by Bree Younger
“Exactly. Your family sounds terrific, by the way.”
“They were. I miss them so much. Dad was a doctor, just a general practitioner, not one of those big-time specialists or anything like that. I can remember going with him to his office and playing with his tongue depressors and stethoscope when I was very young. I was really close to him, I guess because I lost my mom so young.”
“Your dad and Connie died in a car accident?”
“Yes, a drunk driver ran a red light and hit them right in the side. Connie died instantly. My dad lived for almost a week, but he never regained consciousness.”
“That’s tough. Was there no other family who could have taken Cassidy?”
“Not really. Connie had no one, and my dad’s mom was in a nursing home. It was just me and Cass.”
“You were so young for such a huge responsibility.” He was amazed that she had managed as well as she had.
“I know. And a lot of people advised me to just let her go to state care. But I couldn’t. She was my baby sister. My only family. I would have done anything to keep us together.”
It was obvious to Hawk how important her family was to her, and he knew that she was never going to stop looking for Cassidy. It just wasn’t in her. He wondered what it would be like to have that same passion and love that she felt for Cassidy directed at him. He wanted it, he realized. He wanted more from her than he’d ever expected. The question was, what did she want from him?
Chapter Nine
Hawk had called Gia on his cell phone when they got to Jackson to let her know they were almost there, and Claire saw her waiting on the porch of her house for them as they pulled up the long drive. Her home was actually located a little northeast of the city in a more rural area, and Claire appreciated the softly landscaped yard as they came to a halt. As Claire stepped out of the vehicle, she took a moment to admire the quaint-looking home. It was a pale-peach color and had shutters of a deep hunter green trimmed in white. With a steeply pitched roof and decorative millwork, it reminded Claire of a cozy little gingerbread house. A little amusing considering Gia was a witch, Claire thought. Claire just hoped Gia didn’t plan on putting them in an oven Hansel and Gretel style.
When Gia stepped forward so that Claire could see her better, Claire decided she looked nothing at all like a witch and a bit more like Malibu Barbie. Gia’s hair was long and blonde, with a soft wave that Claire was sure was completely natural. Claire immediately hated her. Her figure was hourglass and her breasts generous. As she threw herself with a happy squeal into Hawk’s arms, she didn’t look to be much above five feet tall. Claire seriously considered pounding a couple more inches off her when she kissed Hawk full on the mouth in what was definitely more than a sisterly smooch.
To give Hawk credit, he didn’t participate in the kiss, just stood there with his hands lightly resting on the woman’s arms in an attempt, Claire hoped, to keep the witch from pressing herself any closer to him.
Finally Gia stepped back, a sulky pout on her face. “What’s the matter, Hawk? Aren’t you as glad to see me as I am to see you? Last time you were a little more enthusiastic. I never thought you’d play hard to get, but I’m game, if that’s what you’re into these days.”
Hawk grinned sheepishly toward Claire before turning Gia around. “Gia, I’d like you to meet Claire Landry, my…er…lady friend. Claire, this is Gia Thorne.”
The expression on Gia’s face was one of horrified embarrassment, and she rushed forward to offer Claire her hand. “I am so sorry. I had no idea Hawk was involved. He’s always been something of a lone wolf, so to speak. Please excuse the overly enthusiastic greeting. If he had warned me”—she tossed a glare toward the man, and Claire almost laughed at the discomfiture on Hawk’s face at the reprimand—“then I would never have done anything to make you uncomfortable. Forgive me?”
Claire couldn’t help but like the beautiful witch and smiled as she shook Gia’s hand. “It’s all right. We haven’t been together long. I think we’re both just starting to get used to the idea.”
Gia slid an arm around her waist and pulled her forward. “Well, come on inside. I can’t wait to get to know you better. Any woman who’s managed to catch Hawk has got to be something pretty special.”
Claire sent a questioning gaze over her shoulder at Hawk, who shrugged with helpless male bafflement, an odd look on someone usually so stoic and in command, and began following behind them.
“I wouldn’t exactly say that I’ve caught him,” Claire confided to the friendly witch.
“Ah…just dangling him on a string, huh? That’s the way to do it. Keep him guessing. That’s good for every man, but especially someone like Hawk. Women usually just fling themselves at him, you know? It’s something about that standoffish aura he wears. Drives the ladies crazy. It’s almost pathetic to watch.”
As she continued talking, Gia led them into a quaint little parlor. “All righty. Have a seat, you two.” She indicated the cozy floral-print love seat. “Make yourselves comfortable.” After they had settled, she asked, “Can I get either of you something to drink? I don’t have any bottled blood, but I have some beer or wine. Not for you, of course, Hawk, but I did stock up on your favorite bottled water when you called to say you were coming.”
“Nothing for me, thanks,” Claire declined, wondering why Hawk wasn’t offered any of the beer or wine. She sensed a story there but knew that now wasn’t the right time to probe for answers.
“Me either, thanks, Gia.”
Gia settled in a rocking chair across from them. “How are the Buchanans, Hawk? I haven’t talked to either of them in a while. I still can’t believe that Ty is married.”
“They’re good.” Hawk stretched an arm across the back of the love seat, and his hand brushed Claire’s shoulder. Claire recognized the possessive gesture for what it was and suppressed a smile as she exchanged a knowing glance with Gia. “Ty found himself a great girl. Libby suits him perfectly. They’ve been in Alaska for the past month, but they’re finally on their way home. Quinn is in Chicago right now, meeting with the Council.”
“Oh, really? That’s very interesting. Is the Council pursuing him in the hopes that he’ll join them? I heard that Eva Turlington was leaving the Council.”
“That’s what we think. Although they haven’t made him an outright offer yet. So far they just seem to be testing the waters, trying to decide if Quinn is what they’re looking for.”
“Well, if they offer it to him, I hope that he takes it. We need some stronger leadership up in Chicago than what we’ve had for the past fifty years or so. In my opinion the council has gotten way too weak. They need to start changing with the times. We’re no longer living in the 1700s, but some of those old geezers seem to be stuck there. It’s time to have someone up there who can move us into the twenty-first century. Honestly, some of them act like we’re still driving horse and buggies and using outhouses instead of living in the electronic age. The only thing they’ve really accomplished recently is creating that NPA website, which I think one of the younger aides actually suggested and created for them.”
“I agree with you. I think Quinn would be a great addition to the Council. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens.” Hawk pulled his arm down from the back of the sofa and leaned forward. “I don’t mean to be rude, Gia, but we’re kind of in a hurry. Maybe we can chat another time, but right now we’d like to get straight to the reason we’re here.”
Gia didn’t look offended by Hawk’s bluntness. Instead she turned to look at Claire. “I understand that you’re looking for your sister, is that right, Claire?”
“Yes, my sister Cassidy. She’s been missing for several months, and I’m very anxious to find her.”
“She was kidnapped by vampires, correct?”
Claire nodded.
“Hawk explained most everything to me when he asked me to search for her, but I have to warn you that the odds are about fifty-fifty that I’ll be able to find her. It
’s very difficult for me to locate someone that I’ve never met before. I’m not sure if you understand how this works, and it’s not something that’s easy to explain. Basically, it’s a matter of focusing energy. Every witch has talents that lie in different areas, what most humans would consider psychic powers. Natural-born witches have the ability to tap into energy in a way that others can’t do. My talent is finding missing objects and people. It’s easier if I have something that belongs to them. Something meaningful. Without something personal of hers, I may have difficulty focusing. And from what I understand from Hawk, you don’t have anything of Cassidy’s that she’s held within the last few months.”
Claire reached into her pocket and pulled out Cassidy’s necklace. “Until last night, I didn’t have anything of hers that she’d touched for almost a year. Now I have this.” She passed the opal over to Gia. “We just got it from someone who knew her. It was in her possession less than two months ago. Will it help?”
Gia smiled as she studied the necklace. She closed her eyes, and a stillness came over her features for a few moments. When she opened them back up, she nodded. “It will help a lot. You’ve just increased the odds to about eighty percent that I’ll be able to find her.” She stood up. “I know you’re impatient. We’ll go ahead and get started. Come with me.”
They followed her down a short hallway and into another room that looked like a small study. The walls were lined with bookcases which were filled to overflowing. A large desk sat in front of a bay window. Off to one side was a waist-high table that held stacks of files and more books. Opposite the table was a small sofa.
Gia walked over to one of the bookshelves and searched for a moment until she found what she was looking for. Pulling out the rather large book, Gia carried it across the room to the large table and set it down. Claire saw that it was a very well-used atlas. Gia began shoving the papers and books to one side. Hawk moved to help her, and before too long they’d cleared enough space so that Gia could spread the atlas out.
“We’re going to start the last place that you know for sure that she was. Tell me specifically the last place you saw Cassidy with your own eyes.”
Claire didn’t even have to think about it. “It was in Georgia. Just outside of Atlanta.”
Gia flipped through the atlas until she had the right map.
“Okay, let’s see what we can do.” She held the necklace in her left hand and gestured toward Claire. “Claire, could you place your hand over mine.” Claire stepped beside her and covered the hand that was holding the necklace. “Hawk, join hands with Claire, please. I need to be able to pull on your psychic energy. It will make the search easier if I have some extra power in reserve. It won’t hurt you at all. I promise. Since you’re emotionally connected to Claire, and she to her sister, it should help to get a clearer location.” After Hawk had done as she asked, Gia reached out with her right hand and held it above the map. “Claire, I need you to concentrate on your sister. Try to picture her in your mind exactly how she looked that last time you were together. Also try to picture as much of the surroundings as you can.” Closing her eyes and softly muttering to herself in a language Claire did not recognize, Gia bent her head forward in concentration.
Claire watched as Gia’s hand began to move over the map, starting where Claire had indicated near Atlanta and spiraling out in ever-widening circles. The hand gradually began moving west and south until it had reached the very edge of Alabama. Gia quickly moved to another page in the atlas. Again, as Gia held her hand above the map, Claire saw her fingers move across Alabama and into southern Mississippi. Another flip of the page, and it turned north, moving past Jackson, faster and faster and across the border into Tennessee. “Your sister has certainly moved around a lot.” She turned to the map of Tennessee.
“Does that mean that she is still alive?” Claire couldn’t wait another moment to ask.
Gia looked surprised. “Why yes. I’m sorry. I should have told you. I guess it never occurred to me that you didn’t know. I’m an idiot. She is most definitely alive. The energy I’m picking up from her is very strong. Very powerful. Very much like her sister’s.” She smiled.
Claire closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of intense relief. She felt Hawk squeeze her hand. When she opened her eyes, she saw Gia looking at her in concern, but she just shook her head and blinked back the tears that had risen to her eyes.
“I’m fine. I just…I hoped she was still alive, but I could never be sure. Thank you.”
Gia smiled. “I understand. Now, let’s try Tennessee.”
* * * *
Hawk studied Claire’s face to make sure she was all right. She’d tried to hold on to her hope that her sister was alive for so long, and now that she knew for sure that Cassidy was okay, he knew that she was feeling very emotional. It was with a warm sense of pride in her strength of will that he watched her pull it together and return her focus to finding her sister.
When Gia turned the page in the atlas and began on Tennessee, her search quickly narrowed down to a small area. She looked up, and Hawk waited impatiently for her to speak. “She’s here. Somewhere.” The atlas held a map of Memphis, but it was still too wide an area for them to be able to search. He could tell that Gia and Claire were frustrated. Then Gia suggested, “Let’s try the computer. I know I can find a more detailed map of Memphis online.”
Gia crossed over to her desk, with Hawk and Claire following. Claire stood next to Gia’s shoulder with Hawk close beside her, the atlas in his hand. It didn’t take long for Gia to pull up the map she needed. “Hawk, give me the atlas and let me see exactly where I need to search.”
Hawk laid the atlas on the desk beside the computer, and he and Claire held hands again. Gia held the necklace up, and Claire once more placed her own hand over it. Then they watched over Gia’s shoulder as she concentrated on the area Hawk had shown her. Her finger moved across the computer screen in smaller and smaller circles until finally she stopped. She sat there for a moment with her eyes closed before opening them and shaking her head. “Here. This is where she is. I can’t pinpoint the house, but she’s somewhere in this neighborhood.”
Hawk looked at the screen. “Brentwood Hills. I’ve heard of it. It’s a very swanky area of Memphis. Homes in that neighborhood can cost anywhere from a million up. That makes sense. Anyone who could afford a personal bloodslave would have to have plenty of money.” He looked over at Claire, whose face was filled with anticipation. “We’re almost there, Claire. We’ll find her and bring her home.”
“Oh, Hawk. It seems so unreal. After all these months of searching, to finally be so close. I can’t believe it.” Her voice broke. “And Gia. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for what you’ve done. I have to admit that when Hawk first told me we were going to consult a witch, I thought he was crazy, but I know now how wrong I was.”
Gia grinned up at Hawk and then reached out a hand to Claire, who clasped it in her own. “Don’t worry about it. You’re not the first to doubt, and I’ll be honest and tell you that we lucked out. If you hadn’t had that necklace, well…I don’t know if I could have found her as fast. Or at all.”
Hawk spoke. “I’m going to call Kirby at my office and ask her to do a computer search for me. See if she can get names of all the homeowners in Brentwood. She’s a computer whiz.”
“I can do that, Hawk.” Claire wanted to help, he knew, but he thought his idea was best.
“I know you probably can, but I imagine it would take a while on this computer of Gia’s. We have access to a network that is much faster. Plus she knows her way around some sites that I probably shouldn’t even mention to you. I use her a lot to track down information for my agency.”
Claire agreed that he was probably right, though he knew it was difficult for her to take a backseat in the search, especially given her skills with computers.
He left the two women talking while he stepped into another room to make the call. When Kirby answered, Hawk quick
ly explained what he needed. Kirby assured him it would be no problem.
“Give me some time, and I can probably have that information for you. It shouldn’t take too long.”
“About how long do you figure?”
“Shouldn’t be any more than an hour or so. Maybe even less.”
“I knew I could count on you.”
She laughed. “That’s what they all say. Is this part of that case you’re working on for Quinn? The Landry woman.”
“Yep. I think we’ve found her sister.”
“Good. Well, let me get to work on this. I’ll get back to you quick as I can.”
“Could you send the info to my e-mail account?”
“No problem.”
After they had hung up, Hawk returned to the parlor, where the two women were talking.
Claire looked up as soon as he stepped in. “What did she say?”
“She’s going to e-mail me the information as soon as she has it.”
Gia asked, “I’m not sure that I understand how that list of names is going to help you. Do you know the name of the person who has your sister?”
Claire shook her head. “Not exactly.”
Hawk explained. “We don’t have a definite name, but we have something close. One of the bloodslaves we interviewed said that Cassidy was being held by someone whose name sounded like Hunnerson.” He quickly explained to Gia how they’d gone to speak to the rescued bloodslaves and had discovered that one of the girls had actually spoken with Cassidy.
“So that’s where the necklace came from?” Gia exclaimed.
Claire nodded her head in agreement. “Yes. She gave it to us after I recognized it.”
“And that’s where you learned the name.”
Hawk spoke again. “We’re figuring Henderson or Harrison. Something like that. English wasn’t the girl’s first language, so she couldn’t get any closer than that for us. Still, I think it will help us narrow things down. And then we can cross-check any similar names against known vampires in the Memphis area. That should give us exactly what we need.”
