Gaslight (Crossbreed #4)(46)
“Has anyone tried calling her?”
“She left her phone behind.”
Viktor’s eyes filled with worry.
Claude wandered in, his grey sweats falling uncomfortably low. By the looks of his messy hair, he must have picked up a strong scent that roused him out of bed.
“Raven’s missing,” Wyatt announced.
Christian stalked forward. “So help me, if you say it one more time—”
“What crawled up your ass and made a nest? I’m not the one who lost my partner.”
When Christian lunged, it took three people to hold him back. Shepherd stood in front of him, hands on his shoulders as he walked him back to the desk chair and made him sit. Christian squeezed the arm of the chair so tight that something beneath the leather cracked.
“Don’t break my chair,” Wyatt warned him.
“Shut your gob.”
Maybe Wyatt could be casual about death because he saw the other side of it, but Christian didn’t want to consider the unthinkable. He’d only taken his eyes off her for one second. And he had his ear on her every moment until…
He covered his mouth and slowly stroked his beard before letting his hand drop to his lap. “I thought the eejit who ran the sound system had taken a smoke break,” he began, everyone giving him a bemused look. “That kind of ear-piercing sound forces a Vampire to muffle his hearing. It hurts too much, like the way the sun makes you shut your eyes when you look at it.”
“What are you saying?” Viktor asked.
Christian cocked his head to the side. “Someone jammed my frequency on purpose.”
Wyatt’s computer chimed, and he hurried over and switched on the monitor. After a few keystrokes, he stood up, just as pale as a ghost. “Now that’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming.”
Christian slowly rose to his feet, his heart slowing down.
“What do you mean?” Viktor snarled. “Give me details.”
Wyatt pointed at Christian. “I posted a request on a Vampire website, pretending I was a buyer who wanted a girl with different-colored eyes. I also put a couple of oddball requests out there so it wouldn’t look obvious. This isn’t the black market site,” he quickly said. “Just some human website where Raven thought a trafficker was hanging out. We found out one of his favorite human clubs, and Raven went to see if he’d take the bait.”
“She had a good plan,” Christian added. “We wouldn’t have trouble spotting a Vampire in there, and I always stayed close, watching and listening.”
Viktor sighed, his grey eyes no longer able to look at Christian. “And yet she’s missing.”
Christian made a fist. “Aye. She’s missing.”
“Not anymore,” Wyatt said.
Christian stared daggers at him.
“I set up my computer to notify me when certain keywords hit the board. There’s a message header with a description that matches Raven.”
Christian shut his eyes. “And what does the message say?”
“The bidding is open.”
Chapter 13
I blinked in confusion as I stared across a table at Chase. In front of me was an open wrapper with a few bites of hamburger left and some onion rings. How could I have eaten without remembering?
“I told you they’re the best burgers,” he said.
I rubbed my temples, a swirl of confusion clearing like a fog. “What’s going on?”
“Life is going on, Raven. You should finish those onion rings before they get cold. I already heated them up in the oven once, but twice will ruin the flavor.”
Did he just call me Raven?
A french fry poked through one of the three holes in the glass between us. “Try this,” he said. “I just assumed you were an onion ring girl.”
I sat back and looked around. The glass wall between us spanned the entire length of the room. My side was narrow, bright, and sterile. There was a door on either side, but the one on the right led to what looked like a small bathroom. The only furniture—aside from the chair I was sitting on and the half table in front of me—was a bed and an upholstered lounge chair. His side was dark, but I could tell it was an ordinary living room. Why couldn’t I see everything in detail? There was a dim lamp on in the background, and I had stronger eyesight than most.
Then I noticed a silver bracelet on my wrist with an infinity knot. I tugged at it, but it wouldn’t come off.
“They’re so rare,” he said. “I had that specially made. It’s impossible to remove by the wearer, and the metal won’t bend or break. It cost me a pretty penny.”
I shook my head.
“You really are out of it. I thought the food would help. Why don’t you sit down over there?” He gestured toward the brown chair on my left, but I remained seated.
“Where am I?”
Chase sighed and rested his cheek against his fist. “I do tire of hackneyed questions. Do you have anything original?”
I slammed my fist down on the table. “Get this fucking thing off me.”
“The bracelet is a necessary measure, and only I know how to remove it. I’m sure you’ve already ascertained how it blocks your Mage energy. Not that you could use it against me, but I couldn’t risk having you flash out of my grasp. It blocks almost all Breed gifts.”