by Anna Santos
Jade ground her teeth. “So, I’m here for you to trade me for my brother?”
“If it comes to that. I want Stevie and you to be safe. Still, if you think that the vampire cares about you, then I’m not discarding the possibility of using you to get Stevie.”
Jade balled her hands. “Stevie is my brother, I won’t let anyone take him away from me.”
Alexander waved his hands for her to sit back and calm down. “He isn’t safe among the vampires. Do you think they don’t know who you really are? And if they don’t, they will figure it out. You’ve fallen right into the snake’s nest. Daniel’s family was Octavio’s lackeys. It’s the same as descendants. Octavio turned Dominic. They have blood ties.”
“Does Daniel know about that?” Jade asked breathlessly as her stomach dropped.
“I don’t know, but I’m sure that once Dominic recognizes you, you are doomed to suffer in his hands.”
“He knows who I am,” she mumbled. Facing her kidnapper’s eyes, she claimed, “They…know, and they didn’t do anything.”
“They married you to one of them, didn’t they? They tricked you to trust them. You can’t deny that. Dominic’s son made you fall in love with him and you let your brother into their house. What do you think they will do to him once they find out that Frederic’s research is, in fact, your brother and that the cure for their vulnerability can lay inside his DNA?”
“They will try to study him and do anything in their power to have the cure,” Jade replied as her hands shook. She fisted them over her legs.
“Even if it means they might kill the kid,” Alexander added.
“Daniel knows nothing about it! He didn’t trick me.”
“It was a rather fast marriage and a far away honeymoon. You were going to Scotland. His excuse was to watch the Auroras, but I’m guessing that he wanted you to be far away from your brother, so they could test the boy. They are taking him a lot of times to the hospital.”
“He is sick. He needs treatment,” Jade explained.
“He isn’t sick. He simply reacts differently to what surrounds him and is building up defenses. Stevie is going to be one of a kind.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“Your dad left me a detailed message of how I could help your brother in case something bad would happen to him. I’m planning to help Stevie. What I want to know is if you are planning to help him or would you rather choose your vampire lover and let your brother die?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Finding Jade
Vampires healed faster than humans, especially if they had extra help. Daniel was submerged in light blue liquid that was pulling out the bullets and closing his wounds. When he was completely cured, he opened his eyes, coming to life and remembering Jade.
“Where is she?” he asked, sitting down and looking around. Men in white coats were there, writing on their LCD tablets. They stopped what they were doing to look at him.
“Where is she?” he asked again, making the movement to get up.
“Calm down,” Dominic ordered him, appearing from a secret door that opened. “We’re looking for her. Just calm down. There is nothing you can do now.”
Daniel aimed his attention at his maker. “Who took her and why?”
“We don’t know yet. Someone went to a lot of trouble to take your wife and erase their tracks.”
Getting up, he exited the healing tube. Dominic offered him a towel.
After wiping his face and hair, Daniel threw the towel to the floor. “I want her back. I don’t care how much they want me to pay them, but I want her back, unharmed. If they hurt her, I’ll hunt them to hell and back.”
“I don’t think this was a kidnapping,” Dominic stated. Approaching a desk, he grabbed a reader and tapped his fingers on the screen. “The bullets almost hit your heart. You were lucky. If they tried to kill you, I don’t think they were expecting to ask a ransom for her.”
“Then what do they want with her?” Daniel asked.
Placing the reader on the desk, Dominic shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. “We don’t have a clue. We are as baffled as you are.”
“Who else knows about what happened? Did they report it in the news?”
“It hasn’t reached the news. I was able to contain it. For all the world knows, you and Jade are on your honeymoon in Scotland, happily married.”
Daniel rubbed his chin, lost in thought. “They didn’t contact you, they tried to kill me, and they took Jade. Is there something in her past that can explain this? The vampire that had a fixation for Jade, is he really dead?”
“You don’t need to worry about him. I’m certain it wasn’t him.”
Daniel cocked an eyebrow. “How can you know for sure?”
“I know. Octavio couldn’t have done this.”
“Uncle Octavio?” Daniel frowned. “He was the one stalking Jade?”
“Yes. I didn’t put it in the report that I gave you… I didn’t want to taint his memory.”
“I didn’t read the report. Everything I know is what Jade has told me. And I believe her. If you have a report about it, explaining things from your perspective and exonerating Uncle Octavio, then I don’t want to hear about it. All I want is to get out of here and look for Jade. I’m going to find her,” Daniel stated, grabbing the robe that one of the medics offered him to wear.
“Uncle Octavio may have exaggerated with his fixation for the girl,” his dad said, following Daniel around the compound. “However, you know that he wasn’t a bad vampire. He…just liked younger girls.”
Daniel lashed out. “Jade is my beloved. He had no reason to stalk the girl if she wasn’t interested in him. He terrorized her, and you and the others let him. How is that right? How does that go according to the vampire code you like to recite and obey?”
“Things aren’t so black and white. Uncle Octavio was sure he was in love with her. Of course, it was a fixation. You know there was nothing we could deny him,” Dominic made up excuses as he followed Daniel down the corridor.
“I’m glad he is dead then,” Daniel growled. “Or I would kill him myself.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Octavio was the strongest of us all. He was stronger than you, and he would have easily killed you.”
“Fuck!” Daniel punched the wall in the corridor, leaving a hole behind. “They can be hurting her. We need to find Jade. I don’t care what you want, Dad, but I’m not going to sit here, doing nothing, while they harm my wife.”
“We don’t even know who they are,” Dominic explained.
“I want a sketch artist. I’ll describe the three people that were waiting for us at the airport. I’m sure that they are criminals and there are some mug shots of them and some known liaisons to follow as a clue. I don’t care how much it’ll cost me, but get me the best detectives and call the federal police. They have my plane, they must be far away by now, and we need to track the signal.”
“They disconnected the GPS on the plane. For now, we’ve put an alert in several international airports to be on the lookout for your plane.”
“Good. Now, where is Stevie? Did anyone tell him what happened?”
“He is in your home with his babysitter. She is taking good care of him. Sakura is also with him. Why? Do you believe they want to get to him, too?”
“I don’t know. I’m just worried about the boy. I don't want anyone to upset him, but he will be suspicious if Jade doesn’t contact him soon. She promised she would call.”
“Maybe we should tell him. He may know something that can help us find her. Some old boyfriend…”
“Jade didn’t have boyfriends. She didn’t have time for that,” Daniel explained. “What about the terrorist organizations that are against humans being married to vampires and turned? Did they make any threats to us?”
“Just the usual ones.” Dominic shrugged.
“You should investigate them.”
“I am. I’m doing everything to find the girl. I know she is important to you.”<
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“How long was I out for?”
“Three hours. We had to restart your heart. The bullets were stuck close to it. They used wood,” Dominic clarified.
Daniel fisted his hands and clenched his teeth. His fangs wanted to come out, but he had to be rational.
Looking at his dad, he analyzed, “To plan something like this, they had to have access to my schedule. Find out who in my organization sold the information. If we can track the payment, we may find the people behind this, and I can go get Jade and make them pay.”
“We are interrogating all your personal assistants and the glass bearers. We are scanning our servers for Trojan horses and going through the recordings to look for any suspicious people observing your house and your company.”
“Good,” Daniel said, relieved by his father’s actions. “I’m going to talk to Jenna. She might know something we don’t. After all, she is Jade’s best friend.”
Jade had been kidnapped, and she should be freaking out, but she couldn’t deny that being underwater, watching the fish, and hearing the whales singing was somehow relaxing. It was also beautiful and a unique opportunity for her.
Alexander had taken her on the tour of the underwater compound since there was nowhere she could escape to, in his own words. The corridors were made of a glass-like material, and she felt that she was swimming under water, surrounded by enchanted creatures. The fish were colorful and exotic. They were drawn by the light to approach the glass. She felt like a fish in an aquarium and the fish were the humans that were usually on the outside looking in with droopy eyes.
After the guided tour, her kidnapper left her in her bedroom. It had a white king-size bed, a closet, two comfy couches, and her luggage was waiting for her on the bed. It was a nice room for a prisoner.
“You can rest here and change clothes. Breakfast will be served in one hour. I’ll come to get you, and we can eat while we talk.”
“I think you should let me call Daniel and clarify this mess,” Jade said, looking back in time to see Alexander close the door behind him and ignore her request once again. She heard the key turn in the lock and sighed. It was the second time in that month that she was trapped in a bedroom. It was getting repetitive.
She walked to the windows where she could see the laboratory’s structure. The lab looked like small igloos with different corridors connecting them. It seemed a small town underwater. And the fish and the whales were the ones that were promenading outside, slowly and lazily. It was beautiful to watch. It was like a child’s dream come true, like when she believed in mermaids and underwater towns. But, in that moment, she felt no happiness. Despite the beauty of her surroundings, she would give anything to be with her husband and to know that he was alive and okay.
She was tired and hungry, but, above all, she was worried. If she knew that Daniel was alive, she could relax and rest in the hopes that he would find her, even if she was underwater and it would be hard to get there without a submarine.
Jade had no idea how she had gotten there. She was knocked out. Where did they hide the plane? How did Alexander have access to that expensive lab, and who was he? She didn’t want to believe his story. There was more to it than what he was telling her. He wanted to win her trust. He had appealed to what she loved the most, Stevie, and gave her nice accommodation, so she wouldn’t think she was a prisoner. But she was. Running away was impossible since there was nothing but water around them. She didn’t know if they had submarines that went to the surface or how to pilot one.
Her eyelids were heavy. Yawning, she looked at the inviting bed and rubbed her sore arms. Wanting to rest, she laid down on the bed and looked at the ceiling before closing her eyes and giving in to sleep.
Daniel had arrived home and went looking for Jenna. Sakura was right behind him since she had been worried sick about him and wanted to help.
“Are you sure Jenna is home?” Daniel asked his vampire mother, noticing that the bedroom where she’d been staying was empty. The closet was opened and some clothes were missing. It seemed like she left her bedroom in a hurry. “This is problematic. Where is Stevie?”
“In his bedroom. It was extremely late when he went to bed. Last time I checked, he was sleeping,” Sakura informed.
“I’ll check on him, and we need to find Jenna. Something isn’t right,” Daniel said, speeding to Stevie’s bedroom.
He stopped in front of the door. Sakura stopped, too; her hair flowing back with the halt. Stevie’s door was partially opened and, inside, Daniel heard noises. Jenna was hurrying Stevie to get his things, so they could leave.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Daniel asked, his eyes turning dark when he stepped inside the bedroom.
Jenna stopped packing Stevie’s clothes and looked at him. Walking to Stevie, she put her hands on his shoulders and secured him against her.
“We are leaving, and you have no right to stop us,” she informed.
“It’s my brother-in-law that you are kidnapping.”
“Where is Jade?” Stevie asked, looking at Daniel. He was sleepy, still in his pajamas, with a confused gaze and ruffled hair. “What’s going on? Why is Aunt Jenna saying that we need to leave?”
“I don’t know. Care to explain, Jenna?” Daniel asked her.
“Stevie is going to stay with me until Jade gets back,” Jenna said, walking to Daniel. “Daniel just forgot his toothbrush and came back to get it,” she explained, turning her face and smiling at the boy.
“I bet it was Jade who told you that you had to get it. She was always annoying about brushing my teeth. You need to get used to that,” Stevie said, sitting on the bed and fighting to keep his eyes open. “I’m tired.”
“Go back to sleep, baby,” Sakura whispered, passing by Jenna and holding Stevie to put him back to bed.
The boy obeyed, letting Sakura cover him with a comforter.
“Good boy, have nice dreams. When you wake up, I’ll make you some pancakes and we can watch some cartoons after. Would you like that?” Sakura kissed his cheek.
The kid nodded and smiled.
Daniel motioned his finger for Jenna to hush. She looked upset.
“I think we need to talk,” he muttered, signaling her to follow him to the end of the corridor.
Jenna walked behind him, her boots echoing loudly against the marble floor.
Sauntering down the corridor, Daniel stopped in the living room.
“What the hell is going on? Were you trying to kidnap the kid?” he confronted Jenna as he turned around to face her.
“I heard them on the phone,” she muttered, folding her arms with an upset expression.
“Who?”
“Your vampire parents. You let Jade be kidnapped. I’m taking the kid away from here before something happens to him, too. After, I’m going to get my best friend.”
Daniel stared at her, perplexed by her words, especially her last words.
Raking his fingers through his black hair, he assured her, “No one will harm him. No one will harm Jade. I’m doing everything I can to find out who did this to her. I want her back as badly as you do. There is no need to scare Stevie.”
“If you are doing everything you can, then why are you here?”
“I came to talk to you. I want to know if you know of someone that would want to kidnap Jade.”
“I don’t know anything. Besides, they kidnapped her because of your money. You just need to pay, and I’ll take care of the rest.”
Daniel signaled for her to relax. “Calm down, Jenna. You are just one person, there isn’t much you can do. And they haven’t asked for a ransom yet. I’m hoping that this is all about money. I’ll give any amount to get her back. But are you sure that you don’t know anything?”
“All I know is that she had a stalker, but he is dead. That leaves your fortune as the only reason for Jade to be kidnapped. Why don’t you ask Emma? She might know something about this. She wasn’t happy with your wedding.”
Daniel rubbed
his chin. She had a point there. Emma could be behind all that was happening. However, she didn’t have the capacity or the brains to pull something like that.
“I’m assembling a rescue team. As soon as I know her location, I’ll send the team to track down the kidnappers. There isn’t much more that I can do. Unless you have another idea. I brought sketches of the people who kidnapped Jade. I want you to look at them and see if you recognize anyone.”
“You are wasting my time,” Jenna complained, staring at her phone.
“Do you have somewhere else to be?” Daniel asked. She should be freaking out with what happened to her best friend. Instead, she was taking everything rather lightly and seemed impatient in a suspicious way.
Jenna raised her eyes from the screen and huffed. “As a matter of fact, I have somewhere to be. And I don’t know if I can trust you or not because you let them take her away.”
“They tried to kill me. They shot me three times. I could have died,” Daniel defended himself.
Jenna narrowed her eyes and squeezed her phone. “Why would they try to kill you if they needed you to pay the ransom? Unless they aren’t planning to ask for a ransom. What if the old creep isn’t dead? Maybe he saw her on TV and now he wants her back.”
“Octavio is dead,” Daniel said. “It wasn’t him. I don’t have a clue who kidnapped Jade, but it couldn’t be him.”
“Jade came to live with us after what happened to her parents. When she got a job, she found a place for her and Stevie. She’s like a sister to me. My parents help vampire victims. I’m trained, despite what you might think about me. You are not going to stop me from looking for Jade.”
“Yes, Jade told me about that. Yet you are still human, Jenna. I have a lot of resources. If it’s about money, I’ll pay whatever it takes to get Jade back.”
Nibbling her nail, she added, “I didn’t know she told you about Octavio. Are you sure he isn’t alive?”
“Jade and I don’t have any secrets. I can assure you that Octavio didn’t do this. Now, can you help me and look at the sketches?”
Jenna leaned forward. “I don’t care about the sketches. I’m trying to decide whether I trust you or not.”