Page 8 of Wonder (Wonderfall #3)

Six captives rescued, but one needs medical attention. Two vamps got away. The rest are dead.

Cal:

At least we got the captives. The Hunters should be there in an hour or so. I’ll check to see if they have anyone with medical training.

Me:

Shane’s on the way with Ms. Jackson. Hopefully they can do their healing thing.

I pocketed my phone. “The Hunters will be here in about an hour. I’m waiting to find out when Shane and Ms. Jackson will get here.”

Simon thanked me absently. He was focused on Tucker carefully wrapping Nicky’s head in gauze.

Tucker finished and sat back, frowning. “I hope Ms. Jackson can at least figure out if your friend here broke any bones, so we can move him somewhere more comfortable.”

Simon shook his head. “The sun is good for his magic.” He gazed up at the former captives, who were huddled together staring worriedly at the man on the ground. “He calls himself Nicky?”

As one, they took a step back at being addressed.

Arlo swallowed and said, “Yeah. He would only talk when the vamps—I mean the other vampires—were asleep or out of the house. If they heard him, they’d come in and drain him straight away.

They never let him get much energy back, but they didn’t do that to the rest of us. We weren’t tied up like Nicky either.”

Simon nodded but didn’t speak, looking down to where he held Nicky’s hand.

I couldn't take my eyes off the picture he made, with the sun highlighting the reddish glints in his hair as it fell to his shoulders.

He wore a silver pendant but was otherwise bare chested.

Tia would have said he needed some more meat on his bones, but I had no complaints.

Most of all it was his expression that made it difficult to look away from him.

His face held worry, which I would have expected, but it also held grief.

Maybe that had to do with whatever shared history Simon and Nicky had.

Maybe one day he would tell me.

I cleared my throat. “Um, while we wait, does anyone want to help me search the house? We could also use some water for everybody, and food, if there’s anything in the kitchen.”

The former captives shifted on their feet and didn’t meet my eyes. Yeah, okay. I could see why they didn’t want to go back inside. Anika raised her hand. “Can I borrow a phone instead? I’d like to call my husband.”

Fuck. “Shit, I’m so sorry.” I pulled out my phone, unlocked it, and held it out to her.

“If you see a text from someone named Shane, let Simon here know how far out they are.” I looked at the other former captives.

“If any of you can’t remember the phone numbers you need, call a guy named Cal Steadham.

He’s in my phone. He’ll help find them for you. ”

Simon fished in his pocket and held out his own phone. “Here. I don’t need it right now. This way two of you can call at a time.” None of them moved toward him, but they all gazed longingly at the phone. I walked over and took it from Simon, then handed it to Morris, who was closest. He thanked me.

Apparently Simon’s care for Nicky didn’t override his being a vampire. Hopefully they'd come around in time.

Simon turned to me. “Can you save any paperwork or computers you find? I followed them here by putting a tracker on their van. I’d like to know how they rented or bought this house. They have to have a bank account somewhere and that may help us track down Roibeart and Marcas.”

“Of course.”

He gave me a sad smile, so different from the cocky ones he’d worn earlier. Before he saw Nicky. How did Simon know Nicky?

Tucker stood up, dusting off his knees. “I’ll help search.”

Thomas came over to us. “I don’t have anyone who I need to call right away. I don’t want to go upstairs, but I’ll search the kitchen.”

Shirley, now dressed, said she’d help.

Tucker and I headed for the second floor, intending to work our way down. I showed him the room the captives had been held in, and he shivered. “This is awful. How long was Nicky in here? He’s definitely the worst off.”

“I’m not sure.” I’d been part of enough updates about the vampires that I knew they’d been kidnapping Wonders for decades. Other than Nicky maybe, the captives we’d freed today had to be replacements for others who hadn’t made it.

We searched the cabinets in the room, but they only held cleaning supplies. At the end of the hall were two bedrooms, each with two twin beds. There was no desk, but we found one laptop and a folder of papers I took to read through later.

On the first floor was another bedroom, this one with a queen-sized bed. Whoever had rated this room had another laptop plus a stack of what looked like accounting journals.

We didn’t find anything else of interest. They didn’t have much besides clothes, food, a TV, and gaming consoles. When the Hunters got here, we’d have to go check the two dead vampires in the woods for cell phones.

Tucker and I took our meager findings out to his car. Thomas and Shirley had moved the dining table out of the kitchen and loaded it with bottled water, sodas, and snacks. Nicky was still unconscious.

Anika walked over. She gestured toward the other former captives, who were still hanging out near Simon and Nicky.

“Thanks for letting me use your phone. Ophelia has it now. I told Simon and Shirley, but someone using a number you didn’t have in your contacts texted you that they would be here soon.

You had a bunch of other texts come in, but based on the previews they didn’t seem related to this.

” She circled her finger to encompass everyone.

I thanked her, and Tucker and I went over to Simon. My gaze lingered on the pale skin of his back, admiring how his muscles flexed. Shit. “Any change?”

He shook his head, keeping his eyes on Nicky’s still form. “No.”

“What about you? Do you need to feed?” I knelt down next to him.

He met my eyes at last, a tired smile gracing his face. I could’ve stared into his golden eyes for days. “Thanks for checking, but I’m good for now. Are you okay? You didn’t get hurt, did you?”

My face felt hot, and I stifled the urge to run my fingers through my hair to make sure it was laying flat. “Nah, I’m fine.” Fuck, what was I, in middle school again?

I looked down at Nicky. I was kneeling by his feet, which stuck out from the end of the mylar blanket.

Other than the bite scars, the skin on his soles was soft.

No calluses. I tugged at the hem of his scrub pants.

The scars were everywhere, and his ankles were scabbed and bruised from the restraints on his cot. “How long did they have him?”

Simon didn’t respond, so I glanced up. He was gently tracing the tip of Nicky’s ear with one finger. He dropped his hand and let out a huge sigh. “Since 1946. He was twelve years old.”