Blake's Pursuit

by Tina Folsom

  “Sure thing, just be quick about it.” He looked at his wristwatch. “I’ve gotta be back at the office in a couple of hours.”

  “No worries. I won’t be long. And keep an eye on the boys while I’m gone, will you?”

  Blake was about to storm out, when he heard footsteps behind him. He looked over his shoulder. Lilo was following him.

  “I’ll be able to find it faster than you. I know Hannah’s taste. I know what her diary would look like.”

  “Then describe it for me.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest, drawing his eyes to those tempting curves. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Damn it, Lilo. What if that intruder comes back while we’re there?”

  “In that case it’s even more important that you don’t go alone.”

  He did a double take. “Are you trying to imply that you’d be protecting me?”

  From behind him, he heard Eddie chuckle. Without taking his eyes off Lilo, he growled, “Not funny, Eddie.”

  Yeah, it was so not funny that this woman was getting under his skin with such ease.

  Or that he was allowing it.

  And possibly even enjoying it.

  10

  Lilo felt the air sizzle between them when they were back in the car, heading for Hannah’s apartment. Blake was clearly not used to a woman ignoring his orders.

  “I’m not ungrateful, you know,” she started.

  He didn’t take his eyes off the road. “I didn’t say you were.”

  She scoffed. “You didn’t have to.”

  “I’m just trying to protect you. It’s bad enough that Hannah has disappeared. How can I find her, how can I function normally, if I have to worry about you too?

  For a moment she was speechless. Blake would find it hard to function if he had to worry about her? Instinctively she shook her head. That was impossible. It would imply that he cared. About her. When he didn’t even know her.

  “What?” he barked.

  She looked at his profile, and she finally understood. “I’m sorry.”

  “Sorry for what?”

  “You’re as stressed out about this whole thing as I am, and I’m only causing you more grief.” She stared out the side window and watched the lights whizz past it. “You’re used to doing all this without somebody interfering. You don’t need my help to find Hannah.” She sniffled. “It’s just… I want to help. I want to know that I’m doing something to find my friend. I owe her that.” Her voice cracked. Damn it! She wasn’t gonna cry, not now when she’d tried to be so brave all night.

  A warm hand clasping hers made her whip her head in Blake’s direction. She found him looking at her, his gaze kind and understanding.

  “We both want the same thing: to find Hannah.” He smiled. “And I do need your help. If you hadn’t mentioned that Ronny was a Vüber client, we wouldn’t have any leads.”

  He released her hand, making her realize how much the innocent touch had comforted her.

  “And you’re right: I’m not used to having my orders ignored. By anyone.” He smirked. “Not just women.”

  “Or teenagers?” she teased, his words having put her at ease again.

  He grimaced. “Particularly teenagers.”

  Once in the apartment, it didn’t take long to find what they were looking for. Lilo pulled a datebook from a shelf. It had a thick, cushioned cover decorated with dried flowers. “Here it is.”

  “Let’s see.” Blake reached for it, and together they turned to the week of Hannah’s disappearance. “She abbreviates a lot.”

  Lilo nodded. “She’s done that since we were kids.” She pointed to an entry the day before her disappearance. “She took Frankenfurter to the vet here. There’s a telephone number.”

  Blake saved it in his cell phone. “I’ll call the clinic as soon as they open in the morning and find out whether Hannah kept the appointment.”

  “Maybe Frankenfurter had to stay there overnight. That would explain why he isn’t anywhere to be found.”

  “Maybe.” But the doubt in Blake’s voice was audible.

  Apart from a few reminders to pay bills, there weren’t many entries for the week in question. The weeks before showed a dentist appointment, a note to fire the dog walker, several movie dates, presumably with Ronny, a hair appointment, and a visit to check out a gym.

  “Nothing out of the ordinary,” Blake said, sounding disappointed. “Let’s take it with us, just in case.”

  Lilo slipped the book into her purse just as Blake’s phone rang.

  He answered it immediately. “What have you got?”

  He listened for a few seconds, then said, “Text me his address. And his photo, too. Thanks, Finn!” He pressed the end button. “There was only one man named Ronald who got rides from Hannah.” His cell phone pinged, indicating the arrival of a text message. Blake pointed to the display. “And now we have his address and what he looks like.”

  Lilo tapped on the photo to enlarge it. “That’s not the man who broke in.” She shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Maybe he sent a friend. Or maybe the two events aren’t connected after all. Let’s not waste any time. Let’s go to his house. Now,” she demanded, already heading for the door.

  Blake caught up with her. “We’re not going without backup. We don’t know what we’re dealing with. He might not be alone.”

  “Good idea. Let’s call the police.” She pulled Donnelly’s card from her pocket. He’d handed it to her, telling her to call his direct line if anything else came up.

  “No. If the police show up, he’ll run. Besides, they have no probable cause to act. We’ll check it out ourselves first.” He dialed a number on his phone. “I’ll get somebody from the company to help us.”

  “But if he’s dangerous, the police are much better equipped to—”

  Blake lifted his hand to stop her. “Hey, Wes, I need your help. Can you meet me out in the Excelsior?” He paused for a moment. “Yes, now. I’ll text you the address. And, Wes, we don’t wanna wake anybody up and alert them to our arrival. Bring your bag of tricks, just in case.” He disconnected the call.

  “What bag of tricks?” Lilo asked, curious.

  “The usual equipment any bodyguard has. Plus, a few extras. In case the guy gives us any trouble.”

  “You mean stuff to tie him up with? Or are you talking about something to… make him tell us where Hannah is?”

  He took her elbow and ushered her out of the apartment. “We’re not the CIA.”

  “Could’ve fooled me, considering all the resources you have at your disposal,” she shot back.

  She’d never encountered a law enforcement agency or private security firm that worked as seamlessly and efficiently as the company that employed Blake. And she’d researched the field thoroughly for her mystery series. So why, if Scanguards was so good at what they did, had she never heard of them?

  ~ ~ ~

  Wesley, Scanguards’ resident witch, was already waiting for them, when Blake pulled up in his Aston Martin. Wes had parked his black BMW a block away from Ronny’s house. The license plate, WTW—Wesley, The Witch—was hard to miss.

  Blake parked behind Wes and killed the engine.

  “I would tell you to stay in the car, but I’m guessing you’d ignore me.” He glanced at Lilo whose hand was already on the door handle.

  She stopped in mid-motion, and met his eyes. From somewhere, light reflected in them, and for a moment he was mesmerized by her cornflower-blue irises. They should signify innocence, but in Lilo they accentuated her mysteriousness. She’d told him a lot by her actions, her willingness to fly halfway across the country to look for Hannah, her determination to put herself in harm’s way if only it would bring her a step closer to her friend. He admired that in a person. And even more so in a human who didn’t even know what she was up against.

  But he knew: whatever the reason for Hannah’s disappearance, the evidence was mounting that a vampire was behind it. The fact that Ronny was a Vüber c
lient confirmed that he was a vampire, because only vampires were allowed to sign up for the service. So if Hannah was dating a vampire, and had disappeared three days ago, why had her loving boyfriend not reached out to Scanguards? It was an open secret in the vampire community that Scanguards dealt with any vampire-related crimes. Ronny would have been assured discretion and wouldn’t have had to hide who or what he was.

  “Thank you…”

  Lilo’s voice pulled him from his reverie. Their gazes locked.

  “…for everything you’re doing for Hannah. Without you, I don’t know what I’d be doing.”

  He felt himself move closer, drawn to her soft voice and tender gaze.

  “She’s very lucky to have a colleague like you,” Lilo continued. “Somebody who’s watching out for her.” She lifted her hand as if to touch him.

  A knock at the window made Lilo pull her hand back and Blake twist his head.

  Wesley stood on the driver’s side, his head tilted to the side, his eyes rolling.

  Quickly, Blake opened the door and got out.

  “If you wanted an audience for your make-out session, you should have told me in advance. I would have brought popcorn.”

  “That was not a—”

  He left the sentence unfinished when Lilo appeared next to him.

  “Lilo, this is Wesley. He also works for Scanguards.”

  They shook hands.

  “Hi, Wesley. Sorry to drag you out here,” Lilo apologized.

  Wes jerked his thumb at Blake. “I’m used to it from him.” He shifted his gaze. “So, what’s this about?”

  “One of our Vüber employees is missing. You might know her: Hannah Bergdorf.”

  “Pretty redhead?” Wes asked.

  Blake nodded. “That’s her. She hasn’t been seen or heard from in three days. Lilo here is her best friend and flew out from Nebraska to try to find her. We’ve already searched her flat, and we have reason to believe that her boyfriend has something to do with it. He was one of her Vüber clients.” The last sentence he added to make sure Wes understood that Hannah’s boyfriend was a vampire.

  “Ah, I see.”

  Blake motioned to the end of the block. “Ronny lives out here. We thought we’d pay him a visit, see why he hasn’t contacted anybody about his girlfriend’s disappearance.”

  “Well, what are we waiting for?” Wes grinned. He loved nothing more than driving a little fear into a man who didn’t treat his woman right.

  Blake suppressed a chuckle. In that respect, they were the same, though they’d started out as competitors when they’d both first joined Scanguards and hadn’t always seen eye to eye. Shortly before they’d met, Wesley had found out that he was a witch. In the years that followed, he’d worked diligently to gain back the powers that his mother had robbed him of as a child, and now he was one of the most accomplished witches in the country. And he was on Scanguards’ side, though witches had traditionally been the vampires’ enemy.

  “This way.”

  He led the way while Wes and Lilo followed close behind. Ronny’s house was nothing special, a 1950s ranch-style house with a short driveway in front, a tiny untended patch of grass next to it, and a dilapidated wooden gate that only hung on one hinge.

  Silently, Blake marched up to the front door and listened. It was about three hours before sunrise. No vampire would be asleep this time of night, but the house was quiet and dark.

  He looked over his shoulder and motioned to Wes. He only had to point to the front door, and Wes knew what he needed to do.

  Blake moved to the side to let his friend do his magic. And magic it truly was: a simple spell that unlocked any door. While Wes mumbled the verse as quietly as possible, Blake turned around to Lilo, his broad back shielding Wes from her view.

  What is he doing? Lilo mouthed.

  Blake shook his head and put his finger across his lips to indicate to her to remain quiet. For once, she complied, though she tried to spy past him to get a glimpse at Wes. The witch, however, was already done. There was a soft click, and the door eased open.

  Blake lifted his hand to signal Lilo to remain where she was, while he nodded to Wes and slipped past him into the house. He let his senses roam. It smelled of vampire, but the scent was at least a day old. Nevertheless, he proceeded with caution as he moved farther into the house. There were two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a bathroom. Every room was empty.

  He marched back into the hallway. “You can come in, he’s not here.”

  As soon as Wes and Lilo entered and closed the door behind them, Blake flipped the light switch. He didn’t need the light to find his way around, but neither Wes nor Lilo possessed the superior night vision of a vampire.

  “He’s gone?” Lilo asked, disappointment coloring her voice.

  “I’m afraid so. But that’s not to say he’s not coming back.” Blake walked back into the living room. “He’s messy, but it doesn’t look like he’s moved out.”

  “Maybe he left in a hurry,” Lilo suggested.

  “Don’t think so,” Wes said, and pointed to a table. “He left his computer. And that looks like a pretty new Mac. Even if he was in a hurry, he would have taken that with him.”

  “Wes is right.” He exchanged a look with his friend. “Let’s put surveillance on the house in case he comes back, and let’s take the computer with us.”

  Lilo stared at him. “You’re gonna steal the computer? Don’t you need like, a warrant, or something?”

  Blake winked at her. “Luckily, we’re not the police. Besides, we’ll give it back once we don’t need it anymore.”

  “I’ll take it back to the office and have IT check it out,” Wes offered.

  “Eddie can do it.” He pulled his cell from his pocket and dialed. The call was answered immediately.

  “I was about to call you to tell you I’m leaving,” Eddie said, before Blake could say anything.

  “I’ve got another computer for you to check out.”

  “Sorry, can’t stay. Bring it to the office, and I’ll have one of my guys do it, but I need to get back to HQ. Thomas just called.”

  “Fine. I’ll send Wes with the computer. Did you find anything else on Hannah’s laptop or tablet?”

  “Not much. I’ll send a list of her web searches to your email so you can go through them and see what might be important. But there was nothing significant in her emails or any of the files on the computer.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Oh, and what do you want me to do about Nicholas and Adam?”

  “They’ll be fine on their own for a short while. I should be back within an hour. Tell them not to answer the door while they’re alone, and to run for the safe room if they hear or see anything suspicious.” The kids knew the drill. He wasn’t too worried.

  “Sounds good. Leaving now.”

  “Thanks, Eddie.”

  He shoved the phone back into his pocket. “Let’s see if there’s anything else that could tell us if he took Hannah and where they might have gone. Lilo, why don’t you start in the bedroom?”

  She nodded and disappeared.

  Blake followed Wes into the kitchen. “Wes, another thing,” he said quietly, so Lilo wouldn’t hear them.

  “Yeah?”

  “I need you to scry for Hannah.” Scrying was a skill only witches had. A skill that helped them find missing people.

  “Do you have anything with her DNA on it?”

  “Not on me. Go to her flat and see what you can find.”

  “Will do right after we’re done here.”

  “Thanks.”

  11

  The search of Ronny’s house hadn’t yielded anything else, but had confirmed what Lilo had always suspected: that he was a loser. He owned nothing of value besides the computer, and he was a slob, judging by the state of his house. What did Hannah see in him?

  She recalled the photo Blake had shown her and had to admit that Ronny was good looking. Was that what he was living on? His good l
ooks? Coupled with charm and some skill in bed, she knew only too well how a woman could lose her good sense and stay with a man like that longer than she should. She’d found herself on the receiving end of such an arrangement only a few years earlier. But she’d learned from it. Now she chose her boyfriends with care, in fact with so much care that she hadn’t dated anyone for the last two years.

  Maybe her break from dating was the reason why Morgan West, her protagonist, had become so lifelike and real to her. He was the personification of what a man should be like: strong, decisive, reliable. A take-charge kind of guy. A man she could rely on. Just like Blake.

  The more she saw him in action, the more she was in awe of him. His colleagues seemed to respect him and not question any of his demands. He always seemed to know what to do next; there was no hesitation in his actions.

  As she now followed Blake up the stairs from the garage into his house, she couldn’t help but find herself admiring his muscled physique. Was it really possible that this man had everything she’d ever wanted? Not just a great character, but also a great body? Not to speak of a kind disposition, which surfaced when he dealt with Nicholas and Adam.

  She sighed and entered the hallway. From the living room the TV blared, and Blake headed for it. She followed and watched him snatch the remote control, switching it off. Silence descended on the room.

  Adam and Nicholas were asleep on the couch.

  Blake looked over his shoulder, meeting her gaze. “Guess it’s time for those two to go to bed.”

  He shook Nicholas gently, until the boy opened his eyes. “Hmm? What?”

  “Time for bed.”

  While Nicholas got up rather sluggishly, Blake scooped the still sleeping Adam up into his arms.

  “Do you need help?” she asked.

  He smiled and shook his head. “Why don’t you rest?” Then he carried Adam upstairs, while Nicholas followed him.

  It was only a few minutes before Blake came downstairs again. Lilo still stood in the archway between the hallway and living room, having watched him walk down the stairs. Despite the fact that she’d been up all night, she wasn’t ready to sleep. So much had happened in such a short time that her mind wasn’t ready to rest yet.