“She needs water so that it’ll be easier for me to draw the blood.”

  Her head turned to the side, knowing that any water she drank wouldn’t immediately affect how easy it was to draw her blood. She would have to drink water a few hours before in order for that to be possible. So, whatever trick the man had up his sleeve, she was careful to watch for it. Addison eyed the guard as he stood stoically, listening to what the doctor said.

  The guard strode over, after a minute’s hesitation, to the tray, grabbed the plastic glass and headed for Addison. Taking hold of her chin, he pried open her jaw with his thumb and forefinger, digging between her teeth and dumped the entire glass into her mouth and over her face. She was coughing and sputtering by the time he released her and stepped back. The doctor was staring at the scene before him, his eyes wide and his mouth slightly opened.

  The guard handed him the glass, “Happy?”

  “Um… yeah, thanks.”

  He set the glass down and moved over to Addison, who was still trying to catch her breath. He carefully lifted her face up with one finger under her chin and looked into her frightened eyes.

  “I need to take some blood.”

  She nodded before she felt her mind slowly being probed by him. Throwing up as many mental defenses as she could, she tried to block him out.

  He thought, “Relax. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Then what the hell are you doing?” She shot back at him.

  He took a breath, picked up a cloth, and he dried her face and neck. “I’m trying to help you. I thought you would like the water.”

  “Sure, when it’s not being shoved down my throat.”

  His gray-blue eyes lifted to hers carefully. “I’m sorry about that.” He finally spoke aloud, “Try not to move, you’ll just feel a slight pinch.”

  Addison watched him move toward to the tray and then back to her with an alcohol swab and clean needle. “What are you doing?”

  “They want me to run some tests on your blood.”

  “What for?” His look spoke volumes, and she knew exactly what he was doing and why. “They have no idea you’re one of us, do they?”

  “No, not at all.”

  He smirked and slipped the needle into her vein taking three vials. Pulling the instrument from her skin, he set a cotton ball on top and pressed a band aid over it. “I’m done.”

  He took his tray and left, the guard eyed her and locked the door. Her eyes slipped over to the monitor for a moment and she saw James’ body move slightly, giving Addison something to hold onto as the guard approached her.

  #

  Max hadn’t heard from James in three days, and he thought it was one of the oddest things to happen. She might seclude herself at times, but she’d always at least text him a few times a day. Stepping out of his truck, he shut the door and made for her house. He was surprised to see her vehicle in the driveway along with the Chief’s. He stopped for a moment when he got to the screen door and looked back at Addison’s truck.

  “Isn’t she supposed to be at the station today?”

  Racking his mind for the answer, he decided that she was. Drawing in a breath, he pulled on the screen and knocked on the exterior door.

  The solid oak door was cracked open and slid inward farther to let him into the house.

  “That’s odd,” he stated, the hairs on the back of his neck raising.

  Stepping into the house, his eyes looked around the darkened room. It was getting to be late in the day, but there were no lights on in the house.

  He called out, “James?” His voice echoed throughout the house and he was fairly certain it was empty, but he had to make sure. “James?” he raised his voice so that he could be heard throughout the building.

  Her living room was empty and a mess as usual. Both bedrooms were silent and dark. When he returned to the kitchen, he saw the stain of blood pooled on the ground. Moving over to it, he eyed the shattered slate and started to panic.

  Pulling out his phone, he called James’ mother. “Cameron, hey it’s Max. Quick question: when’s the last time you heard from James? Monday? Umm… I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling. No, no, don’t worry. I’m going to make a few more calls and get back to you, okay? Yeah, I promise.”

  He hung up and stood.

  He was vibrating with anxiety, the energy running throughout his entire body when there was a knock at the door. The noise made him jump out of his shoes. Moving toward the door, he saw a short man standing outside with a scruffy beard and completely uncombed caramel-colored hair. Max looked him over quickly before speaking, “Hi.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I must have the wrong address. I’m looking for James Matthews.”

  His voice was higher pitched than Max had expected it to be. He kept the screen door shut and stared out at the intruder, not giving an inch.

  “This is her place.”

  “Oh, good, I was so afraid that I was going to get lost. Mind if I come in?” By the time the words had left the man’s lips, he had the screen door open and was slipping past the firefighter. “Wow, this place isn’t in the greatest shape. Addison always said that she wasn’t the cleanest person, but she seemed happy so I didn’t care much.”

  “I’m sorry?” Max’s brow furrowed as he followed the man into the kitchen where he bent down at the blood stain. “Who are you?”

  “Whoops, forgot to introduce myself.” He stood and held out his hand for Max, who refused to take it. “I’m Rob, Addison’s brother.”

  “I wasn’t aware that the Chief had any family in the area, and I really wasn’t aware that she had a brother.”

  Rob pointed a finger at Max and narrowed his eyes. “You must be Max. She talked about you a lot, was really fond of you.” He was bent down low over the puddle of blood and surveyed it; all the while he ran his mouth. “She liked to talk about work a lot. I’m so happy that she made friends here. After she decided to leave the company and start a new career… well, we were so worried when she left. It was such a sudden thing.”

  “Sudden?”

  “Yeah, you know, crazy ex-fiancé and all, but I think it was a good thing for her. And she was able to explore her sexuality in a safe environment, which was completely what she needed. A good woman who would care for her…”

  Rob trailed off and reached into a satchel that Max hadn’t noticed, taking out a pair of gloves, a metal knife, and plastic tube with a cap.

  “She loves where she works, by the way. She’d never done it before, been a firefighter.” His body wiggled as he spoke her title and a smile bloomed on his lips. “She was scared to death her first few weeks. I’m pretty sure that I got a phone call about three or four times a day with her freaking out over something really little. It was wonderful to see her grow into the responsibilities and relax for once. And then, of course, she and James...” His voice rose with his excitement and he squealed momentarily.

  Rob scraped the blood off the slate tile, setting a small amount into the tube. Standing up, he slipped it back into his satchel. “Bedroom’s this way?” He pointed down the hall.

  “Yeah—wait, whoa. Stop!” Max held his ground. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

  “Oh. I’m Rob.” The short man said again slowly. “I’m Addison’s brother. I’m here because she hasn’t checked in and we got some intel saying she had been taken by an underground crew.”

  Max digested the ease of the comment with the severity of the words. They did not match and he shook his head to clear his thoughts.

  “What?” Max was glaring at the little man, his hands in fists and his eyes burning. “You’re saying that she’s been taken and you’re only now mentioning this?”

  “Chill, dude. I figured you would have known that bit. You know the signs are kind of obvious. Vehicles in the drive, blood on the floor, door unlocked and tampered with.”

  Max took a deep breath, trying to keep from strangling the guy right then and there. “Kidnapping isn’t exactly a common occurrence around here. Care to explain some more?”

  “Nope.” He smiled quickly and started to skirt around Max’s form but didn’t make it far. Max shoved him on the shoulder until he was pressed against the wall and leaned down so that his face was in his. “Calm down, dude.”

  “You tell me where James is. Right now.”

  “I don’t know where she is, that’s why I’m here. I’m trying to find all of them.”

  “Lily?” Max’s stomach dropped.

  “Yeah.” Rob’s eyes grew sad, and he looked down at his feet. Max realized the man was being genuine. “I need to find them.”

  “Fine. But I’m doing it with you and we’re calling the cops.”

  “Oh, in no way, whatsoever are we calling the cops in on this. They’ll only get in the way and get themselves hurt.”

  Rob was insistent as he pushed away from the wall and made for the bedrooms. Max jogged a few quick steps to catch up with him.

  “They’re cops. They’re supposed to deal with this stuff.”

  “Oh, no, uh-uh, not this stuff. This stuff is far beyond any law enforcement officer’s pay grade and, for sure, their training. No, no, that’s why I’m here. To clean up my sister’s mess again.”

  The man sighed, running through the guest bedroom and finding little—if anything—of interest other than the doll that was thrown on the floor in the middle of the room.

  “The FBI, the CIA, hell, the UN couldn’t handle this type of thing. I’m used to it, not the first time the sis has gone missing, and I’m sure it’s not going to be the last that she gets kidnapped. Nope, just have to find her.”

  He’d made his way from the guest bedroom into the main bedroom and opened James’ closet. Putting his finger on his lip, he stared at the clothes and dresser that were piled haphazardly inside with no sense of organization whatsoever.

  “She’s really messy. So glad I didn’t fall in love with her, Addy is far more patient.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Max was becoming exasperated with this guy and his diarrhea of the mouth. He was struggling more and more each second to hold back on ending the blathering.

  Rob turned and looked him over quickly. “You really don’t know, do you?”

  “Know what?”

  Rob tsked and shook his head, “Oooh, I’m pretty sure I’m not supposed to tell you.” He moved to the bed and noted the rumpled sheets. “If you didn’t know, I don’t know if anyone does.” Shrugging, he moved back to the kitchen and dining area. “A year and a half is quite a long time.”

  “A year and a half for what?”

  “That’s how long Addison has been in love with your James.” Rob cocked his head to the side, watching the realization slowly dawn on the big guy who pretended he was a thug. “Ah, now you see it.” He was grinning. “Dinners, movies, I hesitate to even say… date nights. James has been ditching you slowly for months, hasn’t she? Not answering texts or phone calls late at night. You see it. I can see that you see it.” He was nodding his head obnoxiously.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Yup, they’re both fanatically in love with each other. I knew it!” He shouted the last part and moved his arm down in victory. “Oh, I can’t wait until Norma hears about this! She’ll be so happy.”

  Max deadpanned at him. “They are not dating. They can’t be. It’s against the rules.”

  “Posh, haven’t you ever broken the rules?”

  Rob’s body squirmed with the excitement.

  “Besides, that makes it even better, each is a forbidden fruit to the other. Oh, I love it! It’s perfect, wonderful. Love it!”

  His pitch went even higher than before, and Max winced. He said it as though he were singing the words.

  “Anyway, I best be off. Got to get this back to the lab.”

  He took out the tube with the blood in it and shook it in front of Max’s face. “You… you go to work, play normal, and fill in for them.”

  Humming, he said, “The police will figure out soon enough that they’re missing and the reports will be filed and confiscated.”

  He grinned quickly and knowingly. “So… go back to work, big guy.”

  Rob patted Max on the chest and turned to leave.

  Slamming his hand forward, Max prevented the door from opening. “No.”

  “No?” Rob asked as if he had never heard the word before.

  “Yes. I said no, I mean no. You are not leaving here without giving me more information and telling me exactly what is going to happen and keeping me in the loop.”

  Rob was quiet for the first minute since entering the house, Max was sure of it, as he contemplated his answer.

  “Fine, I’ll keep you in the loop, but you can’t come with me. Boss won’t allow it.” He slipped a card into Max’s pocket and skedaddled out the front door, waving as he got in his rental car and drove off.

  Max took a deep breath and pulled out the card with Rob’s name, cell, and email address on it. Furrowing his brow, he pulled out his own phone and made the first call that came to mind: the police department.

  Heath was the first officer to arrive, and Max cringed when he saw his car pull into the drive behind James’ truck. Taking a deep breath, Max moved out of the doorway to greet the man he didn’t want to deal with. He might have been a cop and he might not want to be dealing with this situation, but Max was sure there was something shady behind Heath. Something that made Max’s skin crawl every time they were forced to work together. His head was down and he looked lost when Heath made it to the front steps.

  “What’s going on, Max?”

  “Pretty sure it’s not good.” He looked up and shook his head. “There’s blood in the kitchen. The girl is gone… both James and Addison. No one’s heard from either in days. Addison was supposed to be at work and James is suspended, but the kid... they took the kid, too.”

  “They?” Heath pulled out his notepad from the front pocket of his uniform and started to write information down.

  Max ran his hand through his hair and ruffled the dark locks. “I don’t know who took them, but I’m positive that someone took them.”

  “They could have just taken a trip.”

  Heath was trying to calm the man, but only succeeded in aggravating him.

  Max threw his arm out to point at the vehicles. “With what? An invisible hippie van? I don’t think so.”

  Taking a step back and shoving the notepad back in his pocket, Heath put both of his hands out in front of him. “Okay, Max, I know you’re worried and that you’re scared, but I need you to stay calm with me, all right?”

  “Don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot.”

  Max shoved open the screen door and led the way inside. The rest of the investigation seemed to pass by in a blur. Max remembered being asked millions of questions over and over again. Not once did he mention his visit from Rob or the fact that the two women were apparently in a relationship. He hadn’t seen it, so he was sure that no one else did. He was dismissed to leave when James’ mother pulled up in front of the house.

  She was in hysterics, tears running down her face, snot sliding down her lips, and her eyes red and puffy from crying. She raced up to Max and collapsed in his arms. Holding tightly, he made sure to not let go.

  “It’s all right, Cameron, we’ll find her. She’s going to be okay.”

  “You don’t know that.” She balled her hands in fists pounding against his chest. “You don’t know anything. She’s gone!” Her eyes slid over to the house and she buried her face in his chest. “My baby is gone.”

  He sat down on the ground with her in his arms and rocked slowly back and forth. “I know she’ll be okay. She’s strong, she’s willful, she’ll get through whatever it is that’s happening and we will find her. You have to have faith in that.” He kissed her head.

  She nodded.

  Heath came over and bent down so that he could look at James’ mother. “Hi ma’am, I’m Deputy Taylor, I’m handling your daughter’s case. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions.”

  She nodded.

  “All right, well, when was the last time you spoke with or saw your daughter?”

  Cameron wiped the tears from her cheeks with a flat palm and looked over the man the best she could.

  “Monday night, we had a fight.”

  “Okay, what was the fight over?”

  He was writing in his notepad again and it put Max on edge. Rarely did James fight with her parents and when she did it was usually an ongoing battle that they eventually stopped bringing up in conversation.

  When Cameron didn’t answer, Max squeezed her arm lightly and looked down. “What was the fight over, Cam?”

  “She told us she was in a relationship. We don’t approve of who she’s with.”

  Max clenched his jaw and closed his eyes. He’d known that his best friend was gay for so long that it never crossed his mind, but for James to tell her parents meant that whatever relationship she was in was serious, like going on two years serious.

  “Who is she in a relationship with?” The question was the next logical one to ask, but for some reason Cameron didn’t feel comfortable answering it. “Ma’am, I need you to answer the question.”

  She licked her lips and looked from the officer to Max, who was still cradling her in his arms. She shook her head; if it would help them find her then she would have to do it.

  “Addison Lee. The Battalion Chief of her station.”

  Heath’s features hardened, his eyes fixed on James’ mother and his jaw clenched.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Positive. She wouldn’t have told me otherwise.” Cameron was nodding. “Are you going to find her?”

  “We’re going to do our best ma’am, but you’ll have to be patient. These types of things take time and since it’s been three days since anyone has heard anything from either of them—well, I hate to say it, ma’am, but as each day passes the chances become slimmer and slimmer.” He stood up and turned to rapidly move away from her.