“Me?” Jeremy squawked. “I didn’t. I’ve been kidnapped.” He paused. “Is this a joke? This is your revenge for the soup incident.”
“This is definitely not a joke. My son and I were drugged and brought here.” She ran her hand through her hair, her instincts telling her to leave him and run, get as far away from here as possible. Her head told her that the warlock might have answers. Answers they needed. He also might have magic, and they were going to need all the help they could get if their kidnapper returned before they’d gotten away.
“Please, help me.”
“Okay, I’m coming in. If you try anything, so help me...”
“I’m tied up. I can’t do anything.”
“Ready?” she asked Milo. “If anything happens, you run downstairs and get far away.”
Milo nodded, his eyes fixed on the lock as she turned the key and then twisted the handle. The door swung open slowly, the room so dark that she couldn’t make out any features at first. “Where is he?”
“I’m tied to the bed.” A faint movement that looked like a hand waving caught her attention.
“I’m going to the window. Milo, you stay by the door.” Penny walked toward the sound with her arm outstretched. “Ouch.” Her knee knocked into a cedar chest at the foot of the bed. This room was bigger than the other room and there was something familiar about it. She inhaled deeply, that scent. It reminded her of something, something that made her feel safe. “Logan.” She reached out and her fingers brushed against a sweater lying on the box. Closing her fingers around it, she lifted it to her nose and breathed in the scent of pine and spice. “This is Logan’s.”
“I knew it!” The warlock roared in rage. “That’s who brought me here. I knew it was for revenge.”
“No, Logan would never hurt us,” Penny replied. She knew it, deep down in her soul. Despite the conclusion she might otherwise jump to, she knew Logan would never drug them and bring them here. “He would never put us in danger. But this is his sweater.” She went to the window and pulled open the blinds. In the distance, she could see small twinkling lights. “We’re in his cabin.”
“Why?” Jeremy asked. “Why are we here?” He pulled at the rope securing him to the bed. “And why am I tied up?”
“How did you get here?” Penny asked as she went to the bed and untied his right wrist. She sure hoped she wasn’t making a mistake in setting him free.
“I don’t know. I left the hotel. I went into town, it was late, I was angry at you for taking the soup...” He ran his hand through his hair.
“Why did you do that?” Penny moved away from the bed, her hands on her hips as she waited for her answer.
“Because that’s what I do. I travel a lot. It’s expensive.” He reached for his left wrist and unknotted the rope.
“You’re a conman.”
“Yes, I am.” He pulled his wrist free and flexed his hands before rubbing his wrists.
“Why?” Penny went to her son and put her hands on his shoulders. Had she made a mistake in freeing Jeremy?
“Because that’s about all I’m good for.” He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. “I need the bathroom.”
“Don’t let us stand in your way.” She stepped back as Jeremy darted out of the room, he stood in the doorway looking right and then left before disappearing from view. “Come on, let’s go downstairs.”
“Shouldn’t we wait for Jeremy? If he’s a warlock, he has magic.” Milo hung back. He looked so small, so vulnerable in the dim light.
“I’m still not sure I trust him.” She beckoned to Milo. “I don’t think there’s anyone downstairs. Let’s get out of here before the old lady comes back.”
Milo followed her, keeping close as they crept toward the stairs. Penny was certain there was no one down there but she wanted to make absolutely sure. Taking one step at a time, she went down to the ground floor, stopping and listening after each step. There was no sound other than the toilet flushing in the bathroom and the sound of the faucet running. If nothing else, Jeremy had good hand hygiene.
They reached the bottom of the stairs as Jeremy opened the bathroom door and came out. “Do you know how hard it is going to the bathroom in the dark?”
Milo giggled but Penny replied, “Keep your voice low.”
“There’s no one here.” Jeremy ran down the stairs and joined them in the downstairs hallway.
“How do you know?” The hairs stood up on the back of her neck. So he did know more than he was telling them.
“Because if there was someone here, they would have stopped you from getting to me. Whoever took us wanted to keep us separated and keep us locked up.” He looked around. “Why is it so damn dark?”
“The electricity is off. So there’s no power for the lights,” Penny explained.
“There must be candles or a flashlight.” He put his hands out in front of him. “Let’s split up and see what we can find.”
“You don’t think we should just make a run for it?” Penny held onto Milo with her left hand and thrust her right hand in front of her as she went right, and the warlock went left.
“And go where?” Jeremy opened a door, his voice muffled as he went inside. “We’re in a cabin. You think it’s your boyfriend’s cabin. And where is that?”
“The mountains.” She pressed her lips together. “We came here in my car, it might be outside.”
“With the keys in it just waiting for us to drive away?” A crash followed by a curse came from the other room. “Damn it. I hate this.”
Penny headed for the large rectangle of dim light on the opposite side of the room. Pulling the blind up didn’t help her see much in the room, all she could make out was a table and a counter. “We’re in the kitchen.”
“Great. Check for a flashlight or candles. There must be something we can use.” Another crash and something hit the floor. “I don’t think there’s anything in here, I’ll come and help you.”
Penny opened the cupboard under the sink and felt inside. Nothing of any use. She stood up and opened a drawer, it rattled, this was where he kept his knives and forks. She worked her way methodically around the kitchen as Jeremy joined them and began opening random cupboards.
“I found some cans of food. Oh, and this sounds like potato chips. We won’t starve.”
“What time is it?” Penny opened a tall cupboard that reached from the floor to the ceiling.
“Why, am I keeping you from something?”
“Is it late at night, close to morning? If it’s close to getting light, we could wait.” Her hand touched something cold, hard, and metallic. “I think I’ve found a flashlight.” Her hand closed around the curved handle and she picked it up, hoping they’d get lucky and it had batteries in it. Feeling around the outside of the flashlight, her finger brushed against the switch and she flicked it on.
“Don’t shine it in my face!” The warlock covered his face with his arm.
“Do you complain about everything?” Penny’s harsh voice was met by a hurt expression as he lowered his arm.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Forgive me for not being in a peppy mood. For your information, I do not enjoy being kidnapped and tied up.”
Penny didn’t answer as she shone the light around the kitchen. “Okay, let’s go take a look outside.”
Jeremy didn’t answer but he followed her out of the kitchen so she took it as a silent agreement that they should check to see if her car was outside. If it wasn’t, she planned to check the other outbuildings to see if there was any other mode of transportation they could use to get out of there.
If they found none, they would have to decide if they would risk leaving on foot or go back inside and prepare to fight.
Chapter Twenty-Six – Logan
“What can I do to help?” Valerie glanced down at her leg. “If only I was capable of coming out there with you and searching the town.”
“I appreciate you wanting to help. The best thing you can do is stay here and
call us if Penny and Milo come back. You have everyone’s numbers, so you could work as a hub and relay any information to each of us.” Logan took his phone out of his pocket and checked for messages. There were none. No missed calls, no unread texts.
“Have you tried calling her?” Valerie asked gently.
“Yes. It just rings and rings and then goes to voicemail. I’ve sent texts, too, but there’s no reply.” He sighed and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “I don’t understand.”
“She wouldn’t have left,” Valerie said firmly. “I saw the way she looked at you. She is in love with you, Logan. You are offering her everything a woman could want.”
“What if her sister put pressure on her to leave? Helena could have called while Penny was in town and said something to make her leave.” He raked his hand through his hair before he could stop himself.
“She would have told you.”
“Would she?” Logan shook his head. “I put too much pressure on her.”
“Don’t do this.” Valerie took hold of his hand and held it tight. “You need to focus on finding her. Whoever put this idea into your head that Penny took Milo and left is just plain wrong.”
Sophie. His wolf huffed. She’s the one who said she saw the car heading out of town.
We don’t know that she’s lying. Logan kissed Valerie on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Now, go. I’ll pass on any information I find.” She sat down and picked her phone up from the table in front of her. “While you’re all searching, I will start calling around to everyone I know. Someone must have seen something. Even the smallest clue will help.”
“I’ll see you later.” Logan slipped from the room and headed out of Valerie’s apartment that was built on the back of the hotel. This was where she’d raised her six boys while running the hotel. At the time, Logan hadn’t realized just how much work it must have been. Valerie’s endless energy and enthusiasm had carried them all through, no matter what life threw at them.
“We’re all ready to go.” Rift met him in the reception area. “The others are waiting outside.”
“Do you want me to come help, too?” Sophie asked. “Valerie could man the reception desk. I can cast a location spell.”
“You could do the spell from here, couldn’t you?” Logan asked.
“Sure.” Sophie leaned down and picked up one of the folded maps they handed out to tourists who didn’t know the area well. “It’s going to take a few minutes.” She opened the map up and spread it out. “I’ll have to go grab some ingredients and I’ll need something that belongs to Penny. Something personal.”
“I’ll go grab something from her room.” Logan went around the desk and grabbed the key to Penny’s room.
“Okay, I’ll get started on the spell.” Sophie smothered a smile as she grabbed a bag and placed the contents on the top of the desk.
“I’ll be fast.” Logan ran to the room and unlocked the door. Penny’s things were gone.
He stumbled into the room and sat down on the bed. How had she managed to sneak in and get everything without him noticing? Something didn’t add up.
Or are we hanging on to hope when we should admit Penny left town? His wolf raised his head and howled.
No. He refused to believe it. There had to be something here that Sophie could use for her location spell. A strand of hair, a... He sniffed, he could scent Milo. Pulling back the bedcovers, he found the small plush wolf. “Mr. Wolfy.”
As a child, Logan had a favorite toy, a soft furry dog he used to take to bed each night. He couldn’t sleep without it. Milo wouldn’t have left without it. He had been carrying it when he arrived in town, he would have sat with it in the back of the car when they left.
Logan closed his eyes and put the toy to his nose and inhaled deeply. “I’m going to find you, Milo. You and your mom.”
Let Sophie do the spell, his wolf said. Let her tell us if Penny is in town or if she’s left. At least that way we’ll know where to look.
We’ll let Sophie do the spell. Logan placed Mr. Wolfy on the nightstand and left the room, locking the door behind him.
“They took their stuff.” Logan went back downstairs. “But I managed to get a couple of hairs from Milo’s pillow.”
“Great.” Sophie held out a small bowl into which she ground up herbs and then added pink liquid. “This won’t take a second.”
Logan watched as she used a mortar and pestle to grind up the hairs, then she added them to the pink mixture. She closed her eyes, an incantation Logan didn’t recognize filled the reception area as Sophie began to chant. Her voice rose until it suddenly stopped dead and she swirled the mixture around as she poured it onto the map in a spiral pattern. The liquid seemed to have a life of its own as it coalesced and then moved across the map, heading away from town and out into the world beyond. “What does that mean?”
Sophie looked up at him, her eyes big filled with tears, for him. “I’m so sorry, Logan. Penny’s not in Wishing Moon Bay anymore.”
His jaw tightened, his fists clenching as he fought the urge to hit something. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’ve used the spell many times. It’s never failed me.”
“Thank you.” Logan nodded. “I’ll go speak to the others.”
She reached out and covered his hand with hers. Logan fought the urge to recoil. “Take your time. I can look after things here.”
Logan nodded, slid his hand out from under hers, and turned and walked away.
She’s lying, his wolf snapped.
I know, but we don’t want her to know that we know. He pushed the door open and stepped out of the hotel entrance. Inhaling deeply, he let the cold air fill his lungs.
It’s starting to snow. His wolf’s concern for his mate and Milo grew as they watched the lazy snowflakes fall to the ground.
“Logan, the twins didn’t want to wait any longer, they took off toward the beach.” Rift came toward him. “We’re going to take the west side of town... What’s wrong?”
“We have a problem.” Logan’s voice was so quiet that only a shifter would hear.
We don’t know that the witch has some way to hear us, his wolf said.
“What kind of problem?” Rift matched the volume of his brother’s voice.
“I think Sophie is involved with Penny’s disappearance.”
“What?” Rift hissed.
“Don’t turn around,” Logan warned.
“What’s going on?” Rift’s head drifted to the right, but he didn’t turn around.
“Sophie did her location spell.” Logan wandered toward the road, keeping his back to the hotel.
“Did it work?”
“She told me Penny was outside of Wishing Moon Bay.”
“How does that make Sophie involved in all this?” Rift stopped walking. “Talk to me, Logan.”
“I gave Sophie some hair and told her it belonged to Milo. She put the hairs in her potion and did the spell. She poured the liquid on the map and it told her he was outside of town.” He rubbed his hand across his chin, not wanting to believe the truth. He liked Sophie. Until Penny had come along, he would’ve said they had a good relationship. Sophie was certainly a good employee. “But the hairs I gave her were mine. And I am right here in Wishing Moon Bay.”
“Crap.” Rift rocked back on his heels and turned his face to the sky. Snow floated down and rested on his cheeks before instantly melting. “What are we going to do?”
“I have no idea. I’m afraid to confront her because we have no idea where she might be keeping Penny and Milo.”
“Logan, have you considered the possibility that she isn’t keeping them...”
“Don’t!” Logan cut his brother off sharply. “I can’t think like that.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. I just...”
“I know.” He took a big breath. “But wouldn’t I know? Wouldn’t I feel it in my heart? In my soul? We share a connection. If that connection was ripped away, I’d feel it.”
>
“You would,” Rift agreed whether he believed it or not.
“I need you and the others to go on searching. I’m going back into the hotel. I need Sophie to think I believe her. But I can’t stop searching for Penny and Milo.” He clenched his fists. “It’s taking all my self-control not to go in there and make her tell me.”
His wolf leaped at the edges of his mind, wanting to be set free so he could get the information they needed from Sophie.
We need to bide our time. If Sophie thinks we suspect her, she might disappear, and we’ll never find Penny and Milo.
His wolf gnashed his teeth but calmed down, slinking off to a corner of his mind, where he waited for the moment their mate might need them.
“I’ll meet with the others and let them know what’s happened. Keep us updated.” Rift placed his hand on Logan’s shoulder. “We will find them.”
“I know we will.” He nodded. “We have to.” Because anything else was unthinkable.
He stood and watched Rift as he shifted into his snow leopard and ran off down the road toward the beach. While he watched, he took the time to get his breathing and his temper under control. He had to make Sophie believe he’d accepted that Penny had left town.
“How are you doing?” Sophie met him at the door as he entered the hotel.
“Not great.” He gave a raw laugh, exposing his underbelly to her.
“I’m so sorry things didn’t work out for you. Penny was so sweet, and she had that cute little kid.” Sophie patted the air as if she were patting Milo’s head.
“Has a cute kid,” Logan corrected. “She might be gone from town, but I’ll find her.”
“You’re going after her?” Sophie didn’t hide her surprise.
“First thing tomorrow. She’s my mate. They need me.” He forced a smile onto his face. “Thanks for telling me where she is. I’d have torn the town apart looking for her if you hadn’t been able to locate her.”
“That’s great. I mean, you have to follow your heart.” She placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Maybe she’ll come back. She might have had business out of town and then she’ll decide to come on back to you.”
The White Wolf of Wishing Moon Bay Page 19