“Why did you take her into your clan? An untrained fledgling.”
What he did have the wisdom to swallow back was that this Piper would be more liability to the clan than help unless she had some spectacular gift. That would, of course, explain why Philippe was so determined to locate her. But even as the thought occurred to him, Rafe found himself tossing it aside. It didn’t feel right.
Philippe’s smile returned as he met Rafe’s gaze. “Because she needed a home.”
Putting his glass down on the little side table at his elbow, Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He wasn’t thinking clearly where Philippe Arsenault was concerned. He wanted to believe him, if only so he didn’t feel so alone. That sense of home and family was something so ingrained in his existence, he couldn’t help wanting to give others that same thing. And it left him wanting to find others who had that same need.
But he knew he was unique in their world. Most vampires didn’t care about such things. A clan was not a family. It was about safety in numbers. From his experience in dealing with other vampires, clanmates didn’t give a shit about each other unless they had to.
“What you’re telling me is that a baby vampire with no former clan and a dick for a maker has gone missing?”
“Yes.”
“While I doubt you’ll actually tell me, I have to ask…does Piper have a particularly useful power? Can she turn things into gold with a touch? Water into blood?”
Philippe chuckled. “I like your idea of useful, but her power isn’t quite so interesting. It’s telekinesis.”
“She can move things with her mind?”
“Yes, but her power is still underdeveloped. She can move only small things, from what she’s been willing to show me, and only for short distances. She finds using it quite draining.” Philippe paused, his smile growing sad. “She was always quite disappointed that it wasn’t flashier or more powerful.”
Rafe frowned. It was the first time Philippe had referred to Piper in the past tense. He didn’t know if it was because Philippe knew something and was hiding it or if he was starting to lose hope that they’d find Piper alive. Neither was a good answer.
Right now, her disappearance made zero sense. There was no reason to take her, particularly if she wasn’t important to an old clan or her maker.
“How long has she been missing?”
“One week today.”
“When did she disappear? Was she with the clan? Hunting?”
Philippe placed his glass on the wood and iron table in front of him and sat back on the sofa. He placed his right ankle on his left knee while folding his hands in his lap. A look of concentration cut lines across his handsome face, and Rafe wanted to smooth away those lines with his finger.
“Hunting. Like I said, she kept to herself while in the clan house. We didn’t see her much, but she always let one of us know when she went out hunting. That night, she caught me in the library.” Philippe closed his eyes as if he was conjuring up the image in his head. “She wore a pair of pale-blue slacks and a pink sweater. Her spirits seemed up. Or at least as much as they usually were with her. She was always quiet, subdued.”
“She said she was going to hunt?”
Philippe opened his eyes and looked at Rafe. “Yes. She had to hunt weekly. Sometimes twice a week.”
“Alone?”
“For the past year, yes. When she first joined us, she would often be accompanied by Jullien or Ezra. I think Cecilia went with her a few times as well.”
“Do you know where she liked to hunt?”
Philippe nodded. “I know of a few spots she preferred. She didn’t like to travel too far from the clan house. Ezra and I went with her a few times when we first moved to the area, but she’d been going on her own more recently.”
Rafe clapped his hand together, the sound like a gunshot in the silence of the office. He rose smoothly to his feet. “Then we know what we must do next. Let’s go check out her hunting grounds.”
“Now?” Philippe asked as he stood as well.
“Did you have other plans?”
“No, I—”
“Then let’s get our boots on the ground and do a little investigating. We can leave Jullien here to amuse himself.”
Philippe’s grin grew as Rafe spoke. “Excellent idea.”
Rafe wasn’t so sure he’d describe it as excellent, but he needed to get out of the office. The cool autumn air might help keep his head clear and stop his wandering thoughts about the softness of Philippe’s skin, the firmness of his hands, or the lingering sadness in those green eyes.
Chapter Six
Rafe tried to push aside how much he liked seeing Philippe in the passenger seat of his BMW. Relaxed against the leather seats with his elbow on the door, the older vampire lounged across from Rafe like they’d ridden together so many other times. The streetlights caressed his face and gilded his hair before racing back into the night.