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“Rafe?”
He placed his glass on the desk with a loud thunk and looked up at Lola. “Not as much as anyone would like.”
“Do you need more help? Ryder and the rest of the security team have everything in hand here if you need me…”
Her offer brought the first smile to his lips since Philippe walked out of his penthouse two nights ago. Lola was always there for him, ready to jump into any insanity he thought up. Most of the time it was a bit of reckless fun and mischief, but she’d also been there when he’d run afoul of other vampires. Always had his back, just like his brothers.
Lola with no clan to claim as her own. No people dedicated to watching over her.
Rafe’s head snapped up, and he narrowed his eyes on her. “You trust that I’m always there for you if you ever need help, right?” he demanded suddenly.
“What?”
“If you’re ever in trouble, you would come to me. You would look to me to help you, right?”
She stared at him a second, so many emotions flitting through her dark eyes before she finally nodded. “Yes. I know you’ve always got my back. Even if it’s my fault.”
“And if I’m not around, would you go to my brothers?”
Her pause was a little longer this time, but he had the feeling she was taking his question seriously. “If the matter was dire enough, I would. I think…I think they would help me. At the very least, Bel would argue to help me.”
Marcus and Winter might not fully understand Lola’s place in his life, but he knew Bel would understand. Bel would go to bat for her if he wasn’t around to push for his brothers’ support.
“What about Ryder and Gideon? Do you think they feel the same way?”
Lola’s brow furrowed and she frowned at him. She shifted from one foot to the other as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sure they would come to you with a problem. No doubt. But I don’t know about your brothers. They’ve had far less interaction with them. What’s this about? Did something happen with Arsenault?”
Rafe shook his head. “No, it was just a random thought. Everything is fine.”
He said that, but it didn’t feel fine. He was sure he wasn’t going to feel fine until he finally saw Philippe, until he could look into his eyes and touch him.
His phone vibrated in his pocket and he straightened. The sight of Philippe’s name across the caller ID caused his heart to speed up. “We’ll speak more later,” he said to Lola, who only rolled her eyes, understanding that she was being dismissed. He waited for her to start toward the door before he answered the call.
“Philippe,” Rafe said, not caring that the man’s name came out in the form of a relieved sigh.
“We found Piper,” Philippe replied.
And like that, Rafe’s heart lurched to a painful halt, and his brain rushed to figure out if Philippe sounded relieved or disappointed, what this meant for them, what this meant for the Arsenaults in terms of an alliance with the Variks. Well, it’s what his brain should have been sorting through. The only thought that was clear was the demand to know if Philippe was calling to say good-bye.
“Is she okay? Where—”
“She’s dead.” Philippe’s voice was low and dull. “Her body was discovered several miles outside of town in a field. The cleaners have already been contacted to retrieve her and deal with the humans.”
“Philippe,” Rafe breathed, his heart aching for the clan leader. It was the third clanmate he’d lost recently. These poor souls meant a great deal to him. They’d needed him, needed the safety and security he could offer, and someone was targeting them. “I’m so very sorry. If there’s anything I or my brothers can do.”
“No.” He paused and cleared his throat. “I just called to tell you that our search is over. Thank you for your assistance during this time. Can you please extend my appreciation to your brothers?”
“Yes, but this isn’t over.”
“It is. I requested help to find Piper, and she’s been found.”
“We need to find out who is targeting the Arsenaults and stop them.”
“It’s over.”
“Then you’re just going to have to tell me to my fucking face. I’m coming over.” Rafe snarled as he ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
The last place he needed to be was at Arsenault manor. He wasn’t going to be welcome. The clan members were going to be hurting and angry at the loss of Piper. They were not going to want an outsider among them. He was half tempted to call his brothers and tell them to meet him at the house as a show of support on the part of the Variks. But he knew it would be easier for the clan if it was just him rather than all of them descending on their safe place.
