Page 48

Enforcement and WindHaven had already blasted Malia’s name and likeness across the state.

They all knew that no child of WindHaven would just take off, wings or not.

It was one of the first things the clan taught their fledglings—to have wings is freedom, but with that comes responsibility, and of the latter, their Mali had an inordinate amount.

She was the quintessential big sister, the organizer among her friends, the girl with a seven-year plan for college and beyond.

Never would she worry her family and clan this way.

Amir’s wing swept by to the east. Adam’s brother-in-law was terrified but determined, as was Saoirse; they’d both taken to the air the instant they’d heard that Malia had gone missing.

Following his gaze, Dahlia said, “All I need is a hint of a scent and I’ll track down that murderous fucker.”

Because everyone agreed this was the Sandman. Raintree hadn’t had a kidnapping in decades upon decades, and for it to happen now, while Eleri was on the trail of a serial killer she believed resided in this town?

Not a coincidence.

Adam’s mouth tightened. “We need to keep you fresh,” he said. “Go to the Canyon, handle things there. I’ll call you the instant we have a direction.”

Everyone else who could search in the air was up there, including juveniles supervised by adults they’d promised to obey. Adam hadn’t been about to force Malia’s friends to sit on their wings when they were smart, strong young people who knew how important it was they do this right.

But there were others who couldn’t fly, or who had to stay put to take care of their vulnerable.

The flyers, too, would be returning to regroup and refuel.

One of their senior team needed to be at home base.

“Wake Pascal and Maraea if I call you.” The two wing commanders had gone to sleep just thirty minutes earlier and didn’t even know of the emergency.

“I’m going to call the wolves and leopards, see if they have anyone close enough to assist,” Dahlia said. “They’re excellent ground trackers.”

Both packs knew to give Adam a heads-up if they were going to be close to Raintree, but otherwise, their alliance allowed them to roam at will across WindHaven lands, so Dahlia was smart to consider that they might be able to get terrestrial assistance. “Good. Let me know if you get a yes.”

Not saying another word, his second stripped off and threw her clothes in the clan vehicle parked in the lot, then shifted. Her body broke apart into a million particles of light before re-forming into the biggest falcon in the clan—not a peregrine but a gyrfalcon.

She spread her wings and took off with a single powerful push.

The wind of her departure yet stirred the air when Eleri’s vehicle turned into the small road that led to the four-car parking lot. “Where?” she said the instant she got out, a tightness around her eyes and mouth.

“This way.” He began to move. “Park is only a ten-minute walk from town. The path’s used regularly by everyone—Raintree and WindHaven.” The area was forested but well-trafficked; how the killer had managed to abduct Malia without being seen had Adam certain the Sandman was someone they knew.

Someone Adam’s niece had trusted.

“There,” he said, his voice holding an edge that was the contained fury of his falcon.

No one hurt one of Adam’s people and lived to tell the tale. And this was his little Mali-bug , whom he’d held in his arms when she was a squalling newborn, who called him her favorite uncle, and who came and camped on his couch when she was having a teenage fight with her parents.

Cold, thin fingers closing over his, Eleri sliding her other hand around to his nape to squeeze and hold. “We’ll find her.” An icy promise, her eyes obsidian with determination. “We will find her, and we’ll end him.”

Talons out, Adam took a shuddering breath, pressed his forehead to his mate’s for a second, and found his feet again. “There’s the pond where folks like to jump in to cool down in the heat,” he told her after they separated, “and this side with all the trees is where everyone picnics.”

It wasn’t a huge green space by the standards of bigger cities, but it was plenty big enough for a town the size of Raintree, with patches of soft lawn and enough trees that people didn’t have to battle over shady areas unless it was an exceptionally busy day.

“And there”—he pointed in the opposite direction from the parking lot—“that’s the pathway from the town. ”

“His compulsion is tied to time. We have seventy-two hours.” Eleri tried not to think about what he might be doing to Malia in the interim, to that intelligent, sparkling ball of sunshine who was Saoirse’s child.

Looking up when she felt a shadow fall over her face, she saw a falcon with dark wing markings doing slow circles over the area. “Show me what’s been found so far.”

Walking her to an evidence flag, Adam indicated a glitter of gold almost lost in the green of the grass.

“Bracelet with preserved flowers in it that Amir and Saoirse gave her for her birthday last year. Broken clasp.” His gut twisted at the memory of how her face had glowed at the gift, how she’d put it on at once.

“She was careful with it, only wore it to special events.”

“Why was this event special?” Eleri crouched down to look at the bracelet. “Could it have been a setup to lure her out?”

Adam came down beside her. “No. It was a double date with her best friend. Amir and Saoirse let her go because it was just going to be a hangout with the four of them—they don’t want her dating seriously until she’s sixteen, but she’s a levelheaded kid, so they don’t restrict her from more casual gatherings. ”

His sister and brother-in-law were walking the fine line all falcon parents did—to offer freedom within boundaries that ensured safety and strong growth. Adam wouldn’t have raised an eyebrow at this breakfast “date” either, if the couple had come to him for advice in his role as wing leader.

Why reward Malia’s honesty in admitting it was a date by forbidding her from it?

Eleri rose to her feet. “This place feels desolate now. Would it have been at the time she arrived?”

“No,” he said from beside her. “She flew over to Raintree with Polly—her best friend. The two used the secure WindHaven locker room near the school to change, then walked to this spot. The boys who’d asked them out were already here.

Both human, both out to impress, so they were early, said they didn’t see anyone who worried them. ”

He looked up to the sky. “It’s a touch cloudy, so the area wasn’t as busy as it usually would be on a weekend morning, but there were still at least ten people scattered around. They tried to help look for Malia when her friends realized she was missing.”

Sweet Polly had sobbed and sobbed in his arms while describing what seemed to have been on track to be a successful first date for all four teenagers.

They’d already been discussing lunch ideas, with Malia and Polly having told the boys they’d have to call their parents for permission to extend the outing.

“The four were chatting while seated on that picnic blanket over there, getting up to play with a Frisbee, or just walking to the pond to skip stones.” All of which had been witnessed by others in the park. “Not a single person noticed anyone who set off alarm bells.”

Eleri stared at the tree line. “He blends in, doesn’t look dangerous—perhaps even looks harmless. There’s a reason he was able to get four smart young women close enough to abduct them.”

Adam’s gaze was falcon when it met hers. “Mali’s clever, but she’s still a fledgling. She wouldn’t have thought twice about helping someone who asked for it, especially if she recognized them.”

Eleri wished she could protect him, could’ve protected Malia, from this terrible realization, but there was no hiding from it.

Malia was a raptor—for her to go without making a fuss that drew attention meant it was someone she knew.

A rabid dog who had fooled the town and the clan into believing him sane.