Luther's Return

Samson looked at his chief of personal security. “Anything?”

“My guys are still searching. But there’s no sign of her in the bathrooms or the dressing rooms.”

“Maybe my dressing room? We were getting changed in there earlier,” Katie offered, desperate to be of help.

Blake charged outside.

“What the fuck’s going on?” a voice came out of the dark.

A second later, Grayson appeared from between the curtains. He was the mirror image of his father. His hair was as dark as a raven, though he’d gotten his eyes from his mother Delilah: green, just like Katie’s. Grayson’s green eyes were now flickering red as if he had a hard time controlling his vampire side. “Where is my sister?”

“We don’t know yet,” Samson said, his voice tight.

Blake came running. “Nothing in Katie’s dressing room. We also checked all the closets on this level. My guys are working their way up to the other floors.”

“And the exits?” Samson demanded.

“Nobody’s getting in or out of this building without me knowing,” Blake confirmed.

Grayson took a step toward Blake. “Then why the fuck can’t you find her? You’re supposed to know where she is at all times. You’re supposed to protect her!”

Grayson was a hothead, just like Blake had been in his youth, but deep down he was like his father: fiercely protective of his family. If Katie had ever had any doubts about Grayson’s loyalty to his siblings despite their constant rivalry, his anger at Blake now expunged them entirely.

Blake peeled his lips back from his gums, flashing the nineteen-year-old just enough fang to demand respect. “Isabelle was playing a different part from the one she was supposed to.”

Katie expected Blake to point the finger at her, but to her surprise, he didn’t. Instead he took the blame on himself. “I didn’t adjust her security detail in time.” He narrowed his eyes at the hybrid. “But I can assure you, Grayson, I will find your sister. She’s my responsibility, and I don’t—”

“It’s my fault,” Katie cut in, putting her hand on Blake’s forearm. “I’m to blame. She begged me to change roles with her. And I agreed.” She turned her head to Samson. “I’m sorry. It was all last minute. I—”

Samson cut her off with an abrupt movement of his hand. Then he looked back at Blake. “Search every inch of this building and the grounds. She has to be here. She has to.”

“Samson!” Delilah’s strained voice came from behind him.

He spun around.

Katie noticed their wordless exchange. As a blood-bonded couple they were able to communicate telepathically. Seconds passed in silence. It made Katie even more aware of the goings-on around her: stagehands rummaged through the area where spare furniture was kept, turning over each item. Scanguards staff rushed through the corridors, opened every door, checked every closet. Different voices calling for Isabelle could be heard throughout the building. Katie knew that others would be outside the building, searching the surrounding parking lot, adjacent buildings, and streets. There was any number of hiding places, though Katie knew that Isabelle wasn’t hiding. She sensed it in her gut. Could feel it in her veins. Just like Samson and Delilah sensed it.

With every second that passed, reality encroached on the make-believe world of the stage behind her: Isabelle was gone.

Katie watched as Samson pulled his wife into his arms and pressed her to him, gently caressing her head.

“We’ll find her, sweetness,” he promised.

More people now crowded into the backstage area. Zane, the bald vampire who could scare the living daylights out of anybody, marched toward Samson, clearly agitated. He had a special connection to Isabelle: he was her godfather, the first person Isabelle had ever bitten. Besides her parents, he was the closest confidant she had.

A sob tore from Delilah, and Grayson exchanged a look with his father. Samson nodded and transferred his wife into his son’s arms.

“She has to be here, Mom,” Grayson comforted her.

“Nothing in the basement,” Zane reported to Samson, then turned to Blake. “How about the surveillance cameras?”

“I’ve already sent Eddie to check the video footage,” Blake replied, just as Amaury joined them.

The linebacker-sized vampire with the shoulder-long hair exchanged a quick glance with Samson. “The upper floors are clear, too.”

Blake touched his mic and listened for a moment. Then, “Bring him in! What are you waiting for? Now!”