Wanton With a Vampire (26 page)

Alek snorted. “Fat lot of good it does me.
Trish was right. I’m not the kind of man a woman can spend the rest
of her life with.”

“You’re an idiot, Alek,” Nathaniel said and
stood. “While I’m tempted to stay here and beat some sense into
you, I’ve got work to do. Hopefully, you’ll pull your head out of
your ass soon and realize how much Trish means to you before it’s
too late.”

“Why am I getting lectured?” he demanded. “I
saved her the trouble of having to end things with me.”

“Let me give you some advice,” Nathaniel
said. “Don’t listen to part of a conversation and assume you know
what’s going on. I’m guessing you took off before the end of the
conversation you eavesdropped on.”

“So?” Alek asked. “Should I have stood around
and listened to more reasons I’m a poor choice for love?”

“No,” Nathaniel said. “You should have stuck
around to hear the reasons Trish loves you but is afraid to tell
you because she doesn’t want you to feel obligated to be with
her.”

“She told you that?” Alek asked with a faint
glimmer of hope.

“No, but I’m smart enough to read between the
lines,” Nathaniel said. “If you love her, man up and try to make it
work.”

“You’re right,” Alek said. “Even if she turns
me down, I need to try. I thought it would make things less awkward
between us if I just let her go, but I can’t.”

“You really hurt her,” Nathaniel said.

Alek paled. “I never meant to hurt her.”

“I believe you, but you have to make this up
to her.”

Alek agreed. As soon as Nathaniel left, he
called Trish, but the call rang through to voicemail. He hesitated
before leaving a message, which would probably make the message
sound creepy, but he decided to leave the message anyway.

“Hey, Trish. It’s Alek. I really need to talk
to you. The way we left things is bothering me. Hell, I don’t know
what I’m saying. Please call me back.”

Setting his phone down, he sat on the sofa
and stared at his phone as if he could will it to ring. He’d give
her an hour before driving over there.

Trish looked around the condo she’d been
living in for the last few months and felt strangely out of place.
Then again, her entire life had changed recently. She’d died, come
back to life with some freakish psychic ability, and proven her
father had been murdered. She’d also set herself up to have her
heart broken by falling in love with Alek.

“I need to use the potty.”

Trish smiled at the sleepy little voice
making that statement. He’d had a very fitful night, so it was no
surprise that he’d slept until nine in the morning.

“It’s right over here,” she reminded him with
a reassuring smile.

Hunter returned her smile and trotted off
toward the bathroom.

Hunter refused to stay anywhere without her.
It was crazy that no one had questioned her decision to have Hunter
live with her. She was guessing the Draksel family was happy they
didn’t have to find someone to take the little boy in. Her mom had
been the real surprise. She’d expected to get at least some
argument about how she wasn’t in any position to raise a child.
Instead, her mom had said she needed to get off the phone because
they were only in port for two hours and she wanted to pick up some
things for Hunter.

Noah had come by with some stuff for Hunter
shortly after Caitlin dropped them off yesterday, and had promised
to bring more clothes for Hunter today. Funny how Trish hadn’t been
at all uncomfortable with Noah. Of course, Noah was no longer her
obsession. Nope, her not so secret crush now was Alek— another man
she had no future with.

When Hunter came out of the bathroom, he was
rubbing his eyes.

“You still look sleepy,” she said.

Hunter pouted. “I’m not sleepy,” he
grumbled.

“Well, I am,” she said, and it was the truth.
“How about if I fix you some breakfast? After that, we’ll watch a
movie together.”

Hunter nodded enthusiastically. “I’m
hungry.”

“I’ll bet you are,” she said. “You hardly ate
anything yesterday. What do you like for breakfast?”

“I like everything,” he said.

“Everything?” she asked, having trouble
believing he was that good of an eater.

“Except eggs,” he said. “Raisins are yucky
too. I don’t like cereal with raisins.”

“Anything else you don’t like?” she
asked.

“No,” he said.

“How about oatmeal?”

He made an ugly face. “Oatmeal is gross.”

Trish stifled a giggle. Hunter didn’t eat
everything. “Yogurt?” she asked.

“With berries and toast!” Hunter added.

Trish smiled at his enthusiasm. It had to be
a good sign that he liked her usual breakfast. After polishing off
three yogurts, a slice of toast, and two small bowls of mixed
berries, he was full and ready to watch a movie.

“What kinds of movies do you got?” he asked
after Trish cleared their dishes.

“I don’t know, but I’m sure we’ll find
something,” she assured him.

Trish was grateful she could stream movies in
her bedroom. Without Netflix, she wasn’t sure what she would have
watched with Hunter. She made a mental note to have someone pick up
some good movies for kids. After watching the movie, they played
with the blocks and cars Noah had brought over for Hunter.

She tried her hand at making grilled cheese
sandwiches for lunch and almost cried when she remembered Alek
making one for her. The ones she made weren’t nearly as good as
Alek’s, but Hunter ate his, along with more berries.

“Nap time,” she said after lunch, hoping to
get some photos edited while Hunter was asleep.

Poor Hunter didn’t even argue with her. He
was exhausted. He was settled into her bed and fast asleep within a
few minutes. Since her laptop was charging on her desk, she decided
to work in her room so she wouldn’t wake Hunter while trying to
unplug it.

The doorbell rang twenty minutes into
Hunter’s nap, and she rushed to answer it before they rang the bell
again. Naturally, the one time she didn’t check the peephole like
her mother always told her to do, there was a man with a gun on the
other side of the door. Strange how the only thing she was thinking
about was Hunter. She found herself praying the man wouldn’t hurt
him.

“What do you want?” she asked quietly.

“I need you to come with me, Ms. Williams,”
he said calmly.

“You’re certainly polite for a kidnapper,”
she replied, not sure what was keeping her from freaking out.

Rather than smiling, or even responding to
her statement, the man leaned closer. Obviously, he was trying to
conceal the gun from anyone who might walk by. “I’m going to put
this gun away while we walk to my car. If you make a sound, I will
pull it back out and shoot any witnesses. Am I making myself
clear?”

Trish nodded, feeling like an idiot for going
with this guy. Every article she’d ever read told her not to get
into a car with a stranger. She knew what she needed to do was
scream like a banshee or she was as good as dead. The problem she
faced now was Hunter; screaming might wake him up and put him in
danger. Walking further from her condo before screaming seemed like
the best idea. That also made it more likely neighbors would hear
her.

Unfortunately, no one was around. Her
kidnapper must have noticed that too. A burly arm snaked around her
neck, and a cloth was pressed over her mouth and nose. A scent
similar to nail polish remover overwhelmed her, but she didn’t lose
consciousness instantly like they do in movies. First, her hearing
faded. Still, she heard the man telling her to stop struggling,
which meant at least part of her brain was working. The tinny sound
of his voice disappeared completely, and the black spots dancing in
front of her eyes knitted themselves together like a blanket just
before there was nothing.

Drew had been sitting in his car for the last
two hours. That morning, he’d gotten up, told Sofia he was going
for a drive, and made it all of two blocks before parking and
staring out at nothing. This crazy funk made no sense. With normal
people, it would make perfect sense. He’d killed his own mother and
discovered he’d fathered a kid. That was enough to throw most
people off their game. But Drew wasn’t a normal person. No, he was
his mother’s son— a sociopath and a killer.

When his phone rang, he was tempted to ignore
it. Normally, no one called him, but he knew his father would call
eventually. When he saw Trish’s number, he decided to answer
because she might need something for the kid.

“Yeah,” he said.

“Drew?” asked a frightened little voice.

“Hunter? How the fuck did you get this
number?” Then he remembered he shouldn’t be swearing around a kid.
“Sorry about cussing.”

“I found Trish’s phone, and I know what a D
looks like, so I was hoping it was for you,” Hunter said.

“Where is Trish?” Drew asked, wondering why
Hunter would need to find her phone.

“A man came and took Trish away,” Hunter
said, and it sounded like he was trying hard not to cry.

Drew didn’t panic, probably because he wasn’t
the emotional type. Still, he was pissed that someone would take
Trish. “Don’t worry, Hunter. I’ll get her back. I’m going to send
someone over there to stay with you.”

“Okay,” Hunter said, his voice quivering.
“The door is locked.”

“I’ll send someone who has a key,” Drew said.
“Don’t be afraid when they get there. Hannah’s nice. Noah’s a dick,
but he won’t hurt you.”

“I know who Noah is,” Hunter said. “Please
get Trish back. I’m scared without her.”

“I will,” Drew said, and hung up.

First, he called Aiden, not completely sure
his cousin would answer. “What the hell do you want?” Aiden asked
sleepily. “You just woke up one of the babies.”

Drew so did not care. “Some asshole kidnapped
Trish.”

“Who has her?” Aiden snapped out.

“I don’t know,” Drew said. “Hunter called to
tell me what happened. All I know is someone took her. I know you
can track people by their energy, so I figured you could find
her.”

“I’m leaving now,” Aiden said.

“Call me when you’re on the road to let me
know where you’re going,” Drew said.

Aiden hesitated, proving he didn’t want Drew
involved. “Sure,” Aiden said before hanging up.

Drew hit the button to put the call to Hannah
on the car’s speakers. He had a good idea where Trish was and
figured he’d head there first, since he wasn’t sure Aiden would
really tell him where they were going. Thankfully, Hannah also
answered his call.

“Hello,” she said. Clearly, she’d failed to
look at the Caller ID.

Rather than risk her hanging up on him, he
started right in with what he needed to say. “Trish has been
kidnapped. I’m going to get her back, but I need you and Noah to go
over to the condo and stay with Hunter. He’s there alone.”

“We’ll leave now,” Hannah said and hung up on
him.

No one said goodbye anymore, or maybe they
just didn’t say goodbye to him.

Despite the stress, and the strange worry
over Trish’s safety, Drew was kind of having fun. He’d never
rescued anyone except Hunter. It was exciting being on this side of
the action. He was already heading toward Hayward when Aiden called
him.

“We’re on our way out of the canyon now. I’m
guessing she’s in Hayward or Union City. Alek’s heading in our
direction, so we may pick him up.”

“I’m a little ahead of you,” Drew said. “I’ll
probably beat you there.”

“You already know where she is?” Aiden asked,
sounding seriously pissed.

“Probably, but I’m not completely sure,” Drew
admitted. “I thought it would be better to have you involved.”

“Does this have anything to do with your
mother?” Aiden asked.

“I think so,” Drew admitted, feeling the
strangest emotion— guilt. “The good news is that Trish is most
likely safe. Whoever took her doesn’t know my mom’s dead. Assuming
this has something to do with my mom, whoever has Trish will have
orders not to kill her because my mom would have wanted to do it
herself.”

“Let’s hope you’re right,” Aiden said. “I’ll
keep you updated on where we are,” he said before hanging up.

This day was just full of surprises because
Drew was also hoping he was right about Trish being okay, but not
in the detached way he normally would. No, Drew really wanted Trish
to be safe. Then he had another thought. Damn, he was just full of
ideas today.

He hit a button on his car’s touch screen and
spoke. “Call Isaiah.”

Isaiah was the one person he knew would
actually answer his call, which was ironic considering how much
Isaiah hated him. They’d had a little falling out after the death
of a girl they’d picked up together. The whole thing had been kind
of funny, but Isaiah had no sense of humor and went crazy after
they buried the girl. His cousin still wasn’t right in the head.
Drew was the first to admit that him calling anyone crazy was a lot
like the pot calling the kettle black.

“What do you want?” Isaiah asked by way of
greeting.

“Come on, Cuz, is that any way to talk to
family?” Drew drawled. Fucking with Isaiah was too much fun to
resist the temptation.

“Hanging up unless you give me a good reason
not to,” Isaiah said in a distracted voice. The sound of keys
tapping meant Isaiah was already at his computer.

“Some dickhead humans kidnapped Trish, and
I’m pretty sure it’s related to my mom,” Drew said. “I have the
address of the warehouse my mom was using. If I give it to you, can
you find out who owns it and tell me if they have more property in
that area?”

“What’s the address?” Isaiah asked.

Drew rattled off the address. “I also need
you to deactivate the alarms at the warehouse.”