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He ran a hand through his hair. “I want Maddie alive or no deal.”
“Then hurry, shapeshifter. The snow is threatening, and she wears only a T-shirt.” The insane sound of her laughter echoed around the room long after her image had faded.
He stared at the ring for a long moment. If he made any attempt to find Maddie without first getting Evan, he had no doubt that Eleanor would kill her.
He grabbed his coat and Maddie’s bag and headed for the door. He had only one hope of finding Evan quickly. He just had to pray that Mack was in a helpful mood.
“WELL, WELL, WELL.” MACK LEANED HIS CHAIR AGAINST the wall and looked more like a smiling shark than ever. “This is an unexpected pleasure. I’d anticipated having to issue a warrant to get you in here.”
“Cut the crap, Mack. I need your help.” Unable to stay still, Jon began pacing the width of the small office Mack had obviously claimed as his own.
Mack’s chair hit the floor with a thump. “What’s happened?”
“Eleanor has taken Maddie hostage again. She’ll exchange her for Evan.” Jon swung away from the intensity of Mack’s gaze and stalked across to the window. Ten minutes had passed, ten minutes in which anything could have happened to Maddie. He gazed down at the empty street, watching the rain pelting across the pavement. Imagined it doing the same to her pale skin.
He closed his mind to the image and swung back around. “I need to know where the kid is, Mack.” His voice was almost savage, but he didn’t care. “He’s my only hope of getting her back alive.”
Mack eyed him neutrally. “You can’t exchange one hostage for another.”
“I don’t intend to.” He ran a hand across his eyes. They felt gritty and sore, as if he hadn’t slept in a week. But this was a nightmare only just beginning. He dug the ring out of his pocket and showed it to the agent. “This belongs to Eleanor. Through it, she will know when I find Evan. Only then will she tell me where the exchange will take place.”
The big man leaned forward and studied the ring. “It’s magical?”
“Yes.” He bit down on his impatience and flipped the ring in his palm. “She used it to track Hank’s movements. Now she’ll use it to track mine.”
Mack leaned back in his chair and regarded him evenly. “I gather, then, that Hank is dead.”
“Yes.” He hesitated, then shoved the ring back into his pocket. “If you hurry, you’ll find what’s left of his remains up near Castle Peak.”
Mack frowned. “How did he die?”
“Does it really matter?” He slammed his palms down on the desk and glared across at the agent. “He’s dead. And Maddie will be, too, if we don’t get a move on.”
Mack continued to regard him steadily. Jon briefly considered throwing the FBI agent against a wall or two to shake the information out of him, but past experience told him it wouldn’t make a difference. The big man would budge only when it suited him.
“What if I tell you that I don’t know where he is?” he said softly.
Jon snorted. “I’d call you a damn liar.”
Mack grinned—all teeth and no emotion. “Have you considered the prospect that Eleanor will come for you and the boy once you find him? That Maddie may be dead right now, anyway?”
“Maddie’s alive.” He could feel it in his heart, in his soul. If she died, he would know. If she died, there would be nothing left but the need for revenge. “Eleanor won’t come to us personally when I reach Evan. She’ll do so by spirit. She wants me to witness Maddie’s death. She wants to make sure I suffer.”
“And you are suffering, aren’t you? What if this is all just part of her game?”
“Damn it, just tell me where the kid is!”
“No.” Mack’s quiet statement cut through his heart like a knife.
Jon stared at him. “What do you mean, no?”
“I mean no, I won’t give you the boy.” Mack hesitated, then rose quickly from the chair, as if he could feel the anger building on the other side of the desk. “Not unless I come with you.”
Jon laughed harshly and pushed away from the desk. “You’re insane.”
“And you’re a hair’s breadth away from a murder charge!”
Jon slammed his palms back onto the desk. The force of his blow made the whole desk shake. “You can’t charge me for killing someone who was already dead!”
