Page 20 of Visions of You

Maybe he could finally feel like he wasn't defective.

Before Jaron could voice any of that, though, they reached the building that housed the Mortal Rights Task Force, their place of work.

Inside, Ceska greeted them with a strained smile, her green hair pulled back into a messy bun.

"Hey guys, glad you're here. Things are a bit crazy this morning."

Jaron frowned, noticing the tense atmosphere in the office. Everyone seemed to be rushing around, talking in hushed, urgent tones. "What's going on?"

Before Ceska could answer, Apollo's voice rang out across the room. "Everyone, we need to have a team meeting. Now."

Jaron exchanged a worried glance with Ianair as they followed Ceska into the conference room. Apollo stood at the head of the table, his jaw clenched and his eyes hard.

"We have a situation," he said without preamble. "Two mortals have gone missing overnight. A young woman named Holly Meadows and a middle-aged man named Trevor Bricks. Finding them is our top priority." Images of the two appeared on a screen behind him as he spoke.

Jaron's stomach clenched. Mortals going missing again? He'd thought they'd finally put a stop to the blood-slave trade in the area. No wonder everyone was so tense. This was a major blow to the high of victory they'd been riding on since they'd brought the Nightfall coven to justice.

Was this some other vampire coven's doing?

Jaron worried his lower lip.

Keegan wouldn't have anything to do with it, would he? No, surely not. Keegan's coven was one of the 'good' covens. It was racist to think all vampires were involved in bad things.

Apollo continued, "Aside from these two mortals, three members of the paranormal community have also gone missing the same night."

A murmur of surprise and concern rippled through the room. Jaron leaned forward, his brow furrowed. "Wait, so it's not just mortals? Who else is missing?"

Apollo consulted his notes. "A wolf-shifter named Luca Fare, a dragon-shifter named Senna Kane, and a mage named Rowan Strifeburg." More images appeared on the screen.

Jaron sat back in his chair, his mind racing. This changed things. If paranormals were also disappearing, it was unlikely that this was a case of vampires abducting mortals for their blood. But then what was it? Who would target both mortals and paranormals?

For what reason?

"Do we have any leads?" Ianair asked, voicing the question on everyone's mind.

Apollo shook his head. "Not yet. But we're going to find them. I want everyone on this. Canvas the city, talk to your contacts, follow up on any and all leads. Figure out if there is a connection between the missing mortals and these specific paranormals. We're not resting until we figure out what's going on."

Jaron nodded, determined to make himself useful.

This was why he loved his job. He could actually help people here instead of just selling them shiny things in exchange for too much money.

He was about to sit down at his desk and look at all the information they had so far when Apollo approached him.

"I'm heading out to talk to some of the mortals' friends and family. Come with me?"

"Sure." Jaron followed Apollo, matching his boss's hurried pace. "Where are we going?"

"Holly, the missing woman, has two children. We're going to talk to the father."

A few hours earlier

Keegan paced his room, unable to sleep even though the sun would be up in a short hour. He knew where Jaron was going to be later today. It would be so easy to head out and meet him at Iskander's home. He'd even have the perfect excuse to be there—to support his friend's mate in their time of trouble.

That would be the decent thing to do, right?

At the same time, though, he didn't want to use Iskander like that. The man had never been anything but honest and straightforward with him. A true friend, even when Keegan hadn't necessarily deserved his kindness.

Deciding to be a good friend in return, Keegan picked up his phone and called Iskander.