Page 75 of Grayson’s Challenge

“Yes, Conrad and Robbie have been with us for eight or nine years, as have all the human guards. And Orlando is—” He stopped himself. Orlando was a wild card. Nobody knew much about him. And he was relatively new.

“What about Orlando?”

Grayson hesitated, and took a breath, before answering. “Dad hired him over a year ago.”

“So he’s new.” Monique looked at him, her forehead furrowing. “He insisted on staying at your parents’ house. He didn’t want to be relieved for a break. Don’t you think that’s odd?”

“He’s very dedicated,” Grayson protested. “My father trusts him one hundred percent.”

“Yeah, but nobody knows anything about him,” Sebastian interjected, making him realize that the young vampire hybrid hadn’t left.

When Grayson cast him a look, Sebastian shrugged and added, “You know as well as I do that that’s the truth. He’s strange, doesn’t talk much, and who knows what he does in his spare time. He’s never once gone out with any of us. You know, letting off steam.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s not trustworthy,” Grayson said, his voice firm. “Not trusting Orlando means not trusting my father’s judgment. And no matter the differences Dad and I might have had, his judgment is sound.”

He suddenly felt Monique’s hand on his arm. “Nobody is saying that about Samson, but don’t you think we should explore all possibilities?”

Monique was right, even if he didn’t want to admit it outright. It was true that Orlando had been one of the first to arrive at the rental house in Russian Hill after the kidnapping, even though others lived much closer than him. If he’d gone home after the Scanguards party, he would have had to drive all the way from Glen Park to Russian Hill, which wasn’t exactly a short drive. Orlando had left the party prematurely, which was also suspicious. And something else he remembered now too. Orlando had said he’d been in the area. What had he been doing in Russian Hill?

“Fine, let’s check him out,” he finally conceded. “But we should also check out William. After all, he might know Abel from a long time ago.”

Monique looked like she wanted to protest, but then she conceded, “Fine, if that makes you feel better.

Grayson nodded. “I have an idea how to go about it so they won’t know what we’re doing. Let’s talk to Thomas and Eddie.”

Moments later, Grayson knocked on Thomas and Eddie’s office, before opening the door and entering with Monique following him. Only Eddie sat behind the desk.

“Hey, Eddie, where’s Thomas?”

Eddie sighed. “Finally taking a nap in Blake’s office. He hasn’t slept a minute since all this started. I had to force him to take a break.”

“Good. I texted him a number earlier. Did—”

“I got it.” Eddie put his hand on a cell phone on his desk. “I just got started on it. Program’s running. By the way, good news: we found the fourth van from the kidnappers.”

Grayson felt excited. “Excellent! Where? Monique and I can check it out.”

“Not necessary. Your brother and Benjamin are already en route. They’ll check it out. We’ve provided them with photos of Abel, Rufus, and that Matt guy. I’m sure they’ll report back soon.”

There was a pinging sound coming from Eddie’s computer. He looked at the screen again, then back at him and Monique. “Okay, we have good news and bad news.”

“Give me the good news first,” Grayson demanded.

“Rufus’s cell phone pinged off several cell towers in the last few days, all within city limits. And one of those pings coincides with the location where the fourth van is parked.”

Monique’s chest rose, as she pulled in a breath. “That’s the area where they’re probably holding my father and Samson, right?”

“Possibly,” Eddie hedged. “But here’s the bad news. Rufus’s cell phone is currently switched off.”

“So we don’t know where he is right now,” Grayson said, contemplating their next action.

“Nope, but it’s very likely that he’s somewhere close to where his cell phone was last traced to. The fourth van is our best bet right now.”

“Show me where,” Grayson said and walked around Eddie’s desk so he could look into the screen.

Eddie pointed to a location on the map, while Monique sidled up to him. “He was somewhere along this area, between Bayview and Silver Terrace.”

“With the freeway close by. Good place to make a quick getaway,” Grayson commented.