Page 17 of Rurik
“The panther shifter from NewYork?”
“That’s the one. How about here? Quiet night?” He and his brother walked shoulder to shoulder through thehalls.
“Yeah, nothing major. The weres and vamps are all nice and quiet. Nothing at the usual hot spots, bars and run-down motels. I thought for sure we’d have a vamp nest or two to bust into, youknow?”
Damien sighed. “You know when it’s nice and quiet that means something big is probably in the works,right?”
Jason shrugged. “Well, we can’t worry about it until we know what’s goingon.”
Damien punched his brother in the shoulder. “And that’sexactlywhy you aren’t running theshow.”
Jason gave him a mocking sneer. “Haha.”
“Come up to my office, and we’ll have a beer. I’m wound tighter than hell aftertonight.”
They waited at the elevator bay. “You hear from Charlotte yet? She’s supposed to be in New York bynow.”
“No. She hasn’t called you?” There was a ding as the elevator doors opened. Damien got in, and Jasonfollowed.
“No. That’s what I’m saying. She hasn’t checked in. That’s not like her. You know how lonely she gets when she goes to those out-of-town conferences. Shealwayscalls.” Jason shoved his hands in his pockets,frowning.
Damien’s stomach began to knot. The week before Charlotte left she’d been distant and quiet. Neither he nor Jason had been able to get her to cheer up. He’d been an idiot and ignored his baby sister all night to talk to Jason about dragons, and she’d been upset. He’d thought her feelings had only been bruised a bit, but maybe the damage was deeper than that. She hated being left out of the loop, especially being denied the chance to work at the Brotherhood. But that was something he would never change his mind on, even if she grew to hate him for it. As long as she was safe, he kept his promise to his parentsintact.
The elevator stopped at the top floor. The office at the end of the hall was Damien’s. It was elegantly decorated, sleek and modern, with a view of the Detroit River. It was winter now, and thick chunks of ice were floating south. During the coldest months, it was one of Detroit’s nicer natural wonders. It was always incrediblyblue.
“Why don’t you call her?” Damiensaid.
Jason pulled out his phone and dialed. He placed the phone on speaker, and they listened to it ring. It went tovoicemail.
Jason ended the call and pocketed his phone. “Traceit.”
Damien took a seat at his desk and logged into the Brotherhood’s secure mainframe. He accessed their tracking systems. Everyone in the organization plus their family members had special locator chips in their phones for emergencies. It wasn’t unusual for a family member of a hunter to be kidnapped by those looking for either leverage orrevenge.
The trace gave GPS coordinates that matched Charlotte’s apartment inDetroit.
“She’s not in New York,” Jason growled. “Where isshe?”
“Hang on.” Damien pulled up a new menu and typed in a code he’dmemorized.
His brother leaned over Damien’s chair, peering at the screen. “What’sthat?”
“My backup. Remember that Coach suitcase we bought her for Christmas? I put another transmitter in the lining.” He tapped his finger on the desk anxiously as a blue sphere rotated on the screen, indicating it wassearching.
“You bugged Charlotte’s luggage?” Jasongrinned.
“Better safe than sorry.” Damien almost smiled, but when the screen changed and the coordinates popped up, his heartstopped.
“Looks like your bug’s got a bug in it.” Jason’s usually good humor wassubdued.
“No, it’s workingfine.”
“Then what the hell is she doing inMoscow? She’s never been out of thecountry.”
Damien knew. She’d gone to Moscow because of what he and Jason had been talking about last week. They had been discussing their concerns about an imminent dragon war in Russia. Jason had been in charge of trying to lure Rurik somewhere he could be contained safely and questioned about the situation. But Rurik continued to slip out of the Brotherhood’s grasp. Had Charlotte gotten the idea into her head that she could bring in a dragon? Surely she wasn’t that foolish. But the second the memory of her hurt gaze flashed in his mind, he knew the truth. She wasn’t thinking straight. She’d rushed off to Moscow to catch a dragon to prove him and Jasonwrong.
Shit.
“She’s gone after the dragons. I don’t know what her plan is, but that’s the only thing I can thinkof.”
