Page 26 of Fanged Embrace

I set his cell down exactly where I found it, phone screen facing downward, then dashed back to the bathroom, ripping a towel from the closet in the hallway. By the time I reappeared, Arlon had managed to slow the spray, though water still dripped and sputtered from the pipes.

He shot me a bewildered, harried look. Water droplets clung to his hair and pasted damp strands to his forehead. “God, I hate this sink.”

I rocked on my heels, holding out the towel. “Do you need help…?”

He swiped it from my fingers, shook his head, and resumed wrestling with the valve. “No, I almost got it. Landlord’s gonna fucking get it one of these days?—”

His rant faded to the rushing in my ears as I backed away. I had what I needed.

“Hey, so… I think I’m gonna take off.” I fidgeted in the doorway, jutting a thumb over my shoulder.

Arlon was too busy hurling insults at the sink to pay much attention to my swift departure. “Yeah, all right. Text me when you get home.” He tossed a brief wave in my direction, muttering under his breath.

But he glanced up as I backed into the hallway and some dim realization flickered behind his level stare. I could see in his eyes that he suspected something, but he said nothing at all. All I could do was hold his gaze, and hope my eyes conveyed my promise.

I’ll try not to do anything too reckless.

Because now I had the location. And soon, I’d have a plan. And if that plan involved risking my neck—well, that was just business as usual.

Except this time, maybe I wouldn’t be going in alone.

13

River

“River, where’s Ethan?” I turned to find Maxine behind me, adjusting the puffy pleats of her gown. “I haven’t seen him in a while.”

I shrugged. “He wandered off. I thought maybe he was following a lead.”

The event was winding down around us, guests dissipating as the clock crawled past midnight. My eyes flicked over the remaining crowd, but couldn’t find that familiar streak of blond.

Ethan’s earlier unsettled expression crossed my mind. “He looked a bit rattled when I last saw him, but?—”

Hunter sidled up beside us then, murmuring under her breath. “We should go before this place empties out.” She paused, looking between the two of us with a pinched brow. “Where’s Ethan?”

Mild alarm crossed Maxine’s features. “He’s not with you?”

I pursed my lips, shaking my head. “Maybe—” My phonebuzzed in my small clutch, startling me into stiffness. I fished it out to see Laurie’s name lighting up the screen.

“Uh, one sec,” I murmured, stepping to the side. Maxine and Hunter exchanged glances, brows furrowed as they turned to keep scanning the crowd.

“Laurie?” I answered the call and pressed a hand over my other ear to block the chatter of the gathering. “What’s up?”

Her voice came, rapid and anxious, through the receiver. “River, I’ve got a lead! And footage—camera footage of this guy touching people’s shoulders and leading them out of bars, and then they just vanish. Can you meet me?—”

“Woah, Laurie. Slow down,” I cut in, waving off a curious Hunter and Maxine. They could tell something was up; their eyes narrowed and stayed fixed on me. “You’re calling me… about a man… in a bar?”

“Yes,” Laurie snapped, frustration edging her tone. “He touches their shoulders, says a few words, and they leave like zombies. Doesn’t that sound supernatural to you?!”

“Sure, but…” I pinched the bridge of my nose, struggling to keep up with her logic. “I’m a little confused. What does this have to do with?—”

“I think he’s part of the organization,” Laurie spoke over me, tripping over her words she spewed them so fast. “I think this is how they’re finding victims. Arlon showed me this footage he got from the police station. Everyone who has been approached by that man has vanished without a trace. They just get up and leave without explanation.”

My brow crumpled and I frowned at the phone.Who the hell is Arlon and why does that name ring a bell?

“Okay…” Maxine and Hunter hovered closer and I strung together a scowl to ward them off, hissing my frustration with a hand over the mic. “Can you two just give me a fucking second.”

Hunter met my glare with one of her own and Maxine rolled her eyes. I turned my back on both of them.