Chapter 29

Voices awoke her well before Jo was ready to open her eyes. The sounds of men’s voices discussing something in hushed whispers across the room mingled with another voice, another male, a familiar one, emanating from her own mind, and she realized she’d fallen asleep with her IAC on. That didn’t happen often. By the time she realized it was her Uncle Elliott trying to get her attention, Jo’s eyes were open, and Leo and Zane were looking at her, wearing matching worried expressions.
Rather than attempting to explain to them that she hadn’t heard a damn word they’d said, she pulled the blankets over her face and focused on her uncle. “What’s up?” she asked, certain the grogginess in her voice wouldn’t be his only clue that he’d woken her. He’d likely figured that out when calling her name eighty-two times had gotten him nowhere.
“Well, if it ain’t Sleeping Beauty awakened,” he sent back, a chuckle audible in his voice even through their eye computers. “Sorry to wake you. Just wanted to see how it was going. Brandon said they haven’t gotten shit accomplished. I was hoping it was going better for you.”
His comment made her wonder if that meant Brandon and Cass had attempted to make contact with Lukas and Eliza or if the two had spoken before Jo had insisted her aunt and uncle go in. “We’ve got something of a lead,” she said, shrugging her shoulders, not that he could see her. “We’ll find out later tonight if it’s worth anything. How are you?”
“Fucked,” he replied, not sugarcoating anything. “I can’t find jack shit down here. If Heather really is on this continent somewhere, she’s doing a hell of a good job hiding.”
Jo wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t quite understand why they needed the second Hybrid anyway. Cass seemed to think she couldn’t cut through whatever was masking the elusive Vampire they were hunting without the help of her long-lost pal, but Jo didn’t think it would make a difference. If Cass couldn’t do it alone, how did she know Heather could help? “Well, that sucks.”
“You can say that again. Anywho, I sent a text to your dad asking him what to do. I’d just as soon come up there and be of help to you guys or get Cass down here to see if she can track Heather. But I’ll have to wait until he’s in a location where the signal can reach him.”
“Right.” Jo had forgotten that it was possible to send texts to people who were in the Blood Moon portal. It depended upon where they were in relation to cell towers on this side of reality, but she knew it had been done before. It was something to keep in mind, should she ever need to ask her dad for advice or need him to get her ass out of trouble. She had no idea what the time delays might be like. “Okay--well, keep me posted, I guess. I understand that Dad wanted you to find this woman, but I could definitely use your help here.” The sound of Leo and Zane having another discussion wasn’t dulled by the thin quilt in the least. It wasn’t like Zane to be angry, so something must’ve happened.
“I will let you know what the bossman says,” Elliott assured her before saying goodbye. Jo disconnected her IAC from him and pulled the blanket down, staring at the two who immediately clammed up again.
“What the hell is going on?” she asked, propping herself up on one elbow.
“It’s Ryker,” Zane said, taking a few steps over to her and sitting down on the bed. “He’s gone.”
Jo’s eyebrows shot up. “Gone as in he left on his own accord, or did someone take him?”
“We don’t know,” Zane admitted. “Ping is downstairs seeing if he can hack into any surveillance footage, but so far he hasn’t had a lot of luck.”
Not sure what to think about any of that, Jo flung her legs over the side of the bed. She hoped Ryker was okay, but then, if he was in trouble, there wasn’t much she could do about it. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done her best to protect him for giving her the information he’d provided. He was the one who’d insisted on leaving the room.
“So… what’s our plan?” Zane asked, sliding up from the foot of the bed to sit next to her.
“Hell if I know,” she said, wishing she could throw her hands up in the air and be done with the whole thing.
Zane gave her that skeptical look, the one that told her he hadn’t lost all faith in her--not yet. “You’ve got to have some ideas.”
“Well, I was going to suggest we go scout this location, see if we can get any clues as to what we’re up against. But with Ryker missing….”
“Doesn’t that sort of make it easier?” Leo offered. “No fragile human to keep an eye on?”
Jo stared at him a moment, not sure how to respond. He had a point, even if it was unsympathetic and rude. “Yes. But I sort of feel responsible for finding him, especially if he didn’t leave here of his own accord.”
“The asshole probably found someone else he could make a dime off of,” Leo said with a shrug. “I say, good riddance. Let’s move forward with the initial plan. We have the coordinates. That’s all we need.”
He was right, in a perfectly logical sense of the situation, even if Jo felt herself being overly sympathetic to Ryker’s plight. With any luck, Ping would come back and let them know that Ryker had left by himself--because he wanted to. Then, she could do what she needed without having to worry about the bastard.
It occurred to her that she wouldn’t have to wait on Ping if she reached out to her aunt. Checking the time, she figured Cass would have some information for her by now, especially since Elliott had mentioned he’d been in contact with Brandon. “Just give me a moment,” she said, closing her eyes.
Leo chuckled. “Can’t use your IAC and look at the real world at the same time?”
Jo lifted a hand and sent a bird flying his way, which only made him chuckle again. It wasn’t that she couldn’t. She just preferred to have all of her faculties about her in such a situation. “Cass?”
“What?”
Her aunt was quick to answer, though blunt. “Any word?”
“Only exactly what I expected. Eliza pretty much told me to go fuck myself. Lucas seemed a little more willing to help, but it’s not his decision. I’m going to go back there later and try again, but I can’t promise anything.”
“All right.” She had been hoping for better news, but after what Elliott had said, she wasn’t surprised. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Am I not already knee deep in the shit show that was your last favor?”
Jo wouldn’t call giving her aunt an assignment to enlist the help of a Souled Vampire a favor exactly, but she knew arguing would get her nowhere. “Listen, our informant is MIA. Could you possibly locate him for me? I don’t know if he left this chic establishment of his own accord or if he was assisted by the townsfolk who wanted to burn him at the stake last night--or perhaps some pointy-teethed thugs.”
Cass swore under her breath again. “Fine. What’s his name?”
“Ryker.”
“Is that his first name or his last name>”
“Hell if I know.”
She groaned again. “Picture him for me, will you?”
Jo swallowed hard, hoping her aunt didn’t probe around in her mind too much. Would she sense that Jo was initially attracted to the American nightmare?
“Yeah, I sense it.”
Jo could feel her face turning red. At least it was only Cass in her head and not Zane or Leo…. “Can you find him?”
“He’s nearby. There’s a tavern down the road from you. I can’t see the name. Starts with an R. He’s there. He’s fine.”
“Good. Thanks.”
“Yep. So… what’re your plans?”
“I guess we’ll leave him be and go see if the information he gave us is any good.”
“I hope you have better luck than we’re having.”
“Thanks. I hope your luck turns around.”
Cass laughed. “I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have shit for luck.”
Jo knew the sentiment. She disconnected the IAC, making sure her aunt was completely out of her head. “Ryker’s fine. Let’s go find some Vampires.” She stood, headed for the bathroom, hoping it wasn’t as disgusting as the room. She had to pee, but if the shower was as gross as the bed, she’d be cleaner not bothering to use that particular facility.
As she shut the bathroom door, she heard Leo ask Zane, “How the hell does she know he’s okay?”
“She has her sources,” Zane replied, causing Jo to laugh. She used to have her sources. Maybe she was starting to have them again. But the road to absolution was paved with lots of crow she’d have to eat and lots of obstacles she’d have to overcome in order to prove she was worthy of being forgiven.
A glance inside of the shower told her she’d be better off slathering on some deodorant and keeping her distance. Even the toilet was revolting, but that wasn’t something she could avoid. “We’re finding another place to stay tonight!” she shouted.
“Assuming we all make it out alive!” Leo shouted back, laughing.
Jo knew he was trying to be funny, but a bad feeling took over, and she couldn’t help but hope Leo wasn’t good at predicting the future.