“Do you want to pay for our time to guarantee immediate action?”
“I can’t afford it.”
His bored stare didn’t lessen. “Fine. In that case, you know the drill. Fill out the paperwork here, and the commander will consider if your case is valid enough to warrant another SF squad departing to search for her.” He pushed the magical ledger across the counter.
Tears of frustration pricked my eyes at how much time had already been wasted, but I placed my hand on the sphere–shaped crystal attached to the ledger. The crystal charm began to fill the ledger out, magically pulling the information from my mind.
When finished, I blinked rapidly and shoved the ledger back to him. “Okay, paperwork’s done. Now can I speak to whoever’s in charge?”
Jeff shuffled the papers. “Keep in mind, she was the squad commander that was in charge of your sister’s last two disappearances. I’m sure you remember how that went.”
Shit. Commander Klebus hated my sister. Well, not hated her, but she had about as much patience for Tessa’s flighty nature as one did a bad rash.
And while I knew protocol would require Commander Klebus to listen to me about Tessa’s disappearance, I also knew that her tolerance had worn thin because of my twin sister’s impulsive past actions.
But how was I to know when my sister’s random disappearances were real versus intentional?
While it wasn’t unheard of for Tessa to randomly up and leave without telling anybody, there had been a few instances where she’d been in trouble and needed help.
On one of Tessa’s excursions, she’d fallen off a cliff while hiking in the Grand Canyon. During that particular venture, she’d felt the urge to find herself and needed time away in nature. However, nature didn’t exactly agree with high heels on rocky terrains. And funnily enough, even as supernaturals, we still required adequate hydration when hiking in a scorching-hot desert. My sister hadn’t even thought to bring along a water bottle.
The SF had found Tessa at the bottom of a canyon ravine following that disappearance. My twin had suffered a nasty broken ankle and had gone twenty-four hours without anything to drink. If we hadn’t found her when we did, she probably would have died from dehydration.
I swallowed down my rising fear. Of course, that episode had been two years ago, and there’d been a few false emergencies since then. Bottom line, even with my “psychic friend” seeing otherwise, nobody was going to believe me that this time Tessa’s disappearance was legit.
But that didn’t mean I was giving up on my sister. She was the only family I had, and I loved her regardless of her faults.
“Just let Commander Klebus know I’m here,” I finally bit out.
“I’ll get this back to her right away,” he replied with mock sweetness, then returned his attention to his computer and pulled up his poker game.
“Do you want me to break your computer?” My fingers stretched toward the cable. All it would take was a wedge of my telekinetic power to rip that cord in two.
The cord began to bend, and Jeff pushed his chair back, the wheels squeaking on the floor as he gave me a shocked stare.
My responding smile was brittle. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
His eyes narrowed. “Fine. I’ll do it now. But have a seat and wait till you’re called.” He hoisted his pants up and sauntered to the corner door.
I gave his back the middle finger before making my way to the waiting area where the two other supernaturals sat.
From their curious glances, I could only imagine what they thought of me and my sister. I was certain they’d overheard everything.
My phone buzzed when I sat down. A text from my best friend, Prisha, flashed on the screen.
Hey lady, what are you up to? There’s live music at The Misty Lounge tonight. Want to go after you close up?
I typed in a reply. Can’t. I’m at the SF.
Shit. What’d she do this time?
I cringed. Everyone who knew Tess always thought the worst of her. While almost everyone in the Chicago area knew of Tessa’s brilliant magic and otherworldly spells, most hadn’t heard of her impulsive actions. Only myself, Prisha, Practically Perfect’s employees, and of course the Supernatural Forces, knew that my sister disappeared somewhat regularly without a care to the consequences or how it made the rest of us feel.
Not surprisingly, our employees attributed my sister’s flighty behavior to her brilliant magic. That whole genius savant thing that explained away all crazy and erratic behavior.
My fingers flew across the screen when I replied.
It’s serious this time, Prish. Please just believe me. I need somebody on my side.
Her reply came back readily.
Who do I need to kill to find her?
Despite the gravity of the situation, a laugh escaped me. My response got another curious stare from the couple a few chairs over. I clamped my lips together as flashes of Star Tattoo Guy’s big hands filled my mind. Those hands could crush my sister.
Again, I tuned into the connection Tess and I shared, the bond that we’d had since birth. I could still feel it—a low flicker where it usually burned so bright. She was still alive, but I had no idea where she was.
Another text from Prisha appeared.
Seriously, babe. What can I do? Do you need company?
I was about to reply to Prisha when a coolly authoritative voice said, “Tala Davenport?”
Commander Klebus stood near the front counter, arms crossed, with an irritated expression on her golden-hued face.
I quickly typed in a reply to my best friend telling her I had to go before putting my phone away.
“Here goes nothing,” I muttered as I stood to meet with the vampire commander.
Chapter 3
To her credit, Commander Klebus listened without interrupting as I hurriedly replayed what had happened to Tessa. Her piercing blue eyes followed my every movement, and when she leaned back in her chair, her black hair that was dark as onyx brushed her shoulders.
It was only when I finished that she cocked her head. The overhead lights hit her face, highlighting her once brown skin that now appeared like molten gold due to her vampire transformation. “This sounds like a simple missing person case, which typically resolves itself in a few days when the missing person shows up.”
So that’s how this is going to play out . . .
I made myself reply in an even tone, “Did you not hear the part about my psychic friend feeling the bad energy? About seeing that someone had taken Tessa?”
Commander Klebus quirked an eyebrow. “Would your friend like to come in and make an official statement? She would also need to have her psychic abilities tested to verify their validity. Until I have sufficient proof that your sister was actually abducted, versus dropping her shoe after willingly leaving your shop on her own, I’m not going to classify this as an abduction. I’m sure you can understand given your sister’s history.”