Firestorm Forever: A Dragonfire Novel (13 page)

Drake let him believe what he chose. He inhaled, trying to disguise it, and caught only a faint residue of Veronica’s scent. Would he be able to follow it after this police officer released him?

Time was of the essence. All scents dispersed in time, and the
Slayers
might have managed to disguise Veronica’s trail. Impatience rose in Drake and he got to his feet with purpose.

“Easy there,” the cop said, clearly discomfited that Drake was a good bit taller than him. His gaze swept over Drake’s muscled torso and he scribbled some more. “How long have you been seeing Mrs. Maitland?”

“Veronica and I have not seen each other for several years.” Drake averted his gaze, letting the cop make his own conclusions about that. “We met four years ago.”

A second cop joined them. “The neighbor says the kid is often with a friend, Dashiell Patterson. I’ve got a number.”

Drake closed his eyes, glad that Veronica was so organized. “I would speak to the boy,” he said, no question in his tone.

“You know him, too?”

“We all met four years ago.” Drake held the skeptical officer’s gaze. “I believe Timothy will recall.”

The cop snapped his notebook shut. “It’s up to the kid. And even if he does know you, you’re not going to speak to him alone.” He met Drake’s gaze. “We’re going to need an address for you, Mr. Drake, and I’d suggest you don’t leave town.”

Drake inclined his head in agreement, knowing it would be futile to argue. Even if the police officer refused to let him speak to Veronica’s son, Drake would find him. He had to give Timothy his assurance that he would do his utmost to find Veronica. If he had to beguile the family taking care of the boy, he would do it.

He had to speak to Timmy.

He’d fabricate an address, because there was no choice. By the time the police realized it was no good, Drake would be hunting
Slayers
.

He’d begin by following Veronica’s trail as far as it led.

Theo stepped forward with purpose, gesturing to Arach and Kristofer, and Drake was glad he would have their help.

Chapter Five

Why wasn’t Sloane older?

His age made no sense.

Sam had discovered that Sloane had bought his property over twenty years before. But he didn’t look like he was much older than Sam, and she was thirty-three. People didn’t buy extensive property in California in their teens or twenties, after all.

She’d checked three times, thinking there had to be a title transfer from father to son, or from some other relative he’d been named after, but there wasn’t.

Was he older than she thought?

Sam had a hard time believing there was ten years between them. In fact, his physical condition was so prime that she had wondered whether he might be younger than her.

It was a mystery.

Which only made her more curious.

She’d casually asked about him, trying to slide her question into conversations as she ran her errands at the post office, the bank and the grocery story. The only thing she’d been able to discover was that everyone in the area liked Sloane. He was considered to be charming and reliable, but details about his life—let alone where he had come from—were sketchy.

In fact, people didn’t seem to much care.

Mr. Privacy, all right.

He’d served on the Chamber of Commerce a few years before and had been active in local business organizations, as well as a charity or two. He was courteous and reliable, and she heard many endorsements of the plants he sold, and his business practices. She was told repeatedly that she was lucky to have such a good neighbor.

Which didn’t explain his age. Had she found another puzzle she couldn’t solve? On principle alone, Sam was determined to work this out. How complicated could one man’s life be? She returned home late in the evening, having consoled herself over her lack of progress with a delicious meal at a new restaurant in town. She stopped in the driveway beside her parked car, admired the stars, then opened the trunk to get the one bag of groceries she’d picked up.

The lights suddenly flicked on at Sloane’s house. Sam frowned, because there was no sign of Sloane’s truck. His shop hadn’t been open when she’d left in the morning either.

Had Sloane just gotten home, from wherever he’d been?

Should she walk over now and apologize? Even though she knew it was the right thing to do, she was nervous about it. It was a bit late.

Although that hadn’t stopped her the night before.

The thing was, she didn’t recall his house ever lighting up like this, all at once.

Suddenly, the lights went out again. They’d only been on for a minute or two, and the house was completely dark once more.

Had someone broken into Sloane’s house? Sam could call the police, but she hadn’t actually seen anything or anyone. It might be Sloane, after all, having arrived home exhausted and headed right to bed. If so, he wouldn’t appreciate her—or the police—knocking on the door now.

She decided that if there was any sign of life, she’d walk right over.

The house remained dark and silent.

Maybe the lights were on timers. Maybe they’d malfunctioned. Maybe there had been a power outage.

Maybe she should mind her business and get some sleep.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to be a good neighbor. Sam would go for a walk in the morning, just to see if there were any signs of forced entry.

If Sloane turned out to be home, that would be a bonus.

* * *

Timmy couldn’t believe it. He sat between Dashiell and Dashiell’s mom on the couch in their living room while the cop gave him the news. Dashiell’s dad paced behind the couch.

“My mom disappeared?” Timmy repeated, still trying to make sense of it. “She wouldn’t do that.”

“She might not have had a choice, dear,” Mrs. Patterson said quietly. The cop and Dashiell’s father gave her a look and she bit her lip.

“Was she kidnapped?” Timmy demanded.

“We’re going to do everything possible to find her,” the cop said, which wasn’t the most reassuring thing Timmy had ever heard. “We have some leads and some eyewitness accounts…” His voice trailed away, which did just about nothing to build Timmy’s confidence.

“I have to go home,” he said, starting to rise to his feet. Dashiell’s dad put a hand on his shoulder to keep him where he was.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said with both kindness and resolve.

Timmy knew then that something really bad had happened. And his mom was gone!

“I should have been there,” he said.

“You can’t be home all the time, Timmy,” Dashiell’s mom said gently. “You can’t blame yourself for a random event.”

“Drake said I was the man of the house. Drake said I had to protect my mom since my dad was gone.” He looked away, unwelcome tears rising in his eyes. “He was right, and I let Mom down.”

“Drake?” the cop echoed, his gaze flicking to Dashiell’s parents. “Who’s this Drake?”

There was something about his attitude that made Timmy think the cop already knew the answer to his own question. “He’s a guy who does covert operations, just like my dad did. He
finds
people. He found my dad, when no one would do anything or tell my mom anything. Drake’s the whole reason we could even have a funeral. He’s the only reason we
knew
.”

The cop was surprised, but Timmy didn’t care if he was insulted. He knew the cops weren’t going to find answers for him, or help his mom.

“You should find Drake. He’d find my mom. He’d fix this.”

The cop frowned and cleared his throat. “As a matter of fact, there was a man named Drake with your mother at the time. He was injured in the attack and left unconscious as a result.”

Timmy was on his feet, unable to hide his relief, too quick for Mr. Patterson’s hand. “Drake was there? Drake came back? I have to talk to him!”

“You have to recognize that Mr. Drake is being questioned…”

“He’s not Mr. Drake. He’s military. He’s
secret
military,” Timmy retorted hotly. “If you think he did anything wrong, you’re totally stupid.” The adults exchanged glances and Timmy guessed that they didn’t believe him.

The cop appealed to Dashiell’s parents. “If we can just give it a day or so until we check out some details…”

“Don’t you understand? Drake’s the only one who can find my mom!” Timmy cried. “She needs his help and she needs it now!”

“Timmy,” Dashiell’s mom said gently but Timmy didn’t care what anyone said. He ran across the room, evading the grip of both Dashiell’s father and the second cop—the one who was supposedly guarding the door—and raced down the front hall. He had to find Drake. He had to talk to Drake about his mom. He ripped open the front door and froze on the threshold.

Drake stood there, as if he’d been waiting for Timmy. He looked grim, more grim than he had the last time Timmy had seen him, and there were bruises on his face as well as a bandage on his hand. He stood motionless, waiting for whatever Timmy would do. He was dressed more casually than he had been the last time Timmy had seen him, but he would have known the older man anywhere.

Timmy didn’t care if he looked like a baby. He was so glad to see Drake that he launched himself at him. Drake caught him up and held him tightly. “Timothy,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“I should have been there,” Timmy said. “I’m the man of the house, just like you said, and I should have protected her…”

“I
was
there,” Drake said, interrupting him flatly. “And I couldn’t protect her. There were three of them.” He leaned back to meet Timmy’s gaze, and Timmy was reassured by the cold resolve in the man’s eyes. “It is better that you were not there, for they would have injured you.”

Timmy swallowed. “They might have killed me, you mean.”

Drake nodded minutely.

“But they couldn’t kill you.”

Drake winced and put Timmy down. He crouched down beside him and Timmy listened closely. He was well aware that Dashiell and his parents and the cops had come down the hall to listen, but he didn’t care. “I will find her,” Drake said, his gaze holding Timmy’s. “I make this promise to you, Timothy.”

“And you’ll hurt them for hurting her.”

Drake’s eyes lit but he didn’t smile. “What happens to them is of no concern to you. I want you to know that I will give my life for her, if it comes to that.”

There was a lump in Timmy’s throat. “Okay.” It was a lame thing to say but he couldn’t think of anything else.

“And you, you must be strong, so that when she returns, she finds you well.”

Timmy nodded.

“You must excel in your studies so that she is proud.”

Timmy nodded again.

“You must honor the memory of your father and do as he would have done.”

“Yes, Drake.”

“It will be her love for you that will give her strength. You must ensure that she is not disappointed.”

Timmy nodded again, understanding that things didn’t look good. Just knowing that Drake was looking for his mom made Timmy feel better, though. He trusted Drake to make everything come right.

The cop cleared his throat. “Where’s your family, Timmy? In town?”

Timmy shook his head. “There’s just us, now. Mom said we were family enough for each other.”

“He can stay with us,” Dashiell’s mom said. “We’ll be glad to have him.”

“Awesome!” Dashiell said.

“I want to help,” Timmy said to Drake.

“I have told you how to help.” Drake lifted a brow and flicked a glance toward Dashiell’s mom before looking at Timmy again.

Timmy understood. “Thank you, Mrs. Patterson, for letting me stay here. I really appreciate it.”

Dashiell’s mom smiled, and he saw that she was trying to hide how upset she was. “Oh, don’t you worry. We’ll find some chores for you, so you don’t get too bored.”

Timmy turned back to Drake. “I need your email or your phone number. I need to be able to call you.”

But Drake shook his head. “I will find you each week and tell you what I can. In the meantime, I will send three friends to ensure your safety.”

“Guys like you.”

Drake nodded once. “They are named Kristofer, Reed, and Arach.”

Arach
. “That’s a cool name.”

“They will identify themselves to you, then fade into the shadows. Trust that they are always watching you. Kristofer will give you a cell phone number and a signal to bring him immediately to your side.”

“Okay, Drake. Thanks.”

“Wait a minute,” the cop said. “We can post a protection detail, if we decide it’s necessary.”

Drake stood up and stared the other man down. “I have decided it
is
necessary. I will ensure his protection.”

“Look, you don’t know…”

Drake interrupted the cop, who didn’t look nearly so much like a warrior as Drake even though he was younger. “I know that both I and the boy will be more comfortable knowing that every precaution has been taken.”

The cop grimaced. “I’m not sure it’s wise…”