Waiting seemed to be the theme of the night. I could handle more waiting if I had to, but only because the promise of answers lingered in the air.
My cell chimed with a new text. I pulled it out of my pocket to see who it was. It was Dex.
Just wanted to see how you were.
I smiled as I read his message. He truly had become a great friend. I started typing out a response, but a call came through from Landon. My heart thundered in my chest. Crap. I was supposed to work tonight. Landon was still adjusting to being a vampire; he couldn’t be around humans for long periods. Temptation to feed from them was too much to control. Dipping out on my shift placed him behind the bar, unless Sage decided she could handle it all alone.
“Hello?” I answered. My mind flipped through a list of excuses I could use for why I wasn’t where I should be.
“Hey, Kenna, it’s Landon.” There was a heavy pause. I wasn’t sure if he was preoccupied with something, or if he was struggling to come up with a polite way to ask where I was.
Since I kissed him, almost to death, and had to call Sage to turn him into a vampire, our relationship—both employer to employee, and any semblance of friendship we might have had beforehand—seemed stressed to the limits. I knew he didn’t harbor hostility toward me for what I had done, but it still didn’t lessen the awkward tension between us.
“I just wanted to see if you knew you were on the schedule to work tonight.”
My heart pulsed in my throat. I wondered if he was able to hear its defining rhythm with his new vampire hearing. “As soon as you called, I remembered.”
“I’m sure you probably have a good reason for forgetting.”
My eyes focused on Piper and Jasper going through things in the backseat of his truck. “Yeah, I do. I’m sorry.” I needed to be here. Finding out what happened to Randal was important, but so was helping Landon. I was torn.
“It’s okay. Since both you and Sage didn’t show, I assumed there must be breaking news in Randal’s disappearance. I’ll let this one slide, but please don’t make a habit of it.”
Confusion weighted my thoughts. “Sage didn’t show up either?”
“No. I assumed she was with you, searching for Randal.”
“She’s not.” Alarm rippled through my insides. I needed to call Luke to see if he had heard from her. If she went missing too, I wasn’t sure I would be able to hold myself together.
And the plot thickens, the wraith whispered. Suddenly, I find I’m content sitting back and watching your life unravel.
I ignored him as best I could, focusing on the conversation with Landon.
“Where is she then?” Landon asked.
“I’m not sure. I’ll call Luke and see if he knows.”
“Call me if you learn anything.” Worry laced his words, causing an unnecessary tendril of jealousy to flare through me. Since Sage was his creator, it was only natural for him to worry about her whereabouts. He was bonded to her in a way I would never understand. Besides, even if his worry was because of something more, it shouldn’t be an issue. Landon wasn’t mine. Randal was, and I loved him.
Sire bond. A jolt of realization surged through me. Could that be what happened to Sage? Had her sire bond with Randal led her into the hands of his captor, and now she was at stake as well? My heart thumped horribly fast against my rib cage.
“I will,” I promised Landon before hanging up.
“Sage has gone missing too?” Arabella’s doe-like eyes widened. I knew with her impeccable hearing she heard everything Landon had to say, so there was no reason to answer.
“When was the last time you spoke to her?” I asked while trying to answer this question myself. I hadn’t heard from Sage in days, which didn’t mean much, considering I had slept two of them away.
“Not recently.” Arabella’s eyebrows pinched together in thought. “The last time I saw her was at the housewarming party. I’ve talked to her since on the phone, but I’m not sure when the last time was.”
My cell chimed with a text. It was Dex again. I had yet to answer him.
You okay?
I erased everything I’d typed and began a new message.
No. Landon just called and said Sage never came into work tonight. No one can remember seeing or hearing from her in the last couple days. Can you? ~ Kenna
I chewed my bottom lip while waiting for his response. Why was everyone I cared about disappearing? The answer hit me square in the stomach. Whoever was trying to get rid of me was now resorting to kidnapping those who would help me rid myself of the wraith. That had to be it! Who the hell was this chick? I was ready to rip her in two.
“I think we’ve just about got it, ladies,” Jasper called out. His voice snapped me back to the situation. “It went a little faster with two of us working together.” There was pride in his words directed toward Piper. This must have been a bonding moment for the two of them. Normally, I would find such a thing sweet and endearing, but right now it annoyed me. All I wanted was to know what happened here. I needed answers. Another person I cared about could be in danger because of me.
“Will the surveillance tape show us footage of my brother being abducted now?” Arabella asked.
“Once we break through this last section, it should. If he was taken from here.” Jasper’s hands were held up in front of him, as though he was focusing on one spot in particular.
Another text from Dex came through.
I haven’t seen her either.
My heart sank. It was official then; my boyfriend and my friend were both missing.
Chapter 11
“And we have officially broken through.” Jasper took a step back and wiped his brow. “Whew, that was a tough one. I’m glad you were here, sis.” He flashed Piper a smile and nudged her with his elbow.
“Me too. There’s no way you would have been able to break through so fast without me.” She grinned from ear-to-ear.
“You’re going to make a fine cloaker one day,” Jasper boasted.
“Okay, great job you two.” I cut off their moment, eager to find out what the cloak had been hiding. Or who, I should say. “So the cloak on this area is gone?”
“Money back guarantee if not,” Jasper assured me. He was leaning against the hood of his truck with his arms folded across his chest, appearing sure of himself.
“I don’t see anything different though.” I glanced around, searching for something I might have missed. “There’s nothing out of the ordinary.”
“There must not have been a struggle.” Jasper pulled out his clipboard and wrote something down. I presumed it was details for the bill.
If there were no signs of a struggle, then Randal hadn’t put up a fight against whoever had taken him. That didn’t seem right. Why would he have gone with someone willingly? I surveyed the scene before me with closer inspection, trying to find something.
Is it so hard to believe your lover boy disappeared all on his own? Is it not possible he may have suffered from cold feet? the wraith spoke up. Do not delude yourself, sweet succubus, into thinking you mattered so much to him.
I did matter to him. Screw you! There is something else going on here, I thought back to him.
“There was only one cloak in place then?” Confusion distorted Arabella’s words.
“Must have been.” Jasper didn’t look up from his clipboard. “There’s probably something on the footage now.”
“What are we waiting for? Let’s head inside and see.” My feet started toward the entrance of the club without waiting to see if anyone was following.
The goonies at the door didn’t faze me this time. Although the desire to give them a piece of my mind for breaking into Bree’s house did burn through me, seeing the surveillance footage was more important. I needed to find Randal. My time with him was running out. Plus, if we found him, we might find Sage as well. Worry they might be hurt squeezed my insides.
I made my way through the throng of people congregating near the entrance and he
aded toward the back where I remembered his office was. Arabella took the lead somewhere in the middle of the hall. I wasn’t sure if it was because my feet had faltered, or if the sight of Randal’s office door had been what gave her legs more speed.
Stepping into Randal’s office had my skin tingling. Being here without him seemed as though it were an invasion of privacy. I glanced around the dimly lit office, taking in the décor. The same flooring from in the hall flowed into the room, but that was where the similarities between the club and Randal’s office ended. While his sophisticated and chic sense of style was still clearly reflected, there was another level of urbane taste throughout I hadn’t seen before.
Dark wainscoting lined the walls from floor to about hip height. A light cream color accented the rich darkness, giving a good contrast. It didn’t take me long to notice there was not a single picture hung on the walls. In fact, the entire space was devoid of anything personal, except for the back wall, which had been transformed into a built-in bookshelf. Colorful spines crammed each of the shelves, reminding me of the dreamscape Randal had once pulled me into. It had been a library or an office with a wall of books similar to this. My brow arched as I zeroed in on the wall with a steady eye; maybe it had been the inspiration behind the creation of the dreamscape.
This thought had my heart aching for him.
“Did you find anything?” Bianca interrupted my thoughts. She was sitting behind the solid desk that dominated the room. Her hands seemed to tremble as she set down whatever drink she’d been sipping before we walked in. The sight of her appearing flustered surprised me. I guessed her hard exterior was cracking from the stress and worry of the situation.
“There was a cloaking spell in place, yes,” Jasper answered. “Its origin was hoodoo, which made it a little more difficult to break through, but we managed.” He tossed his arm over Piper’s shoulder and pulled her into him. I half expected him to mess up her hair or some other show of brotherly love, but he didn’t.
“Hoodoo? Why would there be any reason for someone to use hoodoo?” Bianca’s brows pulled together.
“I’m not sure, but you should be able to view the video footage from that night without any cloaks in place now,” Jasper insisted.
She grabbed the mouse on the desk and began clicking away at things on Randal’s computer. “Okay, let me see.”
We all walked around the desk so we could have a view of the screen as well. The moment Randal appeared Bianca paused the footage, and then started it forward.
There he was, walking across the parking lot to his car. He paused to glance at his cell, his brows pulled together as though whatever he was reading weighed heavily on his mind, or someone had said something he didn’t care for. We watched as he appeared to text someone. He pocketed his cell shortly after and leaned against the side of his car as though he were waiting for someone. Who was he meeting? He was supposed to head to my apartment then.
Headlights from another car traveled over him, illuminating his face in a different way than the lights above him did. He didn’t appear to be happy about meeting with whoever it was. Something in his facial expression changed as he watched them pull in.
“I wish there was audio,” Bianca muttered.
“I know. What if whoever it is doesn’t step into view?” I added.
“I’m zoomed in on him. Hold on.” Bianca clicked around a few times until the camera angle became wider. “There. Now we should be able to see whoever it is better.”
The entire parking lot became visible, and I watched a familiar car roll through the lot. Sage’s car. Why was she meeting with Randal that night?
Could it be possible he was seeing her as well as you? the wraith interjected.
My stomach twisted as his seed of deceit planted inside me. I shifted my stare to Randal again, searching his face. He didn’t seem happy to see her, so I doubted that was the case. Bianca zoomed in a bit, focusing on Sage’s car. It looked as though there was someone with her.
As I watched her car come to a stop, all I could think about was how Sage had lied to me. She claimed she hadn’t seen Randal since the night of the party when I’d asked. Why would she lie?
People only lie when they have something to hide.
Suspicion and jealousy clouded my mind again as I took the wraith’s words to heart. I watched Sage climb out of her vehicle, my heart beating quick and hard as I waited for what would happen next between the two. I prayed I didn’t have to watch them kiss.
Anything is possible, my sweet. The wraith spoke in a condescending tone.
I ignored his second attempt at planting a seed of doubt within me, refusing to let it take hold. Randal wouldn’t do something like that to me. He cared about me too much. He loved me.
“Why would Sage have had Randal meet her at Red River?” Arabella demanded as though any of us had an answer for her.
“I’d like to know the same thing,” I muttered, feeling anger toward Sage bubble through me. It was crazy how I could go from being worried sick that something may have happened to her, to being pissed at her so quickly.
“Better question, why did Sage neglect to mention she was the last to see him?” Bianca added. “After viewing this, I plan to call her for answers.”
Bianca and Sage had always seemed to harbor a hatred for one another. I remembered the bitchy looks Bianca had given Sage the first night I met her at the Red River opening. It was clear Bianca was ready to tap into that hatred tonight while she questioned Sage one-on-one.
Pieces clicked together in my mind. Suddenly I found myself wondering if Sage had played a part in Randal’s disappearance. I opened my mouth to inform Bianca that Sage had gone missing as well and to tell her my theory, but something on the video caused my train of thought to come to a standstill.
The person with Sage stepped into view, and Bianca paused the footage again. Instantly I remembered having seen the girl before. Her dark skin seemed silky smooth in the bright lights of the parking lot, and I noticed how she was dressed in red from head to toe, same as the last time I’d seen her. It was the woman I witnessed visiting Sage at Spark awhile back. I had thought she was dropping off a blood donation for Sage that night, but now I wasn’t so sure. There could have been something far more sinister at play.
“Kyra,” Jasper muttered. My gaze snapped to him, taking in his serious expression. He leaned forward and squinted his eyes, almost as though he was trying to make sure she was the woman he thought she was. “Yeah, that’s Kyra. I haven’t seen her in a while, but there’s your hoodoo practitioner.” He straightened his stance and pointed to the screen.
“This is who performed the cloaking spell?” Bianca leaned forward, seeming to take in every detail she could about the woman.
“Yeah. She’s not from around here. Unless she relocated, which I highly doubt.” Jasper crossed his arms over his solid chest.
“Why do you say that?” He had piqued my curiosity.
“Because Kyra is not only a hoodoo practitioner, she’s also part elemental witch.”
“Elemental witch?” I’d never heard of one before. Then again, I’d never heard of a cloaking witch before last night either.
“Elemental witches are something altogether different. Kyra is from the older, darker side of the witch circle. Their magic is linked to one another. Although, I have heard that, because she is also part hoodoo, her magic is altered. The elemental side doesn’t need to be linked like others, because her hoodoo sets it free. I’m not one hundred percent sure so don’t quote it, but I can tell you for sure that her magic is not the same as ours. Think of it as a different breed of witch than us.” Jasper pointed to Piper and himself.
“I didn’t know there were different breeds of witches.” My lips were moving, voicing my internal thoughts out loud before I could stop them.
“There is. Hoodoo is a darker, more potent magic than what any supernatural witch can do, especially when placed on someone,” Jasper clarified for me.
&nb
sp; “Why would Sage need this woman to hide a section of time for her with a cloaking spell of such severe caliber?” Arabella whispered under her breath. She was still focused on the larger picture, unlike the rest of us.
“You’re right.” I zeroed in on Sage and her facial expression. She seemed upset about something. What would have possessed her to do something like this?
Maybe she’s upset because she’s sick of your lover boy stringing you both along.
I pressed my hand to my temple. I missed my brick wall. “She wouldn’t go to this extreme in order to hide something going on between the two of them, would she?” The wraith was making me doubt Randal’s and my relationship.
“Randal would never do that,” Bianca snapped. “Not to you at least.”
Her words and the sharp tone of her voice caught me off guard, making me wonder if she hated how loyal her brother was to those he cared for. Or maybe she just hated how loyal he seemed to be to me. After all, she had been trying to sabotage my relationship with him since the beginning, hadn’t she? The night of the housewarming party crashed through my mind. I remembered how she had invited an inebriated Natalia to the party without Randal’s knowledge and attempted to hook them back up.
Bianca could have had something to do with Randal’s disappearance. Maybe Sage only wanted the meeting between her and Randal to be hidden from Bianca. Kyra could be Sage’s friend doing her a favor.
A dull throb pulsed above my right brow. Heat prickled along my spine, sucking the breath right out of my lungs. I needed to gain control over my emotions, because under no circumstances did I want my wings to spring free in front of everyone. Focusing on my breathing, I moved air in my nose and out through my mouth.
“She’s right.” Arabella patted me on the shoulder. I wondered if she was taking my sudden moment of panic as me focusing on Randal seeing Sage behind my back. I could handle that. It was better than her knowing I was struggling to rein in my wings. Wings she didn’t know I had. “He really cares for you, Kenna. He would never jeopardize what he has with you.”
Succubus Kiss The Complete Series Page 53