods at the laptop. “We’ve just started looking at Reinheart’s files.”

I sit opposite Zee and try to catch his eye. He ignores me. If he never spoke to me again, I would deserve it.

Duncan looks over Aaden’s shoulder as the video starts to play. A woman stands in an indistinct alleyway, one end blocked by a brick wall. She appears nervous, scanning the walls, her hands in her coat pockets. Two minutes later, a man walks toward her and stops in front of her, his back to the camera. She passes a small package to him, which he puts in his coat pocket. He keeps his head down as he leaves, hiding his features in the shadows. The woman waits three minutes then walks out to the street. Something pulls at my memory; I tug on the thread, trying to trap the thought.

“Kelly Peterson,” I breathe, snatching the folder containing the disappearances. Finding a photo of Kelly, I lift it to the screen.

Duncan’s eyes flick between the screen and photo. “You’re right.”

“The video is dated May 15th. She was reported missing by her neighbor on May 17th… maybe because she lives alone?” I muse.

I take out the next file—Ben Hamilton. “Play the next video.” This time, it shows a blue sedan in a parking lot, with a lone driver. Six minutes go by before a red hatchback appears with a man behind the wheel. The blue sedan driver gets out of the car—it’s Ben Hamilton. He holds a package slightly larger than his palm as he walks to the red hatchback and gets in the passenger seat, handing the parcel to the driver. As we watch, Ben frantically waves his hands, as if having an argument. Shortly after, he gets out and runs back to his own car. The red hatchback wastes no time squealing out of the parking lot, and Ben follows seconds later.

“It looks like they’re all meeting the same person,” Aaden says.

I nod slowly. “It’s difficult to tell from those videos… Let’s check the rest and see if they follow the same pattern.”

An hour later, we’ve watched and analyzed all six videos, each one featuring one of the victims and the same man. We’ve determined he’s six-foot-three, well-built, and weighs about two hundred and twenty pounds. He meets our victims in alleyways, parking lots, and bars, and he always manages to keep his face away from the camera or uses the shadows to hide his features.

“We have seven disappearances.” I flick through the file. “Mary Conway is our last victim, but there’s no video of her.”

“Maybe Reinheart hasn’t uploaded her file yet?” Duncan suggests.

I tuck my feet under me on the chair. “The victims met with our mystery man, gave him a small parcel, and disappeared within two days. Is Archan having them killed?”

Aaden scratches his left ear, a habit when he’s thinking hard. “If he has videos of them, he knows they’re handing off a package to the same man. Why not pick up the man for questioning?”

“Maybe he works for Archan and he’s drawing out traitors… people stealing from him?”

Duncan turns to me. “If he’s making these people disappear and knows you have these files, you’re in more danger than we thought. I think Charlie’s right; we should find another way.”

I shake my head. “That’s what we do, Duncan. Put our lives before others that don’t understand what they’re up against. We are meant to protect innocents who have no clue about this whole other world that slithers around them. That means we don’t get to run at the first sign of danger.”

Zee, who’s been silent so far, smashes his fist on the table, making the laptop jump. “You can’t be serious. You’re not suggesting you continue with this mission? He’ll kill you and make you disappear. He’s already smashed your head and bruised your face.”

I frown. “What are you talking about?”

He runs his index finger over my right eyebrow, making me flinch. He grimaces, and a look of frustration and anger settles onto his face. “Is your memory that short? Go look in the mirror. The remnants of last night are still on your face.”

Realizing his assumption, I point to my injuries. “This wasn’t Archan—this was a demon. He was waiting outside the bar. He thought I was Archan’s new plaything. This was our subtle way of discussing the differences between enemy and plaything.”

Duncan frowns at my face. “That’s not exactly subtle.”

I raise an eyebrow. “You should see the other guy.”

“We didn’t see anybody,” Aaden says.

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