Page 31 of Grayson’s Challenge

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Monique’s entire body coiled with anxiety, though she tried her best not to show outwardly how worried she was. She didn’t want Grayson to think she was weak, or he’d insist on her staying with her mother at the Woodford mansion in Nob Hill. What if her brothers weren’t simply out of cell phone range? What if something had happened to them? She wasn’t stupid. She knew that if Cain had been the attackers’ primary target, the rest of her family might be in danger too. However, that didn’t explain why they hadn’t abducted Faye too.

“We’ll be there in a moment,” Grayson said to her from the driver’s seat of his sportscar.

She nodded, her heart still thundering in her ears, the tension in her body mounting. “And you think they can find them?”

“Yes, trust me.”

A moment later, they pulled into the driveway of an Edwardian home on a little hillside. She followed Grayson up the steps that led to the entrance door. Before they reached it, a good-looking man with dark hair opened the door. She recognized his aura as that of a preternatural creature—a witch.

“I’m Wes,” he greeted her and ushered them in. “Hey, Grayson. Come in.”

Inside, they walked into the open-plan living/dining room, where a gorgeous redhead was strapping weapons to her belt. She too was a preternatural creature.

“You’re the Stealth Guardian,” Monique said.

“Yes, I’m Virginia. You must be Cain’s daughter. I’m sorry about what you’re going through right now.” She gave her a kind smile, then looked at Grayson. “Hey, I’ll be ready in a few minutes.”

“Good, Cooper is on his way,” Grayson said.

“Cooper? Why?” Virginia asked.

“He’ll be going with you.”

“I’ll be accompanying Virginia,” Wesley interrupted. “There’s no need for Cooper to go with her.”

“Sorry, Wes, but we need you here,” Grayson protested. “You and Charles need to cook up some potions and spells for when we have to face the kidnappers.”

“No fucking way!” Wesley barked. “You want me to let my wife face God-knows-what-kind-of-enemies alone? Fuck no!”

“That’s why she’ll have Cooper with her. He’s one of our best hybrids. He’s strong, and he’s smart.”

Virginia sighed. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”

Wes grunted in displeasure and glared at Virginia. “I hate it when you do that!”

“Babe,” Virginia cooed and put her hand on Wesley’s shoulder. “You know this is a milk run for me, right?”

“I’m not saying you can’t handle it,” Wes said, his voice a little softer now. “I just worry when you’re not here.”

Virginia pressed a soft kiss to his lips. “I’ll make it up to you when I’m back.”

Wesley rolled his eyes. “You’re manipulating me.”

“I know.” She chuckled. “And were the roles reversed, you’d do the same.”

“Touché.”

Virginia looked at Monique. “Thomas sent me the last known pings from David’s and Zach’s cell phones. They came from somewhere outside of Gstaad. He confirmed that a cell tower is out due to a storm that went through the area yesterday. Do you have any other information about what they were intending to do there?”

“When I talked to them the day before New Year’s Eve, they said that they’d met a couple of women from New York who invited them to a remote cabin.”

“Did they say whether the women were vampires or humans?”

“They didn’t mention it.”

“Okay, it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out who these women are and where that cabin is located. Gstaad isn’t that big. We’ll start at the Gstaad Palace, where your brothers were staying before leaving for the cabin. I’ll get Pearce to check all lodgings in Gstaad for two American women from New York.”