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“We’re in the air already,” Knight’s voice came over the line, steady as ever. “We’ve got Stone on the line with us, but he won’t get there until tomorrow.”
“I’m stuck waiting on a commercial flight,” Stone’s deep voice rumbled.
“Storm is closest to you since he was checking up on some leads Remi’s ex had given us,” Knight continued. “He should be there any minute. The guard Priest… interrogated—” He said the word delicately, and under any other circumstance, Jeremiah would have chuckled at his discomfort for the messy stuff they sometimes had to do. For a Vampire, he was damn squeamish. “—seemed certain this Thaddeus McCornal will be able to get Remi away from you, so keep him close until—”
“He’s already gone,” he said flatly, locking Remi’s phone and setting it down exactly where he’d found it.
There was a loaded pause where he assumed Knight and Priest were sharing confused looks, and then Priest said, “He was taken? Why didn’t you call us?”
“He wasn’t taken. He—” His voice broke, and he had to stop and clear his throat, the magnitude of what was happening hitting him and causing him to curl over. His heart was thudding in his ears, and he wasn’t sure he wasn’t going to be sick all over the floor. “He lied to me,” he croaked out. “Sent me off on a dumbass errand and then left to go to a fucking party.”
“Take a breath, Sunshine,” Stone told him, audibly sucking in a breath in example. The Gargoyle was the newest member of their team, having joined a few years ago, and fit right in. He was smart and lethal, a real asset in the field. But in that moment, Jeremiah kind of hated him. His mate was out there somewhere enduring who knew what, and Stone wanted him to— “You can paddle his ass once you rescue him.”
Jeremiah choked on a laugh, breaking out of his spiral and shaking his head. “Fuck, I think I might. He’s so… I can’t believe he did this.”
“He couldn’t have known they’d make a play for his siblings,” Stone said. “His priorities may have been skewed, but I hear he really dotes on those two. He’s probably panicking right now, which means you need to be steady for the both of you.”
Even as Stone said it, Jeremiah became aware of the fact that he was jittery with terror—and it wasn’t coming from him. He was scared and pissed and losing his mind with worry, but he was a fucking professional. He knew how to compartmentalize his emotions and focus on what needed to be done.
Except in that moment, he was overwhelmed, getting sucked under by feelings so strong he could barely stay upright.
The door burst open, and Storm was there, wrapping an arm around his back and helping him to sit down on the couch. The familiar scent of the Dragon helped ease the stranglehold the fear had on him, and he let himself lean into him.
“I can… I think I can feel him,” Jeremiah muttered, sagging against the couch and squeezing his eyes shut to concentrate.
He heard Storm drag the coffee table closer and sit on it, their knees knocking together. “That’s great. We’ll find them faster that way.”
“Wait, you can feel him?” Priest asked, sounding awestruck and maybe a little jealous. “I thought only Dragons could feel their mates?”
Jeremiah peeled his eyes open to peer at the apparent expert among them.
Jaw tight, Storm shook his head. “No, anyone with a strong bond to a fated mate can develop the ability. It’s just more common among Dragons because their bonds are strengthened with each additional mate.”
“But that’s—”
“Later.” Jeremiah cut off the chatter before Priest could really get going. Eyeing Storm, he asked, “I can use the connection to find him?”
“Yes. Depending on how developed it is, you may be able to communicate too.”
Determination growing inside him, Jeremiah sat forward. “Show me.”
* * *
“Are you sure this is where he is?” Storm murmured next to him as they stared at the overflowing Kappa house. The music was so loud it was hurting Jeremiah’s sensitive ears even from across the street, and the stench of human sweat and beer and weed was making him queasy.
“He’s… close. Knight, how far’s the plane?”
The high-tech communication device in his ear was barely noticeable and delivered the others’ voices as clearly as if they were standing in front of him.
“Another half an hour and then twenty minutes from the airport—”
“Fifteen if I drive,” Priest interrupted.
“Don’t wait for us,” Knight finished, ignoring the Demon. “We know from the palace guard Thad doesn’t plan on trying to ransom them.”
Jeremiah’s stomach curdled. Priest had told him and Storm everything he’d been able to extract from the guy before killing him as they’d driven through campus, Jeremiah doing his best to let the thread connecting him to his mate guide them. The handful of guards who’d been persuaded to help had apparently done it because they’d been promised a part of the money Thad had planned on demanding from the royals to get their kids back.
But Jeremiah knew that was bullshit. The guards might have told themselves that was the plan, but each attempt on Remi’s life proved the group’s intent was a lot more deadly. The guard Priest questioned had apparently cried and said he hadn’t actually wanted the prince to die—just be too scared to take over the throne.
