Basic Need

Ch 2: Who Is Kyle Austin?

"It's fishy, I'm telling you," Harry declared hotly while looking at both his sister – Maria – and Blake, her mate and husband.

"Sweetie, for the third time, it could be just a coincidence," she told him softly while eying him evenly.

"I don't believe that." He scoffed.

His two bodyguards – Nick and Alex – who were twins, and always followed him for protection purposes, agreed with a nod.

"Come on, not only you and your little protégée get to have the exact same schedule," his sister told him seriously.

"She's not my protégée," he bit out, anger flashing in his eyes.

"No, she's the love of your life," Maria rolled her eyes, "I know, I know."

Harry clicked his tongue in dismay at that before asking half-angrily half-wearily, "Why don't you believe me when I say I love her?"

"I do believe that you love her – for the moment," she told him, a small smile adorning her face, "what I do not believe is that she's the love of your life. You're young, a bit too young to have found the one."

"Weren't you my age when you got together with Blake?" Her little brother countered.

"The point goes to him," her mate chuckled.

"He's my mate," Maria drawled the last word, "It's different."

"Well, she could be mine," Harry argued right back, "How would I know?"

"Turning you into a vampire will not happen until you finish high school," she told him firmly, "I thought we agreed on that."

Harry huffed before telling them anew, "Still, it's fishy."

"Agreed." Nick and Alex said simultaneously. "Although he's neither a werewolf nor a vampire." Nick added.

"Don't encourage him," Maria told them with an eye-roll.

"Look what we're gonna do," Blake started in a placating tone, "I'll ask Ace to do a background check on the guy. OK?"

"Seriously?" Maria rolled her eyes anew. She did that a lot, despite her age.

"Sounds cool," Harry 's face lit up. "How good is Ace at such things though?"

"Well, let's just say that Ace is the nickname we gave him for a reason," Blake winked. "Let me call him."

When Blake finished the phone call, he told the kid he now considered as his own little brother, "We'll go to his place after dinner. I'm sure there's not just one Kyle Austin out there in the world. You need to identify your guy through his picture."

Harry fist-pumped in the air like the teenager he still was. Blake smiled at that while Maria just sighed, saying under her breath that it was silly.

******************

"That's him!" Harry exclaimed after watching pictures pass by for about forty seconds.

"OK," Ace drawled, "let's see what we got."

"Kyle Austin, son of Jake Austin and Christina Smith," Ace started reciting, "Parents are both architects. He's got no siblings to speak of and no record..."

"Very fishy indeed," Blake commented jokingly. Harry just glared at him and listened to what Ace was saying.

"Wait a second!" Ace cried out all of a sudden.

"What's up?" Blake asked matter-of-factly.

"This profile was created barely three years ago. I can't find anything on him before high school."

"You were saying?" Harry wiggled his eyebrows at Blake.

"OK, you were right kiddo," Blake admitted with a barely perceptible frown.

"I'll dig up some more," Ace said, seemingly excited, "but you'll have to wait a little. I'm gonna run his picture through all US known recognizing programs."

"You do that," Blake told him a in firm tone, "We have to go – the kid got school in the morning – but I expect a full report in one hour."

"Sure," was the immediate reply he received.

"Thanks a lot Ace," Harry told the vampire he had only known for his ability to speak to animals.

"No prob," the hacker smiled at the kid before resuming his work.

Blake teleported himself and Harry back to his house in Florida, since Ace lived in New York, and found his mate leisurely waiting for them in the living-room by watching TV, "Alors? Vous avez fait chou blanc?" She asked in French.

(So? You hit a brick wall?)

Harry chuckled before falling onto the sofa next to her. "I was right, sweet sister of mine."

She lightly slapped the back of his head at that, "Nothing to brag about. I don't want you having troubles in your senior year."

"Troubles have a tendency to come our way," he grinned at her.

"Blake's way would be more accurate," she muttered under her breath.

"I heard that," her mate stated flatly.

"Well, bite me," she giggled.

"I will," he told her, desire flashing in his eyes, "later."

"Ew!" Harry exclaimed, "I'm right here, guys!"