by L. Danvers
I clenched my teeth so hard it made my jaw twitch. There was more to this, I was sure. But I didn’t have time to think about it much longer because Aiden came storming back into the room. “We’ve got a problem.”
Rolling my eyes, I asked, “What now?”
“Starla won’t help us. She said she helped once as a favor to me, but that she doesn’t want to get caught up in some supernatural showdown with the Albrights.”
Great. Just great.
“Well, then,” Uncle Ben said, “we can always do this the old-fashioned way.” I cocked my head to the side, waiting for him to continue. “We split up. Xander, why don’t you check out her hometown—Portland, isn’t it? Aiden can go back to where you last saw her in upstate New York. And I can check around neighboring towns. I’ll start with Amber Falls.”
Considering we had no other ideas, Aiden and I agreed. Was it a great plan? No. But it was a plan. And it would have to be good enough for now.
The three of us gathered our things and then filed out the front door heading in different directions. Aiden had arranged—through compulsion, no doubt—for my car to be brought to Uncle Ben’s. Having my brother as a vampire again did have its perks.
I climbed inside the car and turned on the ignition, smiling as it thrummed to life. I mindlessly glanced at my bracelet. I’m coming for you, Grace, I thought to myself as I sped in the direction of Portland. And I’m going to bring you back home where you belong.
Xander
Once my hunger had been satiated, the redheaded middle-aged woman sat there staring mindlessly at the romantic comedy playing in theater nine. The humans had outlawed vampires feeding on them. But let’s be honest, vampires had been feeding on humans for centuries without them being any the wiser. Their laws meant nothing.
I complied for the most part for Grace’s sake. I drank the “red drink” most of the time. But it was like eating a carrot to satisfy a craving for a juicy burger fresh off the grill. It was food, but it wasn’t the same. And it certainly didn’t satisfy you.
So, sometimes it was necessary to drink from the vein. To get the real stuff.
I found that movie theaters made for the perfect spot for feeding. They were dark. Crowded. All you had to do was find a seat in the top row. To anyone who might happen to turn around, it would simply look like I was in the midst of a make-out session.
I compelled the moviegoers I fed on to keep quiet and keep watching the movie. To stay calm. To not feel pain. And then, I drank.
Bars and nightclubs made for great feeding spots, too. But it was the middle of the day, and I was hungry. Plus, I was going to need all the strength I could muster if I was going to track down Grace.
Now that I’d had my fill, I left the movie early, not particularly interested in actually watching a chick flick, and headed for the restaurant situated at the front of the upscale movie theater complex. I needed to take a minute to think through what I was going to say to Grace. I’m sorry didn’t seem sufficient. I never meant to fight with her. But, being a vampire meant that my emotions were always running on overdrive. The frustration with what was beginning to feel like a futile search and the shock of what we thought was our one hope of finally getting faerie dust slipping away was too much for me. And I lost it. But now, it was time to make things right.
Helping myself to an empty red booth, a waitress promptly greeted me with a menu.
“Good afternoon. Welcome to Mike’s Bar and Grille. My name’s Skylar, and I’ll be your server. What can I start you off with this afternoon?”
“Can I get a coffee? Black?”
“Sure thing.” She gave me a flirtatious wink before collecting the payment from the couple at the table behind me.
“It was so great to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Addington,” the waitress said to the people seated behind me. My ears perked up. Curious, I glanced over my shoulder. The middle-aged couple flashed warm smiles at the girl. Mr. Addington dipped his head and replied, “Sure thing, Skylar. Say hi to your parents for us.”
“Will do.”
I was trying not to stare, but I couldn’t help myself. What were the chances that they could be who I thought they were? Pretending like I was looking for someone, I stole glances at the couple. I tried to memorize everything about them. The wrinkles around Mrs. Addington’s eyes. The way Mr. Addington coiffed his graying hair to the left side. The way they held each other’s hands while they waited for Skylar to return with their credit card.
Moments later, Skylar slipped the black check holder back to them and waved goodbye as they left. Then, she proceeded to bring the ceramic mug filled with steaming coffee to me. Taking a chance, I asked, “Do you know them?” I gestured to where the couple had been sitting.
“The Addingtons? Of course. Their daughter was one of my best friends.” Her bright features suddenly faded into repressed pain.
“Was?” I asked, brow furrowed.
“You don’t know about Grace?” she asked, her voice tinged with sadness. She lowered her head. “You’re not from around here, are you?”
I shook my head, playing dumb. My dark eyes locked in on her green ones, and I wielded my control over her mind. “Tell me about her.”
Since she had no choice but to comply, the waitress slipped into the seat across from me. “Grace and I were best friends in high school... until she went missing.”
“How long ago was that?”
“I don’t know. Seven years ago, maybe?”
“I see. So, what happened to her?”
Skylar shrugged. “No one knows. Most people think she’s dead. When she vanished, the whole community searched for her. People were looking for months. It was devastating.”
“Do you? Think she’s dead, I mean?”
She thought about it for a moment. “No. The Addingtons haven’t given up on finding her. They believe she’s still out there somewhere. And since they still believe she may be alive, so do I. She might have run away. Or she might have been kidnapped. Who knows? I just hope she’s okay, wherever she is.”
“The Addingtons are still looking for her?”
“Yes. Of course. They love her.” Skylar cocked her head to the side. “Why are you so curious about Grace?”
Getting annoyed, I leaned in. “Don’t ask questions.”
“Okay,” she said, her green eyes glazing over in submission.
“What do you remember about her?” I asked, realizing I didn’t know much about what Grace’s life was like before she was brought to Crescent Cape.
“She was fun. A little devious. Whenever we had sleepovers, she’d always insist we sneak out of the house. We didn’t do anything too crazy. We usually just toilet papered the houses of guys in our class. Ryan, mostly.”
“Who’s Ryan?”
“He’s her boyfriend. Or, he was her boyfriend.”
Interesting. Grace had never mentioned Ryan before. I wondered why...
“What happened to Ryan?”
“I haven’t kept up with him. He’s not on social media. Last I heard, he had become a private investigator. I think Grace’s disappearance really messed with his head.”
“Is there anything else you can tell me about Grace?”
“She was a good friend. The best friend anyone could ever hope for. She put on a tough exterior. I think knowing her birth parents had given her up made her feel like she had to prove herself to people. To prove that she was worthy of being loved. And when she loved someone, she loved them with her whole heart.”
My throat bobbed as I swallowed. “Forget this conversation, Skylar.” And I released my hold over her.
Confusion contorted her features. Warily, she glanced around. “What—what am I doing?” Cheeks flushing, she swept her dark hair off her shoulder and stood. “Sorry about that.” She glanced back at the seat, having no idea why she’d been sitting with me.
I slipped her some cash to cover the coffee, along with a generous tip, before downing the drink and heading outside. Maybe
I wouldn’t find Grace in Portland. Her parents would have mentioned it to Skylar if she had returned. But I wondered if I should stick around a bit longer... I knew how much Grace missed her parents. How she only stayed away from them in order to make sure they stayed safe from the supernatural world. But since I was here, it wouldn’t hurt to pay them a little visit. Maybe being able to update Grace on how they were doing would help me earn her forgiveness. It was worth a shot, wasn’t it?
Xander
From what I’d gathered, Grace’s dad had recently retired from his job as an orthodontist. Which I hoped meant that he would be at home in the middle of the day.
I strolled up to the Addingtons’s front door. I hoped I was doing the right thing here. That getting her information about what her family had been up to since she left would bring her some peace about the situation. I’d compel them to forget everything when I was done and leave them with a sense of peace, too. Grace wasn’t a fan of me using compulsion, but surely she’d agree that making sure her adoptive parents didn’t spend the rest of their lives fretting over her was the most merciful thing I could do.
Straightening my posture so that I was standing tall, I knocked on their front door. Mr. Addington opened it, oblivious to the fact that there was a vampire at his doorstep. He tilted his head and smiled. “How can I help you?”
“I’m a reporter with the Portland Herald,” I lied. “I was hoping to talk to you about your daughter.”
Mr. Addington’s face lit with hope. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Do you have any information about Grace? Have you found something?”
“Do you mind if we talk inside?”
“Of course,” he said, gesturing for me to enter. “Come on in.” He led me to the living room where his wife was enjoying a plate of assorted macaroons and lavender tea. It was hard to believe Grace had grown up here. The place seemed so normal for such an extraordinary girl.
I pulled out my phone and hit record, keeping up the guise that I was a reporter, but also thinking Grace might appreciate hearing her parents’ voices again. I shifted my weight in the plush floral loveseat and began questioning them. “Let’s start at the beginning. What do you remember about Grace’s disappearance?”
Mr. Addington frowned.
His wife’s features turned stern. She looked at her husband. “George, honey. Who is this man?”
“A reporter with the Herald,” Mr. Addington explained. “He has questions about our daughter.”
Mrs. Addington’s eyes glistened with tears, and she nodded, signaling that it was okay to proceed with the interview, although it was clear she wanted no part in it.
Answering my question, Mr. Addington recalled that fated evening. “Grace was staying at a friend’s house. The girls decided to sneak out and head to a local park to meet up with friends. And they did.” He wiped his brow as if recounting what he knew was bringing up emotions he’d much rather bury. “The last thing anyone remembers, they were hanging out by the swing set when Grace thought she heard something. She went to investigate, and she never came back.” Mr. Addington covered his mouth in a failed attempt to hide the fact that he was crying. “I’m so sorry,” he said, wiping away his tears with the back of his hand. “It’s still so hard to talk about.”
I nodded, giving a respectful pause before proceeding with my next question. “So, what do you think happened to her?”
“I don’t know. But Grace was a good kid. She wouldn’t have just run away.”
He wasn’t wrong. Grace was fiercely loyal to the people she cared about. Even to me, until recently. And she hated hurting people.
Grace never talked about how she was taken. Though, to be fair, I never asked her. I’d spent more time than I cared to admit trying to remember if I had been the one who had taken her. But hearing Mr. Addington’s version of the story brought me great relief. Because I knew without a doubt that I’d never been to a playground in a park in Portland, Maine.
Releasing a breath, I continued with my questioning. “What do you think happened to her?”
Mrs. Addington placed down her tea and left the room, not wanting anything to do with this conversation. I wasn’t trying to upset her. I’d make it right soon enough.
Mr. Addington shrugged. “All I know is that my daughter is still out there. And I have to find out what happened to her. One of her worst fears growing up was that she was unlovable. I think her birth parents giving her up did a number on her.” His lower lip began to quiver, and he took a deep breath to calm himself. “That’s the hardest part about all of this. I’m terrified that she’s out there somewhere thinking that we gave up on her. Or, worse, that we didn’t care enough to keep looking. That’s why we’ve never given up on her search for her. And we never will.”
I swallowed down a lump in my throat.
I heard a knock at the front door, and Mrs. Addington called out that she would get it. So, I continued with my final question. “Mr. Addington, if there was anything that you could tell Grace right now, what would it be?”
He hung his head, pondering the millions of things he no doubt wanted to say to her. Finally, his chin lifted. “I’d tell her that her mom and dad love her. I’d tell her that we believe in her. And if someone took her from us, which I suspect they did, then I’d tell her to fight. Because she deserves so much better out of life than this.”
“Anything else?”
He glanced up, his eyes meeting mine. “Finally, I’d tell her to come home.”
With that, I turned off the recording. “Thank you for your time, Sir,” I said as I stood to my feet. “Do you mind if I take a picture before I go?” I thought Grace might appreciate getting to see them again.
Obliging, Mr. Addington called for his wife to join him in the living room. She quickly entered, and a young man in his early 20s followed in behind her. He had dark skin and a wide smile, and yet there was a hardness in his eyes. Pain or grief, perhaps. I wondered if he knew Grace, too.
Mr. and Mrs. Addington situated themselves in front of the fireplace, posing in front of the mantle where pictures of their daughter were arranged in a beautiful display. I snapped a picture and thanked them profusely. Glancing over my shoulder at the stranger, I said, “Do you mind giving us a moment?”
“It’s okay, dear,” Mrs. Addington said to him.
Hesitantly, the stranger nodded, reluctantly humoring me. He slid back into the hallway out of sight.
I placed my hands on the Addingtons’s shoulders, locking my gaze in on theirs, the powers of my mind overwhelming theirs. “Grace is alive, and she’s perfectly safe,” I told them. “She started a life of her own. But she can’t come back here. You don’t need to know why. It’s time to stop looking for her. Just know that your daughter is okay. And that she loves you more than anything. She wants you to be happy. It’s okay to be happy. And it’s okay to be at peace.”
I let go of their shoulders, and, dazed, the Addingtons stared blankly at me. They blinked, looking at each other. Soon, the harsh lines in Mr. Addington’s face relaxed, and I knew with certainty that my compulsion had worked.
Satisfied with myself, I said my goodbyes and started out the door.
As I headed back down the sidewalk, I sensed somebody following me. Expecting it to be Mr. Addington, I turned around only to find the same stranger from before rearing his arm back.
By the time I realized that he was holding a knife, the silver and wooden blade was already lodged into my stomach. Blood poured from my belly, and I let out a threatening snarl, staring my attacker down.
“You missed,” I hissed at him. In a flash, I ripped the knife out of my torso and tackled the man, pinning him on his back. He let out a whelp as his head hit the cement, but it wasn’t hard enough of a fall to knock him out. “Who are you?” I said through gritted teeth.
The stranger spat in my face. “The name’s Ryan Tanner. And you may have no idea who I am. But I know exactly what you are.”
Grace
I tugge
d at the collar of my uniform, watching the clock. A couple more hours and my shift would be over, and I could go spend time with Bellamy. He had checked himself out of the hospital and was recovering at his apartment now. I still didn’t understand why he’d suddenly become so insistent on getting out of there, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it.
I arched my back and stretched out my arms. The muscles in my shoulders were screaming in pain after the bizarre contortions I’d found myself in trying to get comfortable yesterday in that sad excuse for a chair the hospital provided. But I was happy to have been able to be there for Bellamy. Thankfully, my boss had been understanding about Madison and me both missing work yesterday. One of our co-workers had been asking to pick up extra shifts anyway and another didn’t mind helping out, so it all worked out.
I covered my mouth with the back of my hand while I let out a yawn. These next two hours couldn’t go by fast enough. I brushed past Madison, who was carrying a tray full of drinks to one of her tables, and poured myself a cup of coffee. One of the few perks of working at the Sunny Side Grille was that we were allowed to help ourselves to as much coffee as we wanted.
I had just finished downing the liquid energy boost when a customer came in. He quickly took a seat and buried his head in the menu. Seeing as that I wasn’t doing anything of importance, I marched over to his booth and pulled out my pad and pencil to take his order. “Welcome to the Sunny Side Grille,” I said with a smile, trying to look more alert than I felt.
The man slowly pulled the menu down and gaped at me, jaw hanging wide open.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“Grace?” he asked.
I nodded cheerfully, pointing to the snazzy new name tag I’d been given last week. “How’d you guess?” I said with a wink.
The stranger furrowed his brow. “Grace, what are you talking about? It’s me.” I frowned, staring at the middle-aged man sitting before me. I had no idea who this guy was, but he sure seemed certain he knew me. “Ben,” he added in a tone that suggested that should mean something to me.
