‘We’ve heard you’ve had a kidnapping,’ I started.
His expression darkened. ‘That’s elemental business,’ he said shortly.
‘I wouldn’t intrude,’ I went on calmly, ‘but we’ve also had a kidnapping.’
Maxwell froze. ‘Shit,’ he swore.
‘It makes sense for us to work together to track down who is taking the kids.’
Maxwell pulled out his phone and fired off a text message. ‘When was your pup taken?’ he asked abruptly.
‘Today, around 8.45am, after the school run.’
‘Ours was snatched last night. He was having dinner at Alessandro’s with his parents. He went to the toilet alone and he didn’t come back out.’
‘I’ve heard of Alessandro’s. It’s owned by a fire-elemental family, isn’t it?’
Maxwell nodded. ‘My family owns it.’
‘Are there any cameras inside?’ Greg asked.
‘None in the toilets.’
‘No,’ Greg said a shade impatiently, ‘but the hallway footage might show who went into the toilets with the boy.’
‘The hallway camera has been out for two weeks.’ Maxwell’s jaw tightened. ‘Apparently management hasn’t gotten around to fixing it.’ He was furious; if his family owned the place, he must have been feeling awful about the oversight.
‘Are you certain the child was taken rather than sneaking off? There’s been some suggestion our pup was playing hooky and there were no signs of a scuffle, but if that’s what happened, he’d have been home by now,’ I said. And the scry wouldn’t have been blocked.
‘There were signs of a scuffle in the toilet.’ Maxwell broke off, looking upset; then took a deep breath before continuing. ‘He was dragged out of the bathroom window. It was a small, frosted one. It had been broken and some bricks torn away to make a bigger space to drag him through.’
‘We tried scrying for Bobby, but it failed. Apparently he’s been warded by a witch.’
‘Our scry failed, too,’ Maxwell confirmed grimly.
‘It may be unrelated, but a gargoyle was found dead on our lawn last night,’ I told him. ‘Our current theory is that the gargoyle foiled an earlier kidnap attempt.’
‘And he was killed for it? Shit, that’s not good news. We were hoping for a ransom demand, but so far we haven’t had one. If these guys have killed already…’ Maxwell’s eyes filled and he blinked away tears. I was surprised to see him so emotional; he really was struggling.
Maxwell’s phone beeped and, scrubbing at his eyes, he pulled it out. As he read the message, his expression darkened. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said finally. ‘But you’d better go.’
‘What?’ I exclaimed. ‘Maxwell, we’ve both had children taken. We should work together to find them, pool our resources.’
Maxwell shot me a bitter look. ‘You’ve not been in the Other realm long enough. “Together” isn’t something we do.’ He stood to show us out.
‘That doesn’t make sense,’ I protested. ‘Think about this logically.’
‘Whether I agree with you or not, I’ve got my marching orders – and they are to give you yours. You’ve got to go, Lucy, and we won’t be working together.’ He was clearly conflicted, and finally he relented enough to explain. ‘Roscoe needs this. He’s holding onto his leadership by a thread. If he can find Jason and rescue him, he’ll consolidate his position. If we use the help of allies, Roscoe’s detractors will always credit them with the rescue. I’m sorry. I really can’t help you – you’re on your own.’
‘But alone isn’t a nice place to be,’ I said softly, feeling more upset than I cared to admit. I’d always clicked with Maxwell, and I thought he was my friend, albeit we mixed business with friendship. Now I wasn’t so sure, and that stung. A huge rock lodged in my throat.
Something must have shown on my face because Maxwell softened. He pulled me into his arms. ‘This isn’t personal, Luce,’ he muttered into my hair as he pressed a kiss to my forehead. ‘Now go, before I get mushy. I worked hard to get into tough-guy mode. I’m not having you undo it because you looked all Bambi-eyed at me.’
‘Sorry.’ I sniffed, suddenly blinking back tears. ‘But we’re okay?’
‘Of course we are. And I’ll argue with Roscoe about this when I can speak with him. But for all he’s my lover, he’s my boss, too, and sometimes his word has to be law. Whether I like it or not.’ He frowned grimly.
‘We get it,’ Greg replied evenly. He and I exchanged an awkward glance. We really did get it because I’m Greg’s boss and I worry constantly about the power disparity between us. That’s the main reason I haven’t examined how I feel about Greg. He’s my one friend in the pack, my confidante, and I can’t lose that just because he looks entirely too good without a shirt on.