Page 68 of Vampire Visions

The back porch of my dad’s home.

The Devil’s Academy in Detroit.

Papi’s Victorian manor.

Busy streets of Baton Rouge.

Me with Kade’s head in my hand as I stood in the middle of the courtyard battle.

“Someone is always watching.”

“Waiting.”

I swallowed hard. “Please tell me you guys are seeing all this?”

“Yep.” Jack’s response was clipped.

One last image appeared on the screen, sending chills down my spine. At least a dozen males stood at the gates outside my property, overseeing another as he had his hands sunk into the wards. I couldn’t tell what he was doing from the picture, but I knew it couldn’t be good.

Vaughn slumped into his chair beside me, groaning as he rubbed his eyes. “That was Leah, Sloane. Nate was right. Leah is Amelia King, and she’s been locked in my mother’s dungeon this whole time.”

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “Father will get her out, or we’ll get them both out.” I nodded my head, fighting my anxiety. “Everything is going to be fine. I need a drink, and I’m going to kill your mother.”

“I’m not even mad about that.” Vaughn told me as we pushed in our chairs and started heading out of this gods-awful room. I didn’t want to come back down here at all. I should call it the bad news room instead of the meeting room.

Once we were on the main floor, Vaughn, Palmer, and Briggs all headed to their rooms. The exhaustion had finally caught up with them. I was surprised that York didn’t go too, but he beelined for the coffee maker when the kitchen cleared out. Jack and Grim had said their goodnights, opting to stay in my room while they rested.

Franklin stopped before he walked out the back door, turning to address me with the laptop from downstairs tucked under his arm. “Madam, I forgot to mention earlier, but I found the gun in the woods. It looked like he’d thrown it while he fled. It was a Smith and Wesson, M&P Shield EZ, 9mm. I’ve got it in the safe, unless you want me to get rid of it.”

“No,” I replied. “Keep it. When I get some free time, I want to trace it.”

“Two more things,” he disclosed, grimacing when I narrowed my eyes at him. “Susan Harris has been arrested in relation to David Preston’s death. She’s the drunkard that you wanted fired from the floor Vaughn managed. And Levi went to Hell with Lucifer.”

“Great,” I muttered. “Put out another listing to hire the employees that we’ve lost, please. Interview whoever fits the requirements and email me their resumes. I’ll be on top of it as soon as I get a new phone.”

“Yes, Madam.” Franklin nodded his head. “Try to get some rest.” He closed the door behind him, returning to his small house on the outskirts of my property.

I milled around the kitchen, mulling over the video we’d seen. I needed to put more work into finding the fae-mage. Apparently, he wanted me to think that he had my mother. The mother that I didn’t remember. But still, she was my mother. Between the things that Vaughn and my father had said, it sounded like she was in the winter realm.

So, what was the bastard playing at? He wanted me to find him, but he didn’t really have her. Maybe he had access to her. Though I wouldn’t call that control over what he was gambling with. His offer was null and void. I didn’t need to find him. I already knew where she was. It was just a waiting game now. If Nate came back with her, then that was one less problem to solve. If he didn’t, well, that didn’t exactly add any more issues to my plate.

We still had to go to the winter realm eventually. I was definitely going to kill Vaughn’s mother. I could cause enough of a distraction for someone to sneak down to the dungeon and retrieve my parents. The whole train of thought that I was on was a subject for another day, though. Future Sloane’s problems.

“Sloane,” York hissed from the staircase. I groaned, wondering what else could make this Monday even more of a Monday than it currently was. The sun wasn’t even up yet, for Devil’s sake!

I padded through the house, following York’s voice up the stairs. When I reached the landing on the second floor, he motioned for me to join him. “Come on,” he whispered excitedly.

I eyed him up and down with caution. “What are we doing?”

He scrubbed his hand over the top of his head, fighting a smile. “We’re going to watch the sunrise on the roof.”

“Why is there lube hanging out of your pocket?” I asked, raising a brow at him.

“Because there’s none on the roof,” York stated, matter of fact, as he gave me an incredulous look.

I grinned at him. I couldn’t have stopped my lips from curling up even if I had wanted to. “I thought we were going to watch the sunrise?”

“You and Stone can.” He waved my next question away. “I'll make sure you’re facing the right direction.”