Page 76 of Grayson’s Challenge

“What are these buildings here?” Monique asked.

Eddie zoomed in. “That’s an old post office, but it was shut down long ago. Asbestos issues and who knows what else. The city is waiting for the federal government to pay for the abatement, but they’re dragging their heels.”

“So it’s empty,” Monique concluded.

Grayson met her gaze. “Good place to hide.”

“I’ll let Patrick and Benjamin know to not get too close to it. Don’t wanna spook Abel’s people if they’re really in there.” Eddie swiveled in his chair. “Maybe Wesley and Charles can confirm that this is the right location before we do anything else.”

“Wesley is back?” Grayson asked.

“Got back half an hour ago. He’s probably already down in his lab.”

“Let’s check on him,” Grayson suggested and looked at Monique.

She nodded.

“Oh, and one other thing, Eddie,” Grayson started.

“Yes?”

“Do me a favor and cross-check Orlando’s cell phone with Rufus’s. I wanna know if they ever called or texted each other. And compare Orlando’s GPS locations to the areas where Rufus’s cell phone pinged off the towers.”

Eddie raised a surprised eyebrow. “Orlando? Our Orlando?”

“Yes.”

“What’s this about?”

“Somebody is leaking information to Abel, and since he’s not bugging our phones or my parents’ house...” Grayson shrugged.

“Okay, if you say so.”

“And, not a word about this to anybody.”

“Understood.”

“And there’s a second person I want you to check out. William. He’s one of the King’s guards who came to San Francisco with the royal family. Monique, you have his phone number?” Grayson asked.

“I do.” She pulled out her cell phone and navigated to William’s contact information and handed it to Eddie, who copied it.

“Got it. I’ll check where he’s been and whom he called,” Eddie confirmed.

“Thanks, Eddie, and have Patrick call me once they’ve checked out the van,” Grayson added, before he and Monique left Eddie’s office.

As they walked to the elevator, Monique slipped her hand into his. “I hope Delphine was able to explain to Wesley how the spell works.”

“Don’t worry about Wesley. He’s a very accomplished witch. He’ll make it work.” As long as a voodoo spell worked on a vampire. If not, even Wesley would be out of luck. But he didn’t want to crush Monique’s hope.

On the ride down to one of the subterranean floors, where both the medical center and Wesley and Charles’s lab were located, Monique leaned her head against his shoulder, breathing evenly. Neither of them said anything. They didn’t need to speak. He put his arms around her, and simply held her. If somebody had told him three days earlier that he would develop such a deep emotional bond with Monique Montague after two days and two nights together, he would have laughed the person out of the room.

33

Monique enjoyed the feel of Grayson’s arms around her, comforting her. So much had happened in such a short time, and she was still processing everything. She fought off the exhaustion that sat deep in her bones. There was no time for rest right now.

When the elevator doors parted, Grayson took her hand and led her into the hallway. It wasn’t busy here, though she could hear sounds coming from behind a set of double doors. The sign next to it identified it as the medical center. Grayson ushered her in the opposite direction.

Before they reached the end of the corridor, the loud boom of an explosion made the ground beneath her feet shake. The door at the end of the hallway was blown off its hinges and crashed to the floor, the wood splintering. A cloud of white and red smoke, mixed with debris, shot out of the room.