Dex answered on the second ring. “Hello, hello, darlin’.”
“Hey. How are you?” I asked, only because I didn’t want to dump everything I was calling for on him right away. Going through the formalities of a phone conversation seemed best.
“Doin’ good. And yourself?” There was a level of amusement lingering in his tone. He knew I didn’t call him to chitchat, but because I needed something from him. Dex was no dummy. “Second thought, go ahead and cut to the chase, sweetheart. It’s my day off, and I’d like to know what I’m gettin’ myself into right away. Anticipation isn’t my sort of thing.”
“Okay.” I sighed, wondering where to begin. “Kyra came by earlier and removed the cloaking spell she put on wherever Sage is keeping Randal.”
“Wait a minute; Sage is the one holdin’ Randal?”
I’d forgotten when I last spoke with Dex. Guilt tore through me for not having kept him in the loop.
“Yeah. Long story short, Sage kidnapped him to keep him from sacrificing himself to save me from the wraith. She paid Kyra to put a cloaking spell on where they’ve been hiding, and then Bianca paid her to remove it. Unfortunately, Lexy and I don’t know where the place is at.”
“Damn, witches make all the money, don’t they?” Dex whistled. “I’m in the wrong line of supes.”
“I know, right?” I laughed. Lexy flashed me a look I knew meant to get on with it, so I pressed forward. “So, I need you to come by and see if there’s anything in the image that looks familiar to you. If you don’t mind swinging by on your day off, I mean.”
“I don’t mind at all.” There was a kindness to his words that warmed my insides. God, I loved Dex. He was the sweetest guy. “And you did say Lexy was there, right?”
“Oh course.” I chuckled. Apparently, helping me out wasn’t the only thought coursing through his mind. He seemed to be focused on Lexy being in town as well. When we took our trip to Avalon Bay to track her down, I thought Dex and Lexy might have had a spark of chemistry. I wondered if it was still there. “She’s my roommate for the next few days.”
“I’ll be over in fifteen.”
I stifled a laugh at his quick response. “Thanks, Dex.”
“No problem.” He hung up before I could say another word.
“Dex will be here soon,” I informed Lexy. “Hopefully he knows where the place is.”
“Dex?” She eyed me. “The werewolf you brought with you to Avalon Bay?”
“Yup. He knows his way around this city, as well as the surrounding suburbs really well. I figured if anyone might know where this place was, or even what it was, it would be him.”
“Good logic.” Lexy smiled. It was the first smile I had seen grace her lips since Kyra arrived earlier this morning. “I like the way you think.”
“Thanks. Want a cup of tea while we wait?”
“Actually, do you have the stuff to make mimosas? I could go for a drink.” Her cheeks tinted pink from her admittance.
“I do, actually.” I had purchased the ingredients a while back, wanting something I rarely made at Spark for a change, I but hadn’t tapped into them yet, due to all that had happened recently.
It wasn’t long after we created our morning beverages that Dex showed up. He was dressed to impress in a collared shirt and pair of khaki cargo shorts. His hair had been gelled back, and his face clean-shaved. I had never seen him so clean-cut before. Generally, he was more on the rugged side. The type you’d imagine to wear faded jeans and a soft cotton T-shirt. A smirk twisted my lips as I let him in.
“Hey, you look good,” I said.
“Thanks, darlin’.” He sauntered through the threshold. “I’d say the same about you, but honestly, you look like you just rolled out of bed.” His eyes skimmed me over.
I looked down. Apparently, the surprise visit from Kace and Kyra had thrown me through a loop, and I’d neglected to get dressed for the day.
“And I can see you’re doin’ a little mornin’ drinkin’.” He nodded toward my champagne flute.
“Nothing wrong with a little day drinking every now and then,” Lexy called from the kitchen.
Dex’s eyes drifted from me to find her. I could tell the second he spotted her, because the most charming smile spread onto his face, one that accentuated his twin dimples to the fullest. It had to be the most calculated smile I’d ever seen, but on Dex, it had a drool-worthy effect.
I shifted my gaze to see if it had affected Lexy, and was surprised to see it hadn’t. How she was able to resist Dex’s charm when it was directed her way so forcefully I wasn’t sure.
“I didn’t say there was anythin’ wrong with it,” he muttered, before starting toward her. “As a matter of fact, I’ll take one if you ladies have another to spare.”
Lexy held up her hand to stop him. “After you look into the bowl and see if you recognize the place before it disappears.”
“Done.” Dex changed his path from the kitchen to the living room.
“There’s a sign, but it’s grainy,” I added. “Neither of us recognized anything else.”
“Okay.” Dex sat on my couch in front of the bowl. “Let’s see what were workin’ with.”
My heart picked up pace as the room dipped into silence. I watched Dex’s facial features, searching for any sign of recognition. There was nothing. Not right away at least.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure.” Dex leaned forward, his eyes squinting as he tried to make out the image in front of him. “But I think that’s the old Bate’s cement buildin’.”
“Where’s that at?” Lexy asked. I was sure having an answer, an actual place to look, was flooding her veins with adrenaline, same as mine.
Dex leaned back. “It’s over in Barron’s Cove.”
Barron’s Cove was a tiny town about eighty miles south of Newvale. It was nothing besides woods and small houses. I didn’t think they had more than one grocery store. It would be a perfect place to hide someone you had kidnapped.
“I haven’t been there in a while, not since Cooper put a stop to us comin’ on his territory to run.” Dex’s face grew grim. He didn’t seem to be happy about this Cooper guy putting an end to their fun. “He’s such a son of bitch sometimes.”
“But you know where the place is?” Lexy didn’t seem to care about werewolf drama. I knew all she wanted was directions to the place so she could relay them to Bianca.
Dex shifted to glace at her. “Sure I do. I can take you, if you like.”
“Let me relay all this to Bianca.” Lexy darted toward the hall. I knew she was going to my guest room. “I’ll be right back.”
“You ready for this?” Dex asked once we could hear the click of the bedroom door closing.
I made my way to the recliner. “Yeah.”
I was. The desire to see Randal again before going through with the ritual burned through my veins.
“From what Jasper said, there’s a good chance he might not wake for a few days. Whatever hoodoo that witch lady put on him knocked him out good,” Dex said.
“I know.”
“You worried about what Sage will say?”
“No. I can handle Sage.” I let a small chuckle slip past my lips. Sage was the least of my worries.
“Then what’s the matter?”
I hesitated before answering, trying to line my words up so my point would come across as best as it could. “After we get Randal from Sage, there’s nothing left to distract me from everything else.” The truth to my words plummeted me in the gut.
There would be nothing left for me to focus on, which meant my mind would be free to worry over all the what-ifs involved with the ritual.
“I can always distract you, sweetheart. Remember what I said before.” The amusement and heavy seduction in his voice made my eyes lift to his. “Anytime you wanna blur that friendship line, you let me know. I won’t tell the ancient vamp if you won’t. Never have been one to kiss and tell myself.” He winked.
My head flung back as a
loud laugh bellowed from deep inside me. I loved this guy so much. He always knew how to make me laugh when I needed it most.
“Again, you laugh at me.” He shook his head in disapproval, but the smirk twisting his lips and the glimmer of amusement in his eyes, contradicted it. “Most women would say, ‘Let’s go,’ but I always forget you’re not most women, Kenna Blake.”
“So they tell me.” I contained my laughter and stood. “I should go get changed. I’m sure Lexy will want to head to Barron’s Cove after she gets off the phone with Bianca.”
“You mean the Bun Bitch?” Dex laughed at his own joke, reminding me of when we had first met her inside Red River. He’d joked she always appeared so pissed because her hair was pulled too tight in a bun. “Think she’ll ever let her hair down?”
“I doubt it.” I started toward the hall. “It’s the only thing holding her devil horns back.”
“Damn, that was a good one, sweetheart.” The sound of Dex’s laughter followed me down the hall.
I closed my door and crossed the room to find something to wear. In a little more than an hour, I would be at an abandoned concrete building, searching for Randal. Anticipation spiked through me, causing a tingling sensation to spread across my body.
Chapter 25
Barron’s Cove was exactly as I remembered it—woodsy and small. I’d come here a few times with Bree. She had family that lived here. During the summer, her mom would always make a trip over to visit with her sister and drag us along with her.
I never cared for those trips. Bree’s cousin was two years younger and was the epitome of what I envisioned an annoying little sister to be. She was clingy and had a high-pitched, nasally voice that grated on my nerves. Bree thought she was adorable, but I couldn’t stand her.
While I didn’t remember much about getting around the tiny town, Dex did. The man was a walking GPS. He drove us directly to Bate’s Cement without issue. I was more than happy he was leading us. I had a car and a GPS, but that didn’t mean either were always user-friendly. Besides, traveling with Dex was always fun.
“And we’re here.” Dex turned the volume down on his radio and forced his bronco into park. “I’m not seein’ any cars, let alone Sage’s, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t somethin’ there.”
The three of us piled out of Dex’s vehicle. I glanced at Bianca’s sleek car as it rolled to a stop behind us. I knew she and Arabella would have wanted to come along for this trip, but I sort of wished they had stayed behind. I hated having to wait until nightfall. Bianca was the one running the show though; even Lexy understood that.
“Could be cloaked,” I insisted. The idea was so normal now.
“Could be,” Dex confirmed.
“It doesn’t matter.” Bianca piped in as she and Arabella climbed out of her car. “All that matters is that we get my brother. Sage’s presence is of no concern.”
“She’s right,” Lexy added. “Let’s figure out the best way to get inside this place and get Randal out of there.”
“How about the front door?” Dex asked in a sarcastic tone. “Always seems like the best option, don’t you think?” He nudged me with his elbow and flashed a crooked grin.
“Yeah, it does,” I agreed. “Sage isn’t going to hurt any of us. She’s a friend.” She may have always seemed a little unpredictable, but I had never known her to be the violent type.
We started across the overgrown area in the front of the building. All I could think about was how the place didn’t seem like somewhere Sage would stay. I knew her standards were higher than this. There were sections of the roof to the two-story building that had caved in. Pieces of shingles lay on the ground that must have blown off during a storm, and vines grew along the front of the place like nature-made siding, twisting through the broken windows along the first story.
“Who wants to step in first?” Dex paused at the bottom of the crumbling stairs.
Bianca stepped forward without speaking and climbed the stairs. She gripped the rusted handle to the door and turned. It creaked as she twisted it. With one push, she was through, leaving us standing at the base of the stairs staring after her.
“Guess that answered my question,” Dex muttered as he followed behind her.
I crept up the stairs and through the door next. Inside was as bad as out. The concrete flooring was covered with dirt and grime from the years the place had been sealed off. Animal droppings and dry leaves littered the dirt-speckled floor. A powerful stench of something dead hit my nose, and I was positive we were somehow wrong about the place.
“This can’t be right.” My voice was barely above a whisper.
“Why do you say that?” Dex swiped his fingertip along the podium-like desk in the corner. His finger left a trail deep in the grim lining it.
“The place in the vison was clean for one thing. There was also a large bed with satin sheets and light.” I walked around in a small circle, getting a better view of the rundown main office. “This place is none of those things.”
“We still have the upstairs and downstairs to look at,” Arabella chimed in. She had remained quiet for the majority of the trip. I wondered if it was because she was worried about the state we would find Randal in, or if she didn’t care for the confrontation that would happen with Sage.
“Which do we visit first?” Dex held out his hands as though the options were resting in his palms, and he was weighting them. “Up or down?”
“Down,” both Lexy and I said at the same time.
“It’s the only way that would make sense,” I added. “In the vision, Sage was climbing stairs.”
“To get to either place you would have to go up a set of stairs.” Bianca’s tone was laced with annoyance. I got the feeling she wanted to start at the top and work her way down.
“The upstairs from outside doesn’t look as though it would be as inviting as the basement might be,” Lexy answered her. “Plus, lights can be hidden underground better than they can from above.”
“She’s got a point there,” Dex agreed. “Down it is.”
He headed for one of the four doors in the main lobby area. Bianca started toward another. I hadn’t intended to split up, but maybe we would be able to cover more ground if we did. When Dex reached his door, he swung it open. All that was inside was a small closet filled with cleaning supplies I was sure hadn’t been put to use in years and a few faded jackets people had left behind.
“This is the one.” Bianca stood in front of an open door revealing a set of steep stairs leading down. “I’m not hearing anything. Either she’s asleep, or she’s not here.”
“Let’s find out.” Dex started across the room and down the flight of stairs.
The rest of us followed. I preferred we all stick together anyway. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, it was as though we had somehow entered another building. The basement of the rundown building had been transformed into livable space. In fact, it was nicer than my apartment.
“Fancy.” Dex picked up a throw pillow from a chair near the bottom of the stairs.
I glanced around, taking in the shimmering chandelier hanging from the center of the main room. “Really fancy.”
“Is this where Sage lives?” Lexy asked.
“She has an apartment in Newvale, but I’m not sure this isn’t a second home or something.” I wasn’t sure why she would need one, other than for as a place to tuck the people she decided to kidnap in.
Could Sage have a second life I knew nothing about? What if she was a serial killer, and this was where she did all her sick torture?
Nice place to do so, the wraith chimed in. However, I prefer my cabin of souls.
A door opened down a short hallway to my right. Sage crept out of the room and into the main room we all stood in. There was no surprise on her face. She was holding a glass filled with a red liquid I was positive was blood, and looked as though she had just woken up.
“I knew you all would find me eventually.” She took a sip from
her drink, allowing me to see its thickness and confirm my theory as to what it was.
“You don’t seem surprised,” Bianca muttered.
“That’s because I’m not.” Sage tipped her head to the side. Her lips, tainted in blood, twisted upward. “Taking him from me won’t matter anyway.”
“Why is that?” Arabella asked. Fear made her words sound thick. “Did you do something to him?”
Sage stepped farther into the room and sat in a chair against the wall. “Nothing that would hurt him.”
Of course she hadn’t done anything to hurt him. He was her sire. I’d at least been able to peg that much about her.
“Why did you kidnap him?” Arabella asked next.
“Isn’t it obvious? The moment Kenna mentioned the price of the spell to free her from the wraith, I knew exactly what Randal would do. He always did enjoy being the hero.” She dropped her stare and was glancing into the distance as though lost in a memory. “I couldn’t let him sacrifice himself. Not even for you, Kenna.” Her eyes lifted to meet mine, and for a split-second, I thought her stare was harsh and cruel, but then she blinked and guilt washed in.
“I figured that was why you did it.” My words were soft, my tone forgiving. I didn’t harbor anger toward her, because I understood. Deep down, I was even a little glad she had done what she did.
Sage had saved Randal from himself. No one could deny it.
“You went about it the wrong way,” Bianca chimed in. Her heated gaze shifted to me. “Both of you did.” There was an accusatory gleam in her eyes.
Did she honestly think I had something to do with this? While it would have been a good idea, it wasn’t the case.
“I had no part in this,” I insisted.
“I was not implying you did.” Bianca crossed her arms over her chest. “I meant, you should have let Arabella and I know the details of the spell, especially once Randal proposed the idea of sacrificing himself for you.”
My blood boiled. Was she telling me this was my fault, that everything about this situation could have been avoided if I came to her and Arabella in the beginning? Yeah, right. Like she’d ever made that a feasible option with her evil glares and condescending remarks to me from day one.
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