Page 41 of Silent Stalker
TEN
Vampires are weird.
Peace camein many shapes and sizes, often showing up when least expected and vanishing without a trace on some invisible wind at its whim. Before I’d fallen from my father’s ivory tower and stumbled into Emerick’s, reading had been a business mandate rather than pleasant pursuit—even when I’d been reading for leisure. To pick up a book solely to enjoy it intrigued me.
I appreciated that we could, while still close together, do something independently. I also appreciated we managed to steal some peace and quiet for ourselves.
I questioned why Emerick had brought me a raunchy space romance, but I would begin my investigation another night. I suspected he hoped I would instigate an investigation in bed.
If he kept bringing me raunchy books to read, I might.
The invisible wind swept through in the form of a phone call to my phone, which taunted us from the nearby end table. Heaving a sigh, Emerick reached over and checked the display. “Apparently, your father would like to actually speak with you.”
According to my phone, it was less than an hour before dawn. “He’s either up really late or decided sleep isn’t mandatory.”
“Or he’s a vampire and has been playing mortal all this time.”
I took the phone, swiped my finger across the screen, and answered, “Hello?”
“Ah, excellent. You’re awake,” my father said. “There’s something important I need to discuss with you. Do you have a moment?”
What? Since when did my father show me any courtesy? “I have a moment. I was reading a book.”
“Oh? What were you reading?”
“A startlingly raunchy space romance,” I confessed with a grin.
Later, I’d ask Emerick how raunchy space romances had entered his library and why he’d picked one for me.
My husband smirked.
Never mind, I blamed the vaccinations for my idiocy. Until one of us lost the game so we’d both win, I expected he’d be sending hints my way.
Two could play at that game, and I’d begin concocting a plan sometime after dealing with my father.
“It’s good to have evening entertainment,” my father replied, and to my astonishment, he allowed some humor into his tone.
Who was I speaking to? Was my father truly that two-faced? What was going on? A thousand questions tumbled over each other in my head, but I contained them, debating what to ask. In the end, I could only think of one safe answer. “How can I help you?”
“Your mother has gone missing.”
I sucked in a breath, astonished he’d confessed the truth to me, wondering what he wanted from me—and what he might do to get her back.
I trusted Clarke with my mother far more than I trusted my father. “When? How?” The ‘why’ hung between us, unspoken, but according to his sigh, he assumed I would ask.
He wouldn’t learn the truth to that answer, not from me.
“It happened while we were meeting. As for the how, I’m simply not sure. Some dark magic, I suspect. The cameras saw nothing before the whole security system was disabled. It’s like she disappeared without a trace. The security guards saw and heard nothing. One moment, she was in our bedroom, asleep. The next, she was gone.”
Damn. I needed to take lessons from Clarke on how to be a badass. “How is that even possible?”
“That’s a very good question. I don’t know. No one I’ve spoken to has any idea, either. I was hoping, perhaps, you might ask those within your brood if they might know of a method.”
“Give me a moment.” I put the phone on speaker. “Emerick, it seems my mother was whisked away without any evidence of her disappearance or how it happened. The security cameras caught nothing, and the guards had no idea she’d disappeared. Do you know any ways that might have happened?”
Emerick made a thoughtful noise, likely debating how his maker had pulled the heist off. “High level magic might be able to do it, but it would require a very old preternatural magic worker of some sort to pull it off. As for the security cameras, I would presume they worked with a hacker. While magic can work on technology, it’s easier to use tech to manipulate tech. Magic can do a lot, but sometimes, it simply isn’t the best tool for the job. Why spend months concocting a new spell to turn off a security system when a professional hacker comes ready and able to do the work? I do not know the going rate for hackers, as they aren’t something my brood employs in that fashion. We have security tech employees, of course, but it’s not precisely the same work.”
“Ah, yes. You hire hackers to make sure other hackers can’t hack your systems. I do the same. We have not found any evidence of someone hacking our security system, however.”
