“That would be Alex Nemov, correct?” Luca’s shoulders rol ed beneath his expensive shirt.
Peyton’s gaze sharpened, cutting from her to Luca and back again. Something she couldn’t quite decipher moved behind his eyes, but it was gone so fast she thought she might have imagined it. “Ivan Nemov’s son. Werewolf.”
“Yes, and now that his dad is missing, he’s my responsibility.” Being a godparent was a sacred vow in the Magickal world, reinforced by spel s that bound a person to care for the child in his or her parents’ absence.
Or death. She locked her gaze with Luca, letting him know that this was nonnegotiable. She would never break her vow. “Alex needs to know what’s going on. Maybe he knows where his dad went.”
The big vampire sighed. “We’ve thought of that, and we’re handling it.”
She firmed her lips. “Wel , it doesn’t matter what you’re handling. His sole remaining parent is off the grid, and that makes him my responsibility. If you haven’t picked him up yet, then I need to. He interns with me at Desmodus after school. He’l know something is wrong when both his father and I aren’t at work.”
Luca looked her over as if deciding how much he was wil ing to tel her. “He didn’t go to his internship today. In fact, when we tried to pick him up from school, he wasn’t there.”
Her heart stopped, literal y skipped two whole beats as terror she’d never wanted to feel punched through her.
Oh, gods.
“Alex doesn’t shirk his duties, which means he’s missing, too.” Cold dread gripped her bel y, and she clutched her purse closer, fumbling for her cel phone.
“We can’t know yet that anything has happened to Alex. We have agents stil looking for him.” The vampire gentled his voice, handling her again. This time she found it infuriating.
“Real y?” She arched an incredulous eyebrow. “You know him wel enough to know where to look?”
Irritation crossed Luca’s too-handsome face, and she thought she saw a flash of fang when he answered her. “We spoke to his teachers, his friends—we found out his favorite hangouts. We have people waiting at those locations in case he shows up. We have other people out looking.”
She snorted, sat down at the kitchen table, and continued digging around the bottom of her purse for her phone. Her heart stil beat too hard, worry digging roots deep inside her. “One of his favorite hangouts is my house.”
“Your house is already being watched. We’re handling this, Dr. Standish. Try not to worry.” Luca settled back against the cabinets and crossed his arms. Peyton propped his shoulder against the doorjamb to the living room. He just watched them both and said nothing.
“Yeah, I don’t have a care in the world.” Her hand closed around the hard plastic of her phone, and she yanked it out of her purse. Since neither man tried to stop her from making the cal , she assumed that meant they were okay with it. Punching in the speed dial code for Alex’s cel , she hunched her shoulders away from the agents. “Excuse me.”
She didn’t bother getting up and going into another room. Vampires and werewolves both had exceptional hearing. If they wanted to hear her, she wouldn’t be able to hide her conversation from them.
The phone rang and rang, and her insides twisted tighter and tighter with each one. On the fifth ring, she knew it was about to kick over to voice mail, and her throat closed. What the hel was she supposed to leave on the message? Cal me? Your dad’s missing? Why weren’t you at school or your internship? Are you okay? I love you, kiddo? She wanted to know al of those things, needed to say every single one of them.
“Chloe?” Alex’s voice was rushed and breathless, the phone fuzzing with every quick exhalation.
She squeezed the phone so tightly the plastic squeaked. “Alex! Oh, gods!”
He wheezed out a laugh. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.”
“Too late. I’m worried.” Her free hand clenched on the edge of the table until her knuckles whitened.
“Where are you?”
“I’m being fol owed.” The sentence was spoken so calmly and matter-of-factly that she blinked for a moment while his words processed. This just couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t.
“You’re being fol owed? By who?”
“I’m not sure.” What sounded like pounding footsteps echoed in the background of the cal . “It’s a male wolf, and he’s been tracking me al day. My senses tel me he’s a danger to me.”
Now Luca straightened away from the counter, his gaze glinting. “We don’t have any male wolf agents looking for him. Two female wolves, but Peyton’s the only male wolf on my team.”
“Who was that?” Alex’s sharp question jerked her attention back to him. Right. Wolf-boy’s hearing was just as sensitive as that of the agents before her.
“He’s from the FBI.” She swal owed, gripping the table so hard it hurt her hand. “Alex, your dad’s disappeared. The person tailing you might have something to do with it.”
“Yeah, I went by the house, and it’s been gone through by at least two groups of people. Lots of muddy scents, lots of bad vibes creeping down my spine. I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before, Chloe.”
The vulnerability and tension in his tone scared the shit out of her. Alex was a rock-steady kid—mature, calm, and col ected when most boys his age were prone to fly off the handle. If he was afraid, there was reason to be afraid. Her muscles trembled in reaction, but she forced herself to keep her composure. Alex needed her now. He was in danger.
Pul ing in a deep breath, she let it ease out. “Okay. Okay. I need to know where you are. I’m going to send an FBI agent to get you. He’s a vampire. His name is Luca Caval i. Six foot four-ish, dark eyes, short black hair, little goatee on his chin. Good-looking, if you go for that type.”
The boy’s snort was almost a chuckle. “I don’t, but I’ve got the idea.”
Luca slanted her a narrow-eyed glance . . . because of the good-looking comment or because she was summarily sending him to fetch her godson? She didn’t care so she ignored him to address Alex. “Where are you?”
A long pause came before the teen answered. “I’m at the corner of Denny and Westlake, but I can’t stay in one place.”
“That’s fine.” Luca nodded, already turning to walk toward the front door. Peyton stepped back to let him pass. “I can track him once I get his essence.”
She arched her eyebrows. This was a Magickal skil she hadn’t heard of. “His essence?”
“Blood.” He glanced over his shoulder as he opened the door. His ful lips quirked in a smile. “I can track the scent of his blood.”
Alex’s voice came through the phone. “That’s fucking creepy.”
Chloe snorted and shook her head. “Tel me about it.”
“I’l see you soon.”
“Yes, you wil .” Clutching the phone a little tighter, she forced herself to relax her hold on the table.
Everything would be okay. She had to believe it because she couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to Jaya’s son. “Be careful. I love you.”
“I love you, too, Chloe.” His voice cracked just a little before he hung up.
She looked to Luca, who was just about to step out the door. “Take care of him, and bring him back in one piece, is that clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And don’t cal me ma’am.”
For a moment, he appeared nonplussed, but then he shook his head and spun away in that eerily silent way only vampires could manage. A minute later, the sound of his car driving away faded into the deepening evening.
Peyton stood with his hands in his pockets, a cool expression on his face as he looked at her. Some instinct tickled the back of her mind and built until her shoulders twitched in discomfort. She dropped her phone back into her purse, trying to busy herself until the odd feeling faded.