Blood's Refuge (Book 2 of Blood Ties Novels)

“Andy, stop the truck!” I yelled as I opened the door, about to jump. “What the hell are you doing? We’re going to be late,” Andy said just as I jumped from his moving truck. “Gabe, what the hell, man?” It was too late, I was already gone. My connection with Andrea’s mind had been cut. I couldn’t hear her anymore. I have to get to her. I heard Andy’s truck slam into reverse. I had to slow my pace to a normal run. I hate this. She’s in trouble. Ands, I’m coming. Andy reached me in no time and I jumped onto the side holding on to the bed. “Go back!” I yelled through the window. He hit the gas and we were skidding to a stop in their driveway in less than a minute. I was on my feet again before he was parked. I looked through the windows as I ran passed them, hoping to see Ands. She was nowhere to be seen. Andy unlocked the door. “Look for Ands,” I demanded as I started to scour the first floor. She’s not here. I don’t feel her. Oh, God help me. Andy ran down the stairs, “She’s not here.” Andy’s face was panicked. He knew his sister wouldn’t have left without one of us. “Her car’s still here. Do you think Sara came and picked her up?” He hoped, but I knew better. Wherever she was, she wasn’t conscious. “No,” I mumbled. I was trying to remember where she was in her mind when she disappeared so abruptly. I walked into the living room and smelled it, her blood. I searched for it, finding just a small bit next to the end table near the couch. Their mail was scattered. I saw an envelope addressed to Andi in a hand that I recognized, but without a return address. Andy was on the phone with the police department, reporting his sister missing as I picked up the letter. The letter inside just had three words. We warned you! “Andy, they have her.” I dropped the letter in his hand, my promise to her running back in my head. Less than an hour before, I had promised to never allow her to be hurt, kidnapped, or worse. I’ve failed her, my love, my soul mate. Ands, if you can hear me, I will find you. Stay strong. “Yes, I have proof that she’s been kidnapped. They sent another letter. You need to send a car to Ms. Zapata’s home. She may be next or already missing. She lives alone. No, Gabriel is here with me. Yes, we’ll stay here until they get here.” Andy hung up the phone. I can’t stay here. I have to find her. I have to go. “Calm down, Gabe. We’ll find her.” I couldn’t calm down. The longer our connection was severed, the more I thought she was gone. I paced the living room like a caged predator, which I was, ready to pounce. If I couldn’t leave soon, I was going to blow up. “Gabe, how did you know?” “What?” I turned to face Andy. He looked scared and vulnerable. “How did you know she was gone? I mean, I’ve gotten use to your silent conversations and the weird way you always know what she needs before she says anything, but this is beyond strange. It’s unnatural. I just want to know how.” “We’re connected.” I don’t have time. I began pacing again. “No, Ands and I are connected. You two are something else. It’s like…,” he stopped to gather his thoughts. “It’s like you’re a part of each other. Almost like you’re the same person.” “Except for now.” I hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but my assertion was heard none the less. “I knew it. Explain, now!” God, he can be demanding, NOT NOW! Instead, I calmly insisted, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Besides, I don’t think Ands is ready for you to know. Let’s just say that we’re extremely close and can feel each other’s needs. I jumped out of the truck when I felt her connection lost.” I could see on his face that he didn’t believe me, but his response was the opposite. “Okay. So, can you feel her now?” “No.” “Has this happened before?” “Only once.” I could feel my frustration edging my teeth to a sharper point. I couldn’t allow myself to change in front of Andy. Ands may have understood enough to keep a level head, but she hadn’t just lost her twin. I need to go. I’ll lose her. “When?” Jeez, he’s persistent. “One night, a few weeks ago, she fainted. I figure a total loss of consciousness breaks our bond. Whoever it is must have knocked her out.” I was mentally going through all of the odors in the room, trying to pin point anything out of the ordinary. The only differences were soil and roses. “Roses?” I mumbled. “What about roses?” Andy was cornering me; probably trying to calm me, but pushing me closer to the edge. I glared at him, trying to get him to back off, but with no luck. “What do you mean? What do roses have to do with anything?” “Do you not smell them?” I snarled, my teeth pushing into sharp points again. Keep your instincts in check. He doesn’t know any better. I could see him sniffing as hard as his human nose would allow him. He shook his head in reply. “I don’t smell anything. Do you smell roses?” I could see the wheels churning while he waited for my answer. “Yes, and soil, her blood, and your aftershave. She must have hit her head as she fell. There is a small amount next to the couch where the mail is scattered.” His eyes bugged out when I rattled off what I could smell. He took another big whiff of the room and stared at me. “Please, don’t ask. Just trust me.” “I do because I know she does, and she obviously knows something about you that I don’t. Can you find her?” The wheels in his mind had clicked into place. He knew something was different about me, that I sensed things much more strongly than he did. And he was right. I was using my vampiric senses to try and find my love, his sister. “I can try to find her, but not if I’m forced to stay here waiting for the police. The trail is getting cold and I can’t find her just by following roses. I’ll end up at a flower shop. If she were awake, I’d be able to find her very quickly. However, seeing as she’s not, I have to follow my instincts.” I had already found where the scent of roses and soil led to the back door. During our searching, before the police were called in, I found the back door unlatched from the inside. Whoever it was who took Andrea had been inside the house before and knew the doors. Not many people knew this house well enough to be able to get in undetected. I had a suspicion of who would have done something like this, but I didn’t want to think of Robert like that. Robert was my brother’s friend. Seth didn’t have many friends, and wasn’t long for this world, so I didn’t want to believe that Robert was capable of kidnapping the District Attorney, especially after he was the one who picked her to be his replacement. I also didn’t believe that he would be able to kidnap her in the short amount of time it took me to make it back to the house once I lost her. No, the person who took Andrea knew us well enough to either know or suspect our connection and knew he only had a few minutes before I’d be back looking for her. “I need to get out of here.” I was desperate to find her before the trail died. I was anxious to change into my other form and move faster than what Andy’s mind could fathom. If Andrea had been taken by a human, I could find them quickly moving at immortal speed. However, I was starting to believe another immortal kidnapped her. There just wasn’t a plausible way any normal human could have knocked her out and moved her quickly enough to not be caught. “Go,” Andy replied. He could sense that I could find her faster than waiting for the police. I was thankful for his intuition. Similar characteristics must run deep in twins. Andrea had known I was different right away too. “I’ll tell the police that you went looking for her, hoping that maybe she just went over to Sara’s.” I was out the back door before he finished the sentence. All he had to say was ‘go.’ Once I was sure I was out of his sight, I changed into a scarier form and increased the speed of my run. I was on a path scented in roses. I ran purely on instinct, allowing my mind to wonder around the bits of Andrea’s kidnapping that I had found. I recognized the handwriting and figured it was Robert’s at first because I thought he had to have been the one in the house. The more I thought about the writing, the more I came to realize that the handwriting was much more personal. It was one that I had learned many years before I had met Robert. “Seth,” I growled as I ran after the roses. Your own brother wouldn’t take your soul mate. He wouldn’t be cruel. He loves you. I repeated these words over and over. I had to believe them. Then, a thought passed through my mind that increased my fear. When was the last time you spoke to him? I couldn’t remember the last time I had spoke to Seth. We didn’t typically speak on a daily basis, but it had been weeks since I had heard from him. Do they have him? I pulled out my cell phone and called my brother. His phone rang three times and went to his message box. “You’ve reached Seth Haden. Please leave your name, number, and a short message, and I’ll get back to you. Have a nice day.” His age-weathered voice was husky and tired, but clear and decisive. He should have answered his phone. Where is he? I didn’t leave a message. I knew it wasn’t necessary. One phone call to his secretary later confirmed my suspicions. He had been gone for the past three months on an extended sabbatical. The people behind Andi’s kidnapping must have gotten to him first, forced him to write on the envelope. Oh God, they have my entire family. The realization hit me hard and forced me to run harder and chase the scent.