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“I can’t imagine.” He reaches over to gently drag his fingertips down my cheek. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say you have a little crush on your cousin’s husband.”
I feel my cheeks flush, but I shake my head. “No, not in that way. Yes, Jonas is fascinating. He’s always been so incredibly kind to me, and I know without a doubt that I can trust him. But the biggest thing that makes me love him?”
Giles lifts an eyebrow, waiting.
“How completely and utterly devoted he is to Lucy. Three hundred years separates them, but they immediately recognized each other, and he just loves her so well. They’re wonderful together, and it makes me so happy for her. She was so sad and lost after losing her mom. And then, last year, when she went to New Orleans to help out with that mess, I thought we might lose her altogether. But we didn’t, and then Jonas came, and it’s like I have the old Lucy back. I’m so grateful for that.”
“You’re so sweet,” Giles whispers.
“I just love my family.”
He leans over and kisses my forehead. “I know you do. You should get some sleep, my love. There shouldn’t be any nightmares tonight.”
“I can’t wait to tell the others tomorrow.” I let my eyes flutter closed. “We did good, Giles.”
“Yes, baby. We did damn good.”
The phone rings.
“Hello?” I haven’t even opened my eyes yet as I press the cell to my ear.
“I don’t know where Xander is.”
“Lorelei?” I crack one eye open and check the time. “It’s six in the morning.”
“I know. I’m telling you that Xander is missing, Breena. Wake up, for the goddess’s sake.”
“I was up late.” I sit up and brush my hair out of my face. I glance over to look for Giles, but he’s already out of bed. “How do you know that Xander is missing?”
“I went to his house this morning,” she admits softly. “I’ve been worried about him, even though he doesn’t deserve my worry, and I decided to go check on him. But he’s not there. I don’t think he’s been there in a few days.”
Giles walks into the bedroom wearing a pair of gray sweatpants slung low on his hips and carrying two mugs of steaming coffee. My mouth goes a little dry.
Good goddess, he’s delicious.
“Breena,” Lorelei says into my ear, sounding more annoyed. “Did you go back to sleep?”
“No, sorry. Giles brought me coffee. Did you try simply calling Xander? He’d probably answer for you.”
“Of course, I did. It immediately went to voicemail as if his phone is dead or turned off.”
I frown and look at Giles, putting the phone on speaker. “Lorelei can’t find Xander.”
“Yeah, something’s off,” Giles agrees. “I’m going over there.”
“I’m here now,” Lorelei informs us. “But I can’t get inside.”
“I have a key,” Giles says. “We’ll be there shortly.”
“Hurry. I’m seriously freaked out.” She disconnects, and I sip my coffee.
“It’s too early for this.” I sigh. “Especially after last night.”
“I think we’ll all feel better when we find Xander,” Giles says. “I can go over by myself if you want to try to get some more sleep.”
“No, I’ll come with you. I’m worried, too. It’s not like Xander to go MIA.”
We both dress and finish our coffee, then walk out to the car to drive over to Xander’s house.
Lorelei is sitting on the porch, a frown creasing her beautiful face as the early spring breeze flutters the material of her green jacket.
“I’m going to kill him,” she announces when I get out of the car. “For making us worry like this.”
“There might be a perfectly good explanation,” I remind her as Giles unlocks the door, and we step inside.
“Xander?” Giles calls out. “I have Lorelei and Breena with me. We’re worried, so we came in.”
Lorelei is still, and I can tell she’s reaching out through the house with her mind.
“There’s no one here,” she says at last.
“It feels empty to me, too,” I add.
“You two stay down here. I’ll go up and look, just to be sure.”
Giles climbs the stairs two at a time, calling out for Xander the whole while.
“Where does his father live?” I ask Lorelei. “That’s the last time we saw him—when he was talking about his dad.”
“I’m not sure,” she replies, rubbing her hands over her face. “I think…the last time I remember him mentioning anything, he said his dad lives in Maine somewhere.”
“So, not too far away.”
“No, just a decent road trip. Or a flight for Xander.”
“Maybe he went to find his dad, it went really well, and they’ve been talking and catching up this whole time,” I suggest, but Lorelei only stares at me like I’ve lost my marbles.
“It’s a nice thought, but I highly, highly doubt it.”
“He’s not here,” Giles says as he comes down the steps. “The lights that were on last night when we drove by are off now.”
