Love Is Never-Ending, ch. 16
Chapter Sixteen
Mick looked at Josef expectantly. “Well? You gonna fill us in or not?”
Josef said nothing as he jumped out of his chair and made a beeline for the door. Mick and Beth looked at each other worriedly and followed Josef out.
“Josef, what’s going on?” Mick called at Josef’s retreating back. The elder vampire didn’t answer him. A minute later the three of them returned to Erin’s room. “Alright, Josef, where’s the fire?” Mick asked.
“It’s Thomas, isn’t it?” Erin asked worriedly.
Josef’s eyes softened at her question. “Yes, it is. But there’s no need to worry, Mick and I will handle it.”
“Handle what? You’re not going anywhere without me,” Beth cut in.
“Beth -“ Josef said. He looked to Mick for support.
Mick held up his hands in mock surrender. “Hey, don’t look at me. You know as well as I do how stubborn she is. Besides you still haven’t told us what the hell is going on.”
Josef sighed. “Fine. That was Ryder on the phone. I had him run down Thomas’s various aliases to figure out where he was staying.”
“So where is -“
“No dice, my friend. They were all linked to the same post office box.”
“But that shouldn’t matter. Those are always tied to a street address,” Beth said.
“They are. The box in question is in Chicago.”
“Oh,” Beth said, defeated.
“But you said you know where Thomas is,” Mick reminded him.
“You didn’t let me finish. Apparently, your intern showed up for work today, Beth. When you didn’t show up, your boss sent him to your apartment looking for you.”
Mick’s growl was faint but distinct. “Calm down, Mick. Obviously neither of you was there. When you told me that Thomas was back, I put one of my people on your building, just in case. He followed Thomas to a townhouse on the outskirts of the city. He’s still there.”
“So what are we waiting for?”
Josef looked away. “Mick, we can’t just go barging in guns a-blazing, so to speak. You have to learn a little finesse.”
Beth had gotten pretty good at reading Josef. She had the feeling that he wasn’t being entirely truthful. “There’s something else, isn’t there?”
Josef glanced at Erin. A shadow of worry crossed his face. He didn’t speak for a long minute. “It’s nothing.”
“Nothing, my ass. Spill it, Josef,” Mick said.
“Ryder found someone hacking into the hospital’s database. He traced it to the townhouse.” Josef took Erin’s hand and said gently, “He knows where you are. He won’t hesitate to come after you.”
Erin looked confused. “Me? Why would he come after me?”
“The only people who know Thomas’s true identity are in this room. I think he’s after me and Mick specifically. But you and Beth, you know us, you know what we are. He’d use you to get to us.”
Mick was getting more frustrated by the second. “Again, what are we waiting for?”
“Listen, we’re gonna send Erin and Beth to my penthouse. They’ll be safer there than at your place. I’ve got a security detail all around it.”
Beth looked livid. “I’m going with you. I’m not some damsel in distress, Josef.”
Josef looked from her to Mick in exasperation. “Welcome to my world,” Mick said with a tiny smile.
Erin cut in. “Beth, maybe you should listen to Josef. Besides I need someone to keep me company, right?”
Beth smiled at Erin. She couldn’t leave the old woman alone in a strange place. “Alright.”
Mick looked at her like she was a pod person. “Who are you and what have you done with Beth Turner?”
Beth laughed. “No, Josef’s right. Besides I can help Ryder figure out what Thomas’s master plan is. At least I’ll be useful.”
“So you’ll listen to Josef, but not me. That’s just great. Next thing you know, you’ll be asking him what color to paint our bedroom,” Mick groused.
“Hey, if you’d rather I went along…”
“No, no. I’ll feel better if you stay with Erin.” Remembering the last time he left Beth alone, he said to Josef, “You’re sure that your place is safe?”
“Like Al Capone’s vault.”
“There was nothing in Capone’s vault, Josef.”
“Yeah, but wasn’t it funny watching them open it?” The Josef turned serious. “Don’t worry, Mick. Thomas is stupid, but he’s not that stupid. They’ll be safe.”
“OK.”
Erin’s doctor came in a few minutes later. All of her tests were normal and she could be discharged. Mick and Josef waited in the hall while Beth got Erin ready to leave. Josef insisted on pushing Erin’s wheelchair out to the waiting limousine. Mick and Beth followed the limo all the way to Josef’s. Erin protested when Josef went to carry her up to the penthouse, but he ignored her. Together the four of them passed through Josef’s security detail and took the elevator upstairs. Josef didn’t put Erin down until they reached the couch. Ryder was hard at work at his computer; he paused long enough to greet them perfunctorily.
“Now if there’s anything either of you need, don’t hesitate to ask. My staff is on standby.”
“Thanks, Josef.”
Mick drew Beth over to one of the darker corners of Josef’s brightly lit living room. “Thanks for staying with Erin. I know how much you hate being left behind.”
Beth smiled. “It’s OK. She really shouldn’t be alone right now anyway. We’ll make our selves useful.” She paused. “You guys be careful. Please.”
Mick bent his head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. “We will. I love you.”
“I love you too.”
They walked back to Josef and Erin. Josef gallantly kissed the back of Erin’s hand before turning abruptly and heading for the elevator. Mick smiled reassuringly at Beth and Erin before following his friend.
The two friends were quiet on the way to Thomas’s townhouse. Mick could tell that Josef was angry. He wasn’t used to being disobeyed and now Thomas was threatening those few people that Josef held dear. Mick didn’t fancy being in Thomas’s shoes when they found him. Mick pulled alongside the curb across the street from the address that Josef’s man had provided. Josef got out, walked up to the non-descript car in front of the Mercedes and tapped on the window.
“He still in there?” Josef asked the driver.
“Yes, Mr. Konstantin. No one’s gone in or out since I got here.”
“Good. Wait here.”
Josef and Mick crossed the street and approached the front door of the townhouse. It was locked. Before Mick could even reach for his lock pick, Josef kicked the door in.
“Jesus, Josef. What happened to finesse?”
“Finesse is boring. You coming?”
They crossed the threshold into the dark foyer. Their superior eyesight allowed them to navigate their way through the empty first floor fairly easily. Thomas’s scent hung all over the house, but Mick didn’t sense him anywhere.
“Um, Josef?” Mick said as they reached the bottom of the staircase. “I don’t think he’s here.”
“Gee, you don’t say.” Josef said through gritted teeth. “Come on, I saw a light on upstairs.”
The light came from the master bedroom. The only furnishings were a freezer and a writing desk. Josef started going through the drawers of the desk, while Mick examined the manila folders on the top. As he flipped through them, his blood ran cold. The bastard’s been watching us. He’s been following us for months. Wordlessly, he handed the folders to Josef and began to pace back and forth between the freezer and the desk.
Josef examined the contents of the folders. They contained photographs of him, Mick and Beth. Some were together, others individually. There was Mick and Beth working on a case. There was Mick and Josef sparring. There was Josef feeding from one of his freshies. There was Josef carrying a bloody Beth into the hospital. There were even several pictures of Josef in New York from a few days ago. There were also quite a few of Beth working at Buzzwire. The second folder contained older photos, mostly of him but a few of Mick as well. Clearly, Thomas had been spying on them for years. Probably waiting for the right time to strike. Infuriated both with himself and Thomas, Josef took a swing at the wall, his fist smashing through the drywall. Mick looked up abruptly from his pacing.
“Feel better?” he asked.
Josef brushed off the dust from his already healing hand. “Not really. I’m gonna rip out his entrails and feed them to him. Then I’m going to set him on fire and cut off his head.”
“That’s all fine and good, but we have to find him first, Josef.”
“How do you suggest we do that?”
“I don’t know. But we need to get back to the girls. If Thomas has been following us, then he probably knows where they are.”
Mick pulled out his phone and dialed Beth. When it went to her voice mail, he hung up. Seeing the worried look in Mick’s eyes, Josef called both the penthouse and the head of his security detail. When neither answered, the two vampires tore out of the house in a blur of motion.
To be continued…