Taking one last look around, my eyes tearing as I cataloged the strangely familiar scent permeating my home, I followed with Halina. Just as the line picked up and Jacen was about to say hello to Gabriel, Teren snatched the phone from the mixed vampire's hands.
His face in a snarl, he snapped out, "What did you do?"
Rushing to his side, I put a hand on his arm. We really didn't know if Gabriel was involved in this or not; best not to piss him off either way. Teren held gazes with me while Gabriel answered with, "I beg your pardon, Teren. What did I do...about what?"
Teren exhaled slowly, purposely. "Someone entered our home...took my son while we were all sleeping. Would you have anything to do with that?"
A long pause on Gabriel's end. "Julian is missing?"
Teren grit his jaw. "Yes," his voice warbled. "Did you have anything to do with it?"
As Alanna and Ashley finished with their phone calls and walked into the room, Gabriel answered matter-of-factly, "No, I did not."
Starla and Jacen kept their matching eyes to the ground, for once, no longer touching each other. Alanna and Imogen put their arms around me as Ash turned to sit with Mom and Nika in the living room; I could hear my mom humming and rocking my distraught daughter. Wanting to hug her myself, but needing to know what Gabriel knew, I stayed beside Teren, watching his face flex in frustration.
In the pause of Teren gathering his thoughts, Halina stepped forward. Speaking at a normal volume, even though Teren was holding the phone, she asked, "Did you use me to get to my grandchildren?"
Gabriel's voice was immediate through the small device's speaker. "No."
Halina took another step forward, her hands in tight balls as she stood in front of Teren, locking gazes with him. "Did you use me to study my family?"
Again, Gabriel answered her instantly. "No."
Halina closed her eyes and looked about ready to grab the phone from Teren and scream into it. She didn't need to though; everyone could hear her just fine. "Do not lie to me. If you, in any way, had something to do with Julian's disappearance..."
Gabriel sighed. "It wasn't me, my love. I did not take your grandchild."
Teren took over the conversation when Halina's face softened; she so wanted to believe him. Teren needed more convincing. "Of course you did, of course you took him! Who else has the power and knowhow to steal him right out from under our noses? Who else knew about the soundproofing done to our room? Who else could shut off the bond so we can't feel him!"
Behind him, Starla and Jacen began to look very uncomfortable, like maybe Teren would think them guilty by association. I watched them intently, curious myself now.
Gabriel paused on his end. When his voice came out, it was scientifically curious. "You can't sense him anymore?"
Teren gripped the phone tighter, his eyes narrowing as he stared at our daughter in the other room, still being rocked by my mother. "No...only Nika can feel him."
"Fascinating." Gabriel whispered it, but I still heard him. A growl burrowed out of my chest, but Teren was the one who lost the hold on his temper.
"Exactly!" he yelled, every vampire flinching. "You think it's fascinating! To you, this is all one giant experiment - which is why you took him!
Halina crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away, red tears stinging her eyes. Alanna dropped her arms from me and went to hold her emotional son. I ran my hands back through my hair, every second believing more and more that Gabriel was indeed capable of this.
Teren was right; he knew about the room, he'd given it to us. He'd supplied himself with an alibi, making sure his spies told us the raid was tonight, so we'd let our guard down. For all we knew, everything about Malcolm was a lie, a hoax to draw our attention away from him. The man we'd met at the theater could have been anybody. It was possible that Gabriel had already dealt with him, right after the lab trashing. It was even possible that there was no Malcolm. All of it could have been a lie. All for an experiment.
Gabriel sighed wearily into the phone as tension pricked the air. "Honestly, Teren, I did not. I would not separate a family against their will. True, their bond fascinates me, but I would not conduct an experiment of this magnitude on a child." He paused, then quietly said, "Do not forget that I am the reason he even made it to his birth. I've only ever tried to help your family, Teren."
Teren closed his eyes, shaking his head angrily. "Right, how could I forget? You're constantly reminding us how valuable you are. The shots, the windows, finding Carr...finding people." He swallowed harshly, his voice shaking as his eyes opened. "And all for nothing, right?" Teren sniffed as he shook his head again. "I don't believe it. No one does something for nothing. No one is that altruistic."
Alanna stroked her son's arm while he waited for Gabriel's response. Starla and Jacen shifted their feet while Halina closed her eyes. "Teren, not everyone has ulterior motives," Gabriel said softly.
I watched my husband struggle to reign in his temper, his rational head combating with his heart. Sometimes it was easier to yell when you were frustrated or scared; Teren was both. In a clipped voice, he said, "But you do. You did what you did for access, to study them because they fascinate you. You stay close to us to watch them. You've already admitted that much. If you orchestrated all of this to test their abilities, it will be the last experiment that you ever run...you have my word."
Gabriel sighed again. "If you find that I did have anything to do with this, I would let you do what you will with me. But I promise you, I did not." A short sniffle on Gabriel's end surprised me, along with the rare emotion I heard when he spoke again. "Believe me or don't, but I love your children, Teren."
Teren's hand was shaking along with his voice when he responded to Gabriel's declaration. "Then who? Who else has the power to pull this off?" Alanna stroked his back, her dark head resting against her son's shoulder, her eyes moist with pink tears.
I clutched Imogen tight as the emptiness in my soul, where my son's presence should have been, hallowed out my heart. The absence of him was beyond any pain I'd ever felt. An ache of surprising dread filled me. If Gabriel really didn't have anything to do with it, then my son could be anywhere, with anyone. As much as it hurt, I'd almost have preferred the idea of Gabriel snatching him as some wacked out experiment. At least then I'd know that Julian wouldn't be harmed. I believed Gabriel when he said he loved them.
Gabriel's voice was dark with heat when he answered Teren's seemingly unanswerable question. "I believe I know who has him, Teren."
Every somber, hanging head in the room lifted. A painful bubble of hope rose up my chest again as I locked gazes with my husband. His eyes were moist as well, and I could see the painful longing rising in him too. "Who?" I whispered, hoping he'd spout out an address for me.
Hearing me, Gabriel said, "The raid did not go as planned. I lost a few good men tonight," he paused and Jacen stepped forward, his face seemingly paler. I looked over at him sympathetically. Gabriel's "men" were Jacen and Starla's family. Starla grabbed his hand, stepping into his side as Gabriel continued. "We were able to wound him, but not grievously enough to stop him from automatically healing." Gabriel sighed, his voice rough. "We almost had him, Teren. None of this would have happened if we'd just gotten there sooner."
Teren started breathing again as he shook his head. "Are you saying...? Did...?"
Gabriel sighed as my husband couldn't complete any of his questions. "Yes...this is my fault, Teren. Not because I planned it, but because I made him so desperate, that he felt he had no other choice. I'm sorry, I really didn't think he'd go after you, and I'm not sure what his intentions are with Julian, but...yes...I believe Malcolm has taken your son."
A deep growl rose from Teren's chest as his eyes flashed to the front door; I barely recognized my husband. He only spoke one word, but it chilled me to the core. "Malcolm."
The smell upstairs instantly linked with a memory. That man by the movie theaters. His scent had been faint in the breeze and faint on the paper, but now that the two were linked, they perfectly matched. The thief that Gabriel was chasing had somehow, and for some reason, snuck into our home and taken our child. I couldn't see why and I didn't really care. I wanted Julian back - that was the only thing I currently cared about.
Eyes still on the door, Teren growled into the phone, "Are you close?" When Gabriel answered that he could be there within the hour, Teren nodded. "Good, get here. We have work to do." Then he snapped shut the phone and tossed it at a remorseful Jacen.
Teren scanned our home, his pale eyes clearly showing a spinning mind. Like a skipping CD player, my mind was shuffling too, thoughts and feelings continually shifting from one to the next; none of them helpful. A second of silence passed as we all watched him, then Halina stepped forward. Everyone's attention shifted to her. "What are we going to do, Teren?"
He twisted around to her, his eyes simmering as determination and righteous anger flooded his expression. His lips curling into a snarl, he growled out, "We're going to get my son back."
Chapter 18 Three Days
They say the first forty-eight hours are the most critical when it comes to finding a missing person. I wasn't sure if that applied when the person missing was a vampire who'd been abducted by a desperate man with a grudge, but that feeling of time ticking forward still added tension and fear to our home. And we couldn't ask for outside help either. It wasn't as if I could go on the news, plastering Julian's face and description over every television in America. That sort of exposure was too difficult to contain. We didn't let people remember our features. How on earth would Halina wipe millions of viewers?
But we did have a home full of eager helpers and we did have a pretty good idea over who'd taken Julian. That was confirmed when Gabriel showed up at our house. Stepping into the twins' room, his nose wrinkled immediately. "Yes, that is Malcolm's scent. He was here." Gabriel's face stormed up with genuine anger and he looked ready to tear apart...something.
Halina's arms slipped around him, her face burying in his chest. "I knew you didn't do this," she whispered as he held her.
With Gabriel now in our search party, rather than on the suspect list, Teren started barking out orders. With Hot Ben glued to his side, he pointed at Gabriel, Jacen and Starla. "You three check down south. He was headed that way before he turned back. I want to know why."
Starla and Jacen immediately nodded and blurred off. Jacen looking eager to get away from Gabriel's stormy, jade eyes. While Gabriel hadn't chided him directly, there were more than a few narrowed glances when it became obvious to him that Jacen had ignored his orders and left us alone. The guilt swept over me again. I'd asked and encouraged the mixed pair to leave.
Watching his family depart, Gabriel twisted back to Teren. "He wouldn't have headed south with Julian, Teren. He wouldn't have headed towards my nest." He raised an eyebrow as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Teren sighed as he sat on the couch, his slacks still filthy from his earlier search for our son. "Then why head that way?"