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Thane smashed his thumb with the hammer when his phone rang. Cursing up a blue streak, he shoved his throbbing digit in his mouth and sucked. Scowling, he figured a bruised thumb was better than a hole in his newly painted kitchen wall, but he'd have preferred to have a nail tapped into the plaster instead. He tossed the hammer onto the counter and retrieved his phone, answering with a curt, “What?”
He only had two more nails to put in here, then he could move to the living room. The walls were looking bare now that the furniture was all in the right places. Just some curtains to hang over the window above the sink, a couple of pictures on the walls either side of the back door, and he could finally check kitchenoff his list of rooms to finish.
“Isaacson?”
Eyes narrowed, Thane dropped his phone from his ear and checked the screen. Private number. He rolled his eyes, reminding himself to check for an I.D. before he picked up next time. He returned the phone to his ear. “Who's asking?”
“Atticus Heisler. We met at Avalon last night.”
Huh. The big guy's voice was markedly different on the phone, Thane noted. “Hey. What can I do for you at…oh-one-hundred hours on a Sunday morning?”
“Shit, it's late. Sorry about that. Lost track of time. How did your scene end last night with Connie?” Atticus demanded. Demanded, as though he had a right to personal information about what had gone on between Thane and Connie. “Is she liable to throttle you if she sees you again?”
“That’s a negative, I think. Are you allowed to hack the club files for a member's phone number?” he asked with a touch of humor.
“In an emergency, yeah. Connie went missing this afternoon after a…well, disagreement seems to be the appropriate word. No one's been able to get hold of her for hours, but I tracked her phone to a beauty spot about forty minutes from here. The signal cut off ten minutes ago, I'm presuming the battery died.”
Missing? Thane's ears pricked up. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go get her.”
“Gonna need you to come with. It seems the disagreement might have put her back up, and I'm not sure she'll be happy to see any of us from Avalon. You're the only one I can think of who has a chance of getting near her without her doing something stupid like falling off a fucking rock and breaking her stubborn neck.”
“Not sure what use I'll be. She doesn't really know me. She might not appreciate me playing white knight.” Thane glanced at the clock he'd already hung across the room, calculated the travel time. “I can be with you in under an hour. Maybe you'd be better off with one of the subs?”
“If she's in Domme mode, she'll eat a submissive alive. I'm waiting for you outside, hurry up.” The line went dead.
Here's your hat, what's your hurry. Thane growled under his breath as he shoved his phone into his pocket, then checked the back door to make sure it was locked. He left the kitchen light on, then hobbled down the hallway to get his boots on and snag his jacket. He spotted the truck waiting as he opened the front door, made sure he had everything he needed, then locked the door and half-limped, half-jogged down the path.
Atticus put his foot on the gas before Thane's ass settled firmly in his seat. “Thanks for coming. Con's not in the best place emotionally at the moment, and she's likely to be in a bitch of a mood. A familiar face is good, but I think if any of us show ours, she'll claw it off.”
Fabulous, just what he needed to hear. “You mentioned a disagreement?”
“Yeah. There was an incident this afternoon between her and Braun. She punched him and took off, but Braun says she wasn't thinking straight when she left. I know where she is, but she needs an impartial face. I'd send Archie in if Jasper wouldn't have my balls for putting his sub in harm's way.” Atticus changed gear, the beast of an engine purring smoothly as it picked up speed as they cut through the darkness. “Let me tell you a story.”
Thane buckled his seatbelt and got comfortable in his seat, listening carefully as Atticus spun a tale of child cruelty and abuse, two dead criminals, and a paralyzed young woman in a wheelchair. He shook his head as the story continued, going over Connie's involvement in the care of the girl, the time and energies she put into looking after her.
“I hope you and your buddies have a plan to make this right,” he said eventually. “Braun insulted her caretaking skills, made her think she's not worthy of looking after the girl. She's put a year of her time into treating Alicia like a younger sister, and he's just ripped the rug out from under her feet and basically told her she's not good enough.”
Atticus's face was grim in the dim light. “You don't know Braun well yet, but he's not like that. Both he and Boadicea understand the sacrifices Connie's made for them and for Alicia. Without Connie, Alicia would be stuck in a care home somewhere, because Braun couldn't take her in, not then. This afternoon wasn't about trying to make Connie feel small and worthless—we want to take some of the fucking anvils off her goddamn shoulders before they sink her.”
“I think you added another dozen. You said she's in a beauty spot? Like a nature area? Does she go there often?”
“She doesn't have the goddamn time. I used some connections to trace her phone before it went dead. Location is pinpointed on what appears to be a ridge. A few rock formations, but otherwise nothing particularly interesting.” Atticus reached out and jabbed his finger at a screen attached to the dashboard. It lit up, greeted Atticus with a cheery series of beeps, then brought up a map when he ordered it on screen.
Thane studied the detailed map, noting the steady red dot in the middle of nowhere, and the flashing green one that was moving steadily. “She's red, we're green?”
“Red is the last known location of her phone. We're about ten minutes out, so keep your eye out for her car. Metallic gray sedan, four-door. Her credit card has a sizeable transaction logged at four p.m. from a liquor store. Connie doesn't drink heavily, and I'm positive she wouldn't drink and drive, but these aren't normal circumstances.” Atticus veered off the blacktop onto a rough track, killing his speed as the truck bounced erratically. “Her car could be anywhere.”
Thane peered out of the window, taking pleasure in the sheet of stars above them. Clouds masked a portion of the sky, but the moon kept playing peekaboo, lighting up the area with cold light. Despite the fact it was May, the night was chilly. He hoped Connie had enough common sense left beneath her pain to wrap up warm. “Are any of the others on their way?”
“No, they're on standby. If we need them, they'll be here. I don't want to spook her with a group of big guys tromping around in the dark. If we can't find her, I've got a guy stationed on the highway with a drone.” The track wound higher, grew steeper. “Her car could be around here. I'll be shocked if she got that heap of junk up this gradient.”
But as they bumped higher, Thane saw no evidence of another vehicle. Either Connie was angry enough to smash her car to pieces in an effort to get where she was going, or she hadn't driven up here at all. “You've got a lot of connections, Atticus. More than me, at a guess, and I have a few.”
“I've got enough to do what needs to be done,” Atticus replied grimly, cursing as the truck lurched into a deep rut.
“I don't think she drove up here. That rut would have ripped her undercarriage off. Can you get someone to put out an APB on the sedan? I think she dumped it somewhere down on the highway and hiked up here.” Which meant she could be anywhere, he thought with a twang of fear vibrating down his spine. One misstep up here didn't just equate to broken bones. Dying was a huge possibility. “Get that drone in the sky, and call in your backup.”
“You've seen something?” The truck slowed.
