"Are you two out of your mind?" Alan yelled. "You're acting like children and ruining Ria's party! Ethan, go home and get cleaned up. Now!"
Ethan shot me a glare and strode off. I rubbed my face, glad that it was all over. When Adrian had told me Alan would be coming with him because the club owner wouldn't let him in otherwise, I was frustrated, but now I appreciated Alan's presence. I wasn't too happy that Ethan was still angry and could say something incriminating to the press, but everyone knew we broke up, so anything he said could be judged as a way to get back at me. But even though no one could prove Adrian and I were together, it would be a problem if everyone started looking for a proof. We'd never be able to see each other.
Adrian's eyes were full of worry when he looked at me and I nodded at him, knowing that we shouldn't speak to each other.
"You're coming with me," Alan said authoritatively, getting hold of Adrian's arm. As soon as the two of them were out of the restroom, the girls who were watching the whole thing came running to me, asking me whether I was ok and straightening my hair. My guards rushed in a couple of seconds later.
"You're late." I found my fake element-blocking bracelet in the sink and reattached it. "Let's go outside. I don't want to go back to the party." I put on my best smile for the girls. "Everything is fine. Thank you so much. Please, go back to the party."
As soon as we walked out of the club, the blinding flashes of cameras and numerous voices flooded my vision and hearing. They kept asking me why I broke up with Ethan, but I remained quiet. My guards shoved everyone out of the way so I could get to the car. I knew I was going to be someone's entertainment tomorrow, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I was sure of one thing, though. This was the worst birthday ever.
Chapter 20
A shrill noise pierced through my consciousness, dragging me out of the world of dreams. It took me a moment to realize that the unholy sound was coming from my phone and that it was still dark outside. Who the fuck called in the middle of the night? Then again, I should have probably turned off the damn thing before I went to sleep.
The phone stopped ringing, but only for a couple of seconds. I rolled over, groaning, and snatched the phone. "What?!" I said groggily.
"Ria! Thank God," Ryan said, his voice full of panic. "Do you know where is Paula? I can't find her anywhere."
I sat up, now wide awake. "What do you mean you can't find her?"
"We were at the club, dancing and having fun. Then she went to the restroom and didn't come back. I found her bracelet and drops of blood in the back alley."
"What? No! Did you call the police? Did you try to call Paula?" I ran my hand through my hair, my fingers shaking. Maybe I was still dreaming and didn't know it. There was no way Paula would disappear. Just no.
"Yeah, I tried to call her, but no one answered. When I called the police they came to check out the blood, didn't find any witnesses and said they couldn't do anything because Paula wasn't missing for more than 48 hours. They think she went with someone else and didn't want to tell me."
"Fuck." I threw the covers off me and jumped out of the bed, looking for my clothes. "Where are you now?"
"Near the club."
"I'll be there in a couple of minutes. Don't go anywhere." I ended the call and put on a black hoodie, hoping that would be enough to hide my face from anyone who could recognize me. As I finished dressing, I slipped into my sneakers and hurried outside. I wanted to wake up Adrian and ask him to come with me, but I was afraid someone would see us together. I didn't want people to jump to conclusions because of what had happened in the club with Ethan.
Focusing on every element in the building, I tried to find Paula's, but I couldn't. I couldn't feel anything even when I passed next to her room. No one came to open the door when I banged on it either, so Paula definitely hadn't come back to the university during the night.
I jogged down the street, ignoring the cold air that was biting my skin. I prayed Paula was safe somewhere, even though I wasn't sure why she'd leave Ryan and go outside. Maybe that bracelet Ryan had found wasn't hers. It wouldn't surprise me if he had paid more attention to Paula than to the jewelry she was wearing, so he could have easily mistaken another bracelet for hers. But where was she?
I found Ryan in the back alley, which stank of beer and piss. Stepping over a puddle of what looked like vomit, I faced Ryan, who was huddled near the wall.
"What did you say to the police about your identity?" I asked, glancing down the alley to see whether someone was hiding in the shadows. Just because I couldn’t feel any elements didn't mean someone wasn't there.
"Nothing." Ryan rolled his eyes. "If I mentioned my real name, they'd put me behind the bars without investigation and call the case closed."
"When was the last time you saw Paula?"
"Three hours ago."
"Are you sure she went to the restroom?" If someone had called Paula for some scientific experiment, she would have gone to the lab in an instant, but I doubted she wouldn't have told Ryan about it.
He nodded. "I saw her when she opened the door, but I didn't see her come out. I wasn't staring at the door like some creep, though, so she could have gone wherever she wanted."
"Are you sure the bracelet you found is hers? Maybe she went to the lab to do something and fell asleep there, so she can't answer her phone. Maybe..." My voice hitched and cracked. Taking a deep breath, I tried to call Paula so I wouldn't think about all the terrible scenarios in which I'd never see my best friend again.
"Yeah, I'm sure it's hers." He made a couple of steps down the street, pointing at a spot on the ground. "I found it here."
Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I looked down at the drops of blood that were still visible on the pavement. Bile rose in my throat at the thought that someone had hurt Paula, so I averted my gaze and noticed Ryan was palming the bracelet.
"Can I see it?" I reached out for the bracelet and he dropped it into my hand. The bracelet looked exactly like Paula's, or any other element-blocking bracelet. I gave it back to Ryan, wondering how low were the chances that someone else had such a rare bracelet. "I just don't get it. Why would someone attack and kidnap her?"
"For many reasons." Ryan shrugged. "Someone might be interested in her work."
"Yeah, but why kidnap her then? No one is supposed to know what she is doing, and if they know, then they could have simply asked her because they are part of Lily's team anyway." I lightly bit my lip, hoping my worst fear didn't come true. "I hope it wasn't someone who only wanted juicy details about Ethan and me."
"Hey, it's not your fault." Ryan's eyes softened. "We're going to find her."
I nodded and started to walk down the street. "Maybe we should look around."
"Good idea." Ryan followed me, his phone in his hand. "I'll try her cell again."
A faint melody could be heard from one of the alleys as we walked past it. I stopped, looking back at the seemingly empty alley. The melody stopped when Ryan lowered his phone. My pulse racing, I ran toward the trash cans, my footsteps echoing in the darkness.
"It's hers," Ryan said as he called once more and the melody started again. I peered into the trash can and saw Paula's purse under a nasty-looking slice of pizza. As I covered my nose with my hand to block out the sour smell, Ryan dipped his arm into the trash can and fished out Paula's purse, shaking off bits and pieces of garbage.
"Is everything in there?" I asked as Ryan opened the purse.
"Yep, her phone, her wallet,... It doesn't seem like anything is missing."
Except for her. I swallowed past the lump in my throat. Paula wouldn't have thrown her purse away. This was a definite sign that someone had kidnapped her. If the police wasn't willing to help us, we'd have to find someone else. "I'm going to call Lily."
"Are you sure she'll answer? It's not even dawn yet." Ryan closed Paula's purse and clutched it to himself as if it was an object of immeasurable value.
"We can try." As I dialed Lily's number, I prayed that she would
answer. Unfortunately, the call went straight to voicemail. I sighed, frustrated. "Lily, when you get this, please call me immediately. It's urgent!"
"I can't see anything around here that could point us to whoever took her," Ryan said, his eyes trained on the ground.
"Damn it!" I went through the contacts list, looking for anyone who could alert Lily or help us. "Maybe someone is awake at Lily's hiding place." The phone rang and rang, but no one picked it up. I wanted to hurl my phone against the wall, but I doubted I'd be able to find all the pieces in the dark. Another idea came to my mind and I turned to Ryan. "Can you feel around for Paula's element? Maybe whoever took her didn't go far."
"No." He grimaced. "I don't have an element, so my self-control depends on my ability to keep all elements out of my head. They taught me in the lab how to block elements from my mind for most of the time, even when my control is slipping, but consciously allowing elements into my mind would shatter my control completely."
"Could I learn that? To block elements even when I'm losing control?" I knew how to push elements out of my mind when I was in control of myself, but I was helpless when my control was slipping.
"I don't think so. Every carrier is different, so what works for one often doesn't work for another. And I wouldn't want anyone to even try the learning methods. Can you try to find her?"
I closed my eyes and focused on the elements around me, but the whole block was full of them. Opening my eyes, I shook my head at Ryan. "There are too many elements around here, so they all blend together for me. I do know someone who could help us with that." Glad that I hadn't broken my phone, I dialed Adrian's number. The call didn't immediately go to the voicemail, so I hoped he'd answer.
"Hello, Ria," a gruff male voice said. It took me a moment to recognize it.
"Alan?" I frowned. What the fuck was Alan doing with Adrian's phone?
"Yep, it's me."
"Where is Adrian?"
Alan yawned. "The police station."
I groaned. "What? But why?"
"Someone told the cops about the fight in the club, so they wanted to question the carrier. Just the usual procedure," he mumbled. "Doesn't matter that it's the middle of the night. And they didn't even let me leave because I'm his guardian."
"Great," I said dryly. I knew the police had to make sure that all normal people involved in the fight were still alive, but there was no point in questioning Adrian when Ethan was alive and well. "Is Ethan there too?"
"Of course not," Alan said, annoyed. "Normal, rich people don't have to get up in the middle of the night and come to the police station to answer a bunch of dumb questions. They called him, though, and he said he was fine."
"Why don't they let Adrian go then?" I was glad that Ethan had the decency to say that he was fine and not try to complicate things even further.
"Ria, he's a famous magic disease carrier. Even you should know what that means." The condescendence in Alan's voice made me roll my eyes. He was right, though. It shouldn't have surprised me that the police would be full of prejudice against carriers.
"Can't you do something? Maybe tell them they can't detain him for no reason? You would be able to go back to bed sooner." While Alan wouldn't move a finger without a good reason, he'd do anything to make his own life more comfortable. I was certain he was tired and didn't want to spend a minute longer trapped at the police station.
"Well, I guess I could say something, but I don't want to end up in the jail. Cops are sensitive and I don't know them personally. Things could get ugly."
"So, when do you think they'll let him go?"
"No idea," Alan lowered his voice and I had an impression someone had come into the room where he was being held.
"Maybe I could speak to their boss and..."
"No. That's a bad idea. Maybe they'd let him go a couple of minutes earlier, but it would only irritate them more."
And it would raise all sorts of questions, like why would the president of the Element Preservers want to help a carrier who had attacked her ex-boyfriend. "Fine then. Tell Adrian to call me or come see me at the university after they let him go." I ended the call before Alan had a chance to reply.
"Why didn't you ask him about Paula?" Ryan raised an eyebrow at me.
"He doesn't know anything. He and Adrian have spent the whole night at the police station."
We went back to the alley behind the club and I squatted next to the spot where Ryan had found the bracelet. The sight of the dried blood made me nauseous. "Maybe Paula came here to cool off and saw something she shouldn't have. This alley is usually full of drug dealers."
Ryan shook his head. "They wouldn't have kidnapped her and left her purse in the trash with all the money inside."
"Right, but I still think she came out here willingly. Someone would have seen it if the kidnapper had tried to drag her out of the club or if she had been unconscious."
"We could ask the guards, but there were too many people and it was dark, so I don't think anyone would remember her." Ryan ran a hand through his blond hair, his forehead beaded with sweat.
"I wish my guards stayed closer, but they were on the other side of the building." I sighed. "But even if it was dark and all, someone would notice if Paula struggled. She had to come out on her own."
"Let's say you're right. She could have decided to come out to get some fresh air." Ryan's brow furrowed. "Oh, God." His eyes went wide.
"What?" I got up.
"What if Alan told someone that she was a carrier? He still believes that Adrian told him the truth." Ryan's hands were shaking slightly. "What if someone from a lab came for her?"
"No." Elements came rushing toward me and I had to push them away. Now wasn't the time to give in to my disease. "No one would be crazy enough to come for her during a party. They couldn't have known she'd come out or that there wouldn't be any witnesses. If someone wanted to take her to a lab, they'd have waited for her near the university."
"I think she was fighting someone, so she took off the bracelet so she could use her element."
"Or she dropped the bracelet as a clue so we could know something happened to her." I stared at the blood, unable to look away. If someone had hurt Paula, I was going to kill them. But there were too many people who could have taken her: scientists, carriers, people interested in her work, people who didn't approve of the element donations,...
I swore under my breath. "What if it was Ethan? He was angry and he was bleeding. Paula would have gone with him if he asked her nicely and told her he wanted to talk. What's the best way to get revenge than take someone I love from me? He couldn't prove I loved anyone, but Paula... Hell, he could even try to make Paula tell him who my lover is!"
"Is Ethan really that crazy?" Ryan gave me a skeptical look.
"Yeah." I knew I was always blaming Ethan for everything and thinking the worst of him, but I couldn't help it. It didn't take me long to find his number, but his phone was off.
"I'm not sure why you keep expecting people to be awake at this hour." Ryan's mouth twitched.
"I'm not sure either, but I have to go back to the university. I'm going to talk to Ethan," I said determinedly.
"Alright. You do that and I'll look around."
"Call me if you find anything." I nodded at him before I broke into a run to get to the university as soon as possible.
Chapter 21
I could feel Ethan's element, along with dozens of the elements that belonged to the sleeping students. There was a big chance my hunch about Ethan was wrong, but I decided to be rude anyway and bang on his door until I was afraid it would give way under my hand.
A couple of minutes later, Ethan cracked open the door. His hair was a mess, bruises covered half of his face and he had a bandage over his nose. His bloodshot eyes widened slightly and he laughed. I'd expected a lot of things, but laughter wasn't one of them.
"I need to talk to you," I said, realizing that he was only wearing black briefs.
"Now?" he said
incredulously.
"Yeah, now." I ignored his state of undress and pushed past him into the room. I was surprised to see that the girl he'd been dancing with in the club wasn't here because I could have sworn one of the elements I felt was hers. Oh, well, my ability to tell who was who and who was where in a building full of elements wasn't the best.
"What do you want?" Ethan crossed his arms. "Apologize? Beg me for forgiveness?"
"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes. "Have you seen Paula?"
"Why?"
"She's missing." I waited for his reaction, but he didn't tense or flinch at the mention of her name.
"Really? Maybe she got tired of her friend and went with someone else." Ethan chuckled.
"Have you seen her?" I repeated forcefully to show him that I wasn't joking.
"Yes. I saw her at the club." His eyes met mine and there was something in them that looked satisfied, almost smug.
"When was that?"
"When I asked her to come outside and talk to me."
My pulse sped up. He'd asked her to go outside! He was the last person who saw her. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing, I swear. We only talked... about you." He raised his hands up. "She told me she couldn't do anything to change your mind and I left."
"And where did she go?" I didn't trust Ethan at all, especially now that I knew he was the one to lure her out, but why?
"I don't know, but if you want my help, I'll do whatever it takes to find her."
"No, thanks. But if you see her, call me." I went for the door, aware that I couldn't blame Ethan for Paula's disappearance without a solid proof. It bugged me that he was so calm about the whole thing.
The first rays of sunshine lit up the halls and I was relieved to find my guards in front of the door of my room. They gaped at me in surprise when they saw me because I was supposed to be still in bed, but they didn't say anything about it. Smart guys. If Lily found out about this, she'd immediately request a 24/7 protection for me.
"You should go outside and observe Ethan Marlau for me today," I said, making sure no one was around to overhear me.
Restless (Element Preservers, #4) Page 12
