Angel's Pain

“You have a child?” Topaz whispered, staring at Ilyana and ignoring Briar now. “Gregor has your son?”

“Oh, my God,” Vixen whispered. “Oh, my God, you poor thing. That poor child.”

“Look, Ilyana,” Seth told her, moving to stand beside her. “I know you don’t like vamps, and we all get that. But you’re with us now. And you’d better believe we’ll help you get your kid back safe and sound.”

“Absolutely,” Topaz agreed.

Jack was frowning, his gaze jumping from the white-hats to Briar, and finally he shook his head in frustration. “The kid is fine. Crisa isn’t. I think it’s pretty easy to figure out where our first priority has to be.”

“But we just got our first real clue as to where Gregor is—” Ilyana stopped herself, blinked, and started over. “How do you know he’s fine?”

Jack held her eyes. “I saw him from time to time when I was with Gregor. You must have, too, Briar,” he added with a look her way.

“I didn’t know who the hell he was. Gregor kept him pretty much away from the rest of us.”

“He’s treated well, Ilyana. He’s cared for, fed, kept healthy, never physically abused.” Jack nodded. “He’ll be fine. Crisa might not be, if we don’t find her soon.”

“We have a lead on Gregor’s whereabouts,” Ilyana argued. “If we wait, he’ll move on. We may lose our only chance.” She shook her head firmly. “No, you all go after Crisa if you want. I’m going to find my son.”

“What she said,” Briar snapped. “You can go after her kid if you want, but I’m going after Crisa. And unlike the mortal here, I don’t fucking need anybody’s help.”

“Wait, wait, just calm down for a minute, both of you.” Reaper looked from one to the other, shaking his head. “Roxy, tell us what you found on the Internet. The short version.”

“A houseful of bodies, drained of blood, every item of value taken, no effort made to conceal the crime.”

In spite of herself, Briar asked, “Where?”

“Fresno, Salt Lake City, Dallas and Oklahoma City.”

Briar frowned. “I don’t—”

“The same crime, committed in all four places, overnight. Bodies found this morning. The ones in Dallas were found before sunrise, and the initial reports include puncture wounds in the throats of the corpses, though later medical exams say there were no such wounds.”

“They would vanish with the first touch of sunlight,” Seth muttered.

“All right. All right.” Reaper paced away, then back again. “We can’t let Gregor slip away with an innocent child. Nor can we ignore the fact that Crisa, who’s our charge, for all intents and purposes, and every bit as much an innocent child as…as…” He sent Ilyana a questioning look.

“Matthias. I call him Matt,” she said.

“As innocent as Matt, is in danger.” He narrowed his eyes. “Gregor couldn’t have done all those raids at once. There’s something off here.”

“We need to split up,” Seth said. “Much as I hate to say it, I think it’s the only way.”

Jack nodded at the younger man. “I agree. We need to check out all four crime scenes and search for Crisa. And there’s no earthly reason to argue about what to do first, when there are enough of us to do it all at once.”

Reaper nodded and looked at the others. “Everyone agree on that?”

They all nodded. Ilyana said, “Great. Roxy and I will—”

“You two make a great team, Ilyana, but I don’t like your chances against Gregor on your own. You’re mortals, both of you. I want vampires on every team, just to be safe.”

“I’ll go with them,” Mirabella said.

“Good. You three will be the back-up team, in case anyone gets into trouble.” When he sensed that Ilyana was about to object, he added, “You’ll also be ready to go once we do find Gregor. Seth and Vixen, head to Oklahoma City. Topaz and Jack, you take Dallas. Once you check out those two crime scenes, you can decide where to go from there. Report in as you go. Don’t take too much time, and don’t be seen. This is not an assault on Gregor. If you find him, you stay low, do some recon and call it in. No one moves on him until we’re all together. I don’t want your bodies to be the next ones found lying bloodless in some death house.”

He eyed them, and saw and sensed that they all agreed—except for Ilyana. There was defiance in her eyes. Roxy met his gaze, though, and said, “I’ll see to it.”

“Good. Go then, get on it. While you’re doing that, Briar and I will track Crisa down.” He turned to Briar, took her arm and led her from the room, ignoring the stunned way she stared at him.

When they reached the stairs and he started up them, she whispered, “Why?”

“We need to put on some more practical clothes, toss a few supplies in a bag in case we’re gone longer than we anticipate, pack up some first-aid gear in case she’s hurt. It’ll only take a few minutes, and then we’re out of here, I promise.”

She shook her head. “No. I meant, why are you coming with me instead of going after Gregor? He’s your mission. Not Crisa. Not me.”

He glanced at her, then shook his head. “I’d do the same if any one of the others had gone missing.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Well, you should be, because I would. I never asked to feel responsible for this band of misfits, but I feel it anyway. I have to think there’s a reason I ended up with a litter of pups to ride herd on, but I’m damned if I can figure out what it is.” He stopped outside her bedroom. “Grab what you think you’ll need. And don’t forget to bring a tranq gun and plenty of darts in case…” He didn’t finish, but he didn’t have to. Briar had to know damn well what he meant: In case someone uttered his trigger word and sent him into a frenzy of violence.

“You were hired to find Gregor,” she said.

“And I will. Hell, it’s not like I’m going to run out of time, Briar. He and I are both immortal.” He tried to inject a little lightness into his tone, because she seemed more tense and more worried than he’d ever seen her.

More vulnerable, too. He’d never thought of her that way, not once since he’d known her. But he saw it now. It was clear to him that if anything happened to Crisa, a girl she pretended to tolerate, and that only barely, she would be devastated. It was a weakness she would hate like hell to admit, but he was pretty sure she knew he could see it. And undoubtedly resented him for it.