“Just you?” I asked.
“Yeah, he said there’s some problems getting some of the supplies I needed.”
“That’s odd. I wonder why it couldn’t wait.” This was the first I’d heard of any supply problems. Since Vinca was in charge of that area, I wondered why she hadn’t mentioned anything.
“Who knows?” He started the car. “I’ll drop you off at the apartment first.”
I didn’t really want to talk about it, but I held my breath waiting for him to broach the subject of the kiss—kisses, whatever. When he merely put the car in gear and pulled back onto the highway, I relaxed a little.
I watched him surreptitiously as he drove. His posture was relaxed with one wrist draped over the wheel, giving the impression of a man enjoying a nice drive. But the muscle working in his jaw told a different story. I decided to keep my mouth shut, knowing we each had bigger issues to worry about.
Soon we were back in the city. Crossing the bridge, I realized it had been a while since I’d eaten. With all the stress recently, I hadn’t been getting regular meals and it was wreaking havoc on me.
“Pull over,” I said as we neared the park I usually hunted in.
“Why?” He pulled over anyway.
“I need to feed. You can just drop me off now and I’ll walk home from here.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting. Frank isn’t going anywhere.”
“No, it’s fine. The apartment’s only a few blocks away.” I opened the door and hopped out before he could protest further.
“Sabina?” His voice had an odd tone to it, causing me to look up. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped himself. Our gazes held for a moment too long. Unspoken words passed between us. I knew the gist, though. The kiss had been nice, but it wouldn’t happen again. “Be careful.”
I nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry about me, mancy.” With that, I closed the door and walked away. Behind me, I heard the SUV pull away slowly from the curb, followed by a gun to the engine that sent it speeding into the night. I didn’t look back.
An hour later, my skin felt warm from feeding. I guess I’d been hungrier than I’d thought because it had taken four men to satisfy my bloodlust. I dropped the latest blood donor, a would-be ra**st who stank of cigarettes. His body landed with a thud at my feet.
I walked toward the exit and pulled my cell phone from my back pocket. When Adam and I had arrived at the woods earlier in the night, I’d turned it off. A press of the button and it lit up, announcing that I had three messages. Bypassing the voicemail button, I scrolled through missed calls. One from Clovis and two from Vinca. I called Clovis first.
“Sabina, where have you been?” Clovis’s voice was harsh, almost accusatory.
“Sorry, I forgot to turn it on. What’s wrong?”
“Adam is missing.”
The ice shot down my spine. “What? That’s impossible.”
“He was supposed to come by to go over a few details with Frank, but he never showed.”
“Yeah, I know, I was with him earlier when he talked to Frank. In fact, he dropped me off on his way to the meeting.”
“He hasn’t been seen since.”
“Maybe he just needed to take care of a few things. Have you called Vinca to see if she’s seen him?” Even as I spoke, I remembered the two missed calls from the nymph. Something was up.
“She hasn’t seen him either,” Clovis said. “I have a bad feeling about this. My spies told me earlier tonight that key members of the Dominae are in town.”
My eyes closed as I muttered a curse not fit for respectable company. “I’ll be there in five.”
27
Clovis rose when I entered his office. I threw my purse in the chair and got down to business.
“Tell me everything you know,” I said.
Frank stepped forward. He didn’t look at me as he spoke. Obviously, someone was still angry about getting beaten by a girl. “I called Adam just after midnight, asking him to come by to go over the supplies he’d requested for the raid. He said he’d be here around midnight, but never showed.”
“Has anyone gone to look for him?”
Clovis nodded. “We’ve had people scour the area and check out Adam’s hotel room.”
“And?” I demanded.
Frank and Clovis exchanged a look, which made my stomach drop. Clovis reached behind his desk and held up Adam’s backpack. “We found this near the temple. His car was parked a couple of blocks away.”
He handed me the pack. My hand shook so bad I almost dropped it.
“Our guess is he was walking here when someone picked him up.”
What he didn’t say was the discarded backpack was a sign that Adam hadn’t gone willingly. I’d never seen him let the bag out of his sight. I opened it and looked inside. Along with his wallet and cell phone were some baggies of herbs along with several vials filled with various liquids and powders. I opened a bag and sniffed. The scent of rosemary tickled my nose. Just last night Adam had taught me about the herb’s antiseptic properties. He made me laugh with a story about how he’d had to bathe in rosemary after he’d accidentally hexed himself as a child.
Clovis cleared his throat, bringing my attention back to the present. “As I mentioned, one of my informants told me your grandmother has been spotted in the city. I think it’s a fair guess she has him.”
I opened my mouth and snapped it shut. I couldn’t tell Clovis I already knew the Dominae were in town because I’d been meeting with them.
“He also told me that activity around the vineyard has picked up. He believed they’ve been preparing for new arrivals in the lab.”
“But why would they take Adam? Do you think they know about the plan?” I asked, playing dumb. Inside I was about to self-combust, but outside I was trying to remain calm.
“It’s possible they’re suspicious,” Clovis said. “However, I think it’s more likely they wanted Adam’s powerful blood at their disposal.”
I stood and gathered Adam’s bag along with my resolve. “We go in tomorrow.”
Frank’s eyes widened. “But we’re not ready.”
I looked at Clovis for a reaction. He nodded, giving his support of the new plan. To Frank, I said, “We’ve got surprise on our side. Not to mention they have one of our own, so we’ve also got pretty serious motivation to kick some ass.”