The message is from Sebastian. He wants us to come to his location. “I don’t think this means they found Jenn. He would ask us to meet them at the house if they had recovered her.”
I’m instantly worried. “I hope this doesn’t mean something has happened to Jenn.” I’m not convinced Avery would forgive me so easily if that were the case.
We head in Sebastian’s direction. “I’m sure it’s nothing so don’t jump to conclusions.”
We’re the last ones to arrive where the family is gathered in the middle of the compound property. Jenn is nowhere in sight so I’m immediately alarmed. “What’s going on?”
“I picked up on Jenn’s scent and followed it here,” Sebastian says. “Sully and I agree that we smell something else. Or rather someone else.”
Curry and I both inhale deeply and he’s right. “Other vampires have been here.”
“None of us recognize the scents so I don’t believe we have friendly company on our grounds.”
Curry and I look at one another and say his name at the same time. “Vincent.”
I feel horror rising from my stomach and all thoughts about finding Jenn dissipate. “If Vincent has breached the walls of the compound then he knows we are the ones that took Avery. There’s no one in the house to stop him from getting to her.”
“Or my family.” Hysteria floods Curry’s voice.
“Nooo!” I yell the moment I pick up on Avery’s sudden onset of intense fear. “He’s inside the house.”
The seven of us race toward the compound. I’m the first one inside with Curry on my heels. He rushes past me toward the nursery and I fear what he will find because I don’t suspect Vincent’s one to hesitate in making infants his victims.
“Avery!” I yell as I fall to my knees. I don’t have to search the house for my beloved. I already know she is no longer here because I feel the cold distance growing between us.
I put my fists to my eyes and a sound I’ve never heard–or produced–roars from deep within my chest. I rise to stand from where I’m kneeling and do the only thing I can. I pound my fists into the walls over and over until they’re bloody with open wounds. I’m not sure how long I use the walls as a punching bag but I stop after I register Thatcher’s hand on my shoulder. “You need to go to Curry’s quarters right now.”
I walk the hall terrified of what I will find at the end when I reach Curry and Chansey’s bedroom. I listen for any clue of what I’m walking into but the only thing I hear is eery silence–and then the rapid beats of two tiny hearts. I sigh with relief in knowing the babies are alive and still here.
Curry is standing between their cribs looking over his children as they sleep. He doesn’t turn when I enter. “He took Chansey too. His scent is in our bedroom but not the nursery. She must have shut the door since they were sleeping. He probably never even realized there were two half-agápe babies right in the next room.” Anna Grace stirs in her sleep and Curry lifts her from her crib. He cradles her in his arms and stares at her angelic face. “I can’t even bear to imagine what he’d have done to my children if he’d found them.” Curry kisses the top of his daughter’s head and places her back in the crib.
The entire family is standing in the nursery. “Lairah, can you and Gia take care of the babies while the rest of us work on a plan to get Chansey and Avery back.”
“Of course we will. You don’t even have to ask but one question: what will we feed them when they wake? They’ll be hungry in the next few hours and their only source of nourishment has come from Chansey.” I’m glad we have someone with some type of motherly instinct to care for the babies because that wouldn’t have crossed my mind until they awakened ready to eat.
Curry stands with his hands on his hips for a moment before he finally answers. “I guess we don’t have a choice. They’ll have to take formula.”
“They’re half-vampire,” Lairah says. “What if that’s not what their bodies need?”
I see the torment on his face. He’s torn between staying to tend to the health of his babies and leaving them to go after their mother. This is where I come in. It’s my job as his best friend to help him through this crisis. “The best thing for the babies is to find Chansey and bring her home to them. Ask Dr. Knight to come out and examine them. She’s their physician. Let her make the call on what kind of nourishment they need until you can bring Chansey back.”
“You’re right,” he says. “Getting Chansey home as soon as possible solves any issues the twins might have with nutrition so that’s what I must concentrate on.”
Anna Grace frets in her sleep and Gia places her hand against her back. She rubs it in a circular motion to sooth her. “Don’t worry. Lairah and I will take wonderful care of your babies and Dr. Knight will figure out what to feed them.”
I give Curry a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Your kids will be fine. Leave them with the girls so we can get a plan together.”
My best friend reaches out and places his finger inside James Grady’s tiny hand. The baby grasps his father’s finger in his sleep and sighs. “I’m going to bring your mother home to you, son. I swear I will.”
He pulls his finger gently from James Grady’s grasp and walks toward the door. “And after I get my wife back safely from that son of a bitch, I’m going to kill him.”
I don’t think so. “Only one problem with that plan, my friend. You’ll have to beat me to it.”
The five of us–Curry, Sebastian, Sully, Thatcher, and myself–convene in the living room. “I have something to say. I know the two of you aren’t going to like it but I think we should stake Vincent’s place out before we strike. We need to know what we’re going up against.”
Curry and I reply at the same time. “No.”
“I know you don’t want your agápes staying a minute longer than necessary but Sebastian is right,” Thatcher says. “It’s the wisest thing to do. And the safest for your mates. Go in there tonight with guns blazing and you could get them and yourselves killed if you don’t know what you’re walking into.”
I’m sure my brother’s attitude would be much different if he was in my shoes. “Your beloved is here with you–safe and sound. Talk to me about patience when a lunatic like Vincent comes in and takes Gia from you.”