48

“There’s an easy way to do that, though, Nic,” Aimée said softly, and I held up my hand.

“I don’t think I need to know the details.” Seeing Aimée behead Valerie had been plenty enough violence for me. I didn’t need to find out what sort of violence Nic could enact to ensure my safety going forward.

Nic flashed another grin, this one strained after he frowned at Aimée. “Kyle will handle the details. He usually seems to enjoy those.”

He crossed the room and dropped a soft kiss to my forehead as I wound my arms around his neck.

“I’ll miss you,” I whispered to Nic, and Aimée gave my shoulder a gentle shove.

“But my brother won’t watch old British comedy movies with you and laugh at all the right parts, I’m sure. Four Weddings, or Bridget Jones?” She didn’t wait for my reply. “Both? I can also offer popcorn.”

“Bye. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Nic spoke from the door, his voice low before he slipped away.

Aimée shook her head. “I have no idea what you’ve done to my brother, but I’ve never seen him like this. Maybe there is something to this true mate shit after all.” She gazed at the door for a moment before returning her attention to me. “Right, you go grab a shower and a fresh set of jammies, and we’ll head down to the basement. Then we can watch whatever you want, but I’m in the mood for a movie marathon.”

I nodded, happy to humor her and her attention. “Sounds good enough to me.”

Three hours later, we were sprawled over the luxurious seats Nic had installed in his home theater, and I was surrounded by fast food wrappers from the meal Aimée had insisted Mr. Baldwin sneak in for my lunch.

“Chef doesn’t need to know. He provided enough at breakfast to keep you full for the better part of a week, anyway.” She’d watched indulgently as I’d eaten bites of burger similar to one Nic had fed me last night.

Both she and Nic seemed to like watching me eat sometimes, which was weird, but not exactly a hardship for me when I spent so much time doing it anyway.

She sighed as the credits rolled on the big screen. “Ready for the next one?”

I nodded, about ready to enter a food coma rather than keep my eyes open to watch another movie. It was so warm and comfortable in here, and Aimée had just dimmed the lights. I tugged a fleecy blanket over me and wriggled to a more comfortable position. Nic had kept me up part of the night after all.

Just as my eyes started to drift closed, my ass vibrated.

“Shit. A phone call.” I sighed and reached into my pocket. “’Lo?”

I didn’t even crack my eyes open. I was trying to be asleep, dammit.

“Miss Boucher? This is Melody from Cascade Falls Rehabilitation Center.”

Well, that had my attention. I sat upright, the movement so fast it should have given me whiplash. “Yes?”

“I’m just calling to find out if you know the current whereabouts of your father, Jean Boucher.”

“Yes...” I spoke slowly, like this was a test. “He should currently be with you.”

She sighed softly. “I’m afraid I have to inform you that he appears to have left us.”

“Left you? What the hell do you mean? How can he just have left?” I gripped my phone tightly.

She sighed again, but it sounded more like sadness than frustration. “No one here is a prisoner, Miss Boucher. People sometimes leave. It’s normal for them to return to their families and familiar environments—places where they pick up where they left off before.”

I blew out a breath. “But he promised. He made a deal.”

Her silence spoke volumes. Dad wasn’t the only guy who had made a deal and found himself in her treatment center over the years.

“I know this is probably painful—” she started.

“No. No, you don’t. Tell me exactly what you know.” My mind raced. “How long has he been missing?”

“He hasn’t been to any of his meetings today.”

“And did he take his bags when he snuck out in the dead of night?”

Aimée had paused the movie and was watching me. She slipped her own phone from her pocket.

“I can confirm everything is still in his room, Miss Boucher.”

My mouth dried. “What the hell? You call to tell me my dad has left your facility, and he randomly left all his shit behind like he was just running out to the store?”

I sensed her shrug. “No one knows where he could be. But this isn’t unusual. Like I said, our guests aren’t prisoners, and many of them are…quite unstable.”

And I could almost guarantee none of her other guests were related to people who’d been abducted by crazy, restaurant-owning vampire princes from New Orleans, too. Dad could be anywhere—not just missing or checked out early. The abducted kind of missing. Fucking drained of blood and lifeless.

“I’ll get back to you,” I ground out as I tried to stem the rising panic. Then I disconnected the call and met Aimée’s wide gaze. “Fuck.”

15

Nic

I

 rewound the footage and hit play again. We lost the visual once the bathroom door closed, so I never got to see the attack, but there was no mistaking Valérie stealthily following Leia, and Leia completely oblivious to the danger.

“Where were you?” I glanced at Jason and Kyle, both silent as they stood before me.

Kyle stared, stony-faced at the footage I had on repeat, like another viewing might reveal something new, and Jason kept his gaze on the floor after the first run-through.

“On the main floor… There were some guys…” Jason sighed and raked his hand through his hair. “A distraction.”