Page 80 of Red Fury

“I’m telling you, something isn’t right,” I insist, my dragon’s agitation bleeding into my voice. “Claire wouldn’t just drop her purse and walk away. She’s the most organized person I know. Where is she, Laurence? I’ve looked everywhere, and it’s like she vanished into thin air. Who would just leave their purse lying on the floor? I can’t find her personal phone. That means that she must have it on her. It’s ringing, but she’s not picking up. I’m hoping you know a way to trace her cell phone. I can give you the number.” I know that Shadow would hate me giving out this number, but what choice do I have? I have to find her.

“Okay, okay,” Webb says, and I can practically hear him thinking. “That might just work. Let me make some calls. I havea friend at the FBI who owes me a favor. If Claire has her phone on her, and it is still powered up, we might be able to put a trace on it and track her location.”

Relief floods through me. “How long will that take?”

“A few hours, maybe less if we’re lucky. These things take time to set up properly. My friend won’t be able to justify an emergency search, so he won’t be able to put a fast trace on the phone, just a regular one.” Webb’s voice becomes more businesslike. “Listen; go home and sit tight. Don’t do anything stupid. If someone really has taken Claire, the last thing we need is you going off half-cocked and making things worse.”

“I can’t just sit around and—”

“Yes, you can, and you will,” Webb cuts me off. “I’ll call you the moment I know something. Who would take Claire? I wonder if they will use her to get to Harrison. Perhaps we need to inform—”

“No, this stays between us…at least for now. Maybe I have it all wrong. I don’t think I do, but let’s not get the others riled up over what might be nothing.”

“You’re right. Send me her personal number and I’ll get back to you as soon as I have anything.”

The line goes dead, leaving me standing alone in the parking garage beside Shadow’s abandoned car. I text him her number, and he responds with a thumbs-up.

Whoever took her has no idea what they’ve just unleashed. Because if they hurt her – if they so much as touch a hair on her head – I’m going to tear them apart with my bare hands.

25

Shadow

My head feels like someone took a sledgehammer to it.

The throbbing is relentless, pounding behind my eyes with each beat of my heart. Everything is fuzzy, like I’m trying to think through thick fog. My mouth is dry, and my tongue feels thick and useless.

Where the hell am I?

I try to move, and that’s when the panic sets in.

I can’t.

I can’t see, either.

I try again and realize that my hands are bound behind my back. My legs are tied at the ankles. There’s something rough and dark pulled over my head and a gag stuffed in my mouth that makes breathing difficult.

I can’t see anything.

How did I get here?

I have a memory of an old lady. Of feeling confused. Of… I can’t quite grasp it. I try once again to get free and can’t. It’s useless.

Terror claws at me, and I start fighting against the binds and moaning against my gag. I should be able to break through whatever’s holding me. I’m a dragon shifter, for crying out loud. I have superior strength.

Still, I can’t manage it!

The ropes or restraints or whatever they are, don’t budge. Not even a little. I pull and twist and struggle until I’m gasping for breath around the gag, but it’s useless. I’m as helpless as a human.

I remember a pinch on my arm and feeling dizzy. I remember blacking out. Someone drugged me; maybe that’s why I feel so weak. It was the old lady who wasn’t old.

I force myself to stop struggling and focus on my breathing. On taking steady breaths. On being calm. The dizziness is starting to clear, but my head still pounds like crazy.

“Oh, good, you’re finally awake,” a female voice says from somewhere to my right. “It took long enough.” She sounds like she is smiling, which somehow makes everything worse.

There’s also something unsettling about the casual way she is talking to me, like we’re old friends catching up over coffee instead of…whatever the hell this is.

The covering is pulled from my head, and bright light assaults my eyes. I squeeze them shut, then blink a few times as they adjust.