“Oh my God. Jake and Enya must be frantic.” Erin shook her head, worry and compassion obvious in her bright green eyes.
“Abolitionists?” Quinn’s expression instantly hardened taking on a lethal edge.
Kyle shrugged, the gesture born of frustration not apathy. “I can’t imagine anyone else who would dare such a thing, but they haven’t been this aggressive in years.”
“Unless you count Gage trying to kill me and Ian.” Quinn arched his brow, challenging Kyle to contradict the point.
“Gage’s actions weren’t sanctioned by Nehema,” Ian said. “In fact, she was furious when she learned what he’d done.”
“Who the hell is Nehema?” Kyle looked at Quinn then back at Ian. “For that matter, who is Gage?” Apparently there had been some interesting developments while he was incommunicado.
“Gage is the Abolitionist who ‘rescued’ Willona and set her up with a new life,” Ian explained. “He took a shot at either me or Quinn and hit Carissa by mistake. We captured him as he was setting up for a second try.”
“Did you take him alive?”
“Of course.” Ian’s smile was chilling. “He did his best to resist my scans, but in the end I learned everything he knew. Which wasn’t nearly as helpful as I’d hoped. A woman named Nehema calls the shots, but Gage had only spoken with her on the phone. His direct contact was a man he referred to as Team Leader. I have his image, but little else.”
“The kidnapping could be retaliation,” Kyle suggested.
“I’d agree if they’d taken someone from your clan. Jake had nothing to do with Gage’s capture.”
Ian had a point. Kyle sighed and reviewed the events, searching for patterns or subtle clues. “We’re back where we started. If this wasn’t Abolitionists, who had a grudge against Jake or benefited from the crime?”
“Has there been a ransom demand?” Quinn motioned toward the mansion beside them. “Everyone knows the tigers are loaded.”
“I still think Abolitionists are our best bet,” Erin said. “Three females, one nearing definition. It’s not really a departure from their MO.”
Ian didn’t look nearly as convinced. “Liz’s girls are, what, eight and ten? They’re years away from definition.”
“But Cheyenne isn’t,” Kyle reminded.
“Cheyenne lives alone.” Erin’s brow remained knitted, her lips compressed. “They probably came for her and had no choice but to take the girls.”
“No choice?” Ian sneered. “Are you crazy? There are always choices.”
“I’m not defending them.” She sounded shocked by Ian’s conclusion. “Why are you so testy?”
“Sorry.” He raked his hair with his hand as he took a deep, calming breath. “There have been too many attacks. Too many unanswered questions. I need an objective or better yet a good fight. Just ignore me.”
“You’re tired and frustrated.” Erin wrapped her arm around his waist and gave him a maternal squeeze.
“At least we know Devon’s safe,” Quinn offered. “That’s one less unanswered question.”
Ian didn’t argue, but Kyle spotted suspicion in his gaze as he glanced away. “What are you talking about? Did Devon come home?”
“She sent me a video message this morning,” Erin explained. “She said she’d come back as soon as the Charter was changed and forced definitions were abolished. I want to believe it, but something about it still feels wrong.”
“Prisoners of war are forced to create video messages all the time.” Ian looked at Kyle as he went on. “I’ve had a bad feeling about this from the beginning. This might have started out as a protest for Devon, but she would never be this cruel.”
“How did she look in the video?” Each time Kyle tried to sense his sister he crashed into her mental shields. His mother had reported the same problem. Wherever Devon was, it certainly seemed like she didn’t want to be found.
“The video was damn convincing,” Ian admitted, “but it’s all a bit too convenient. As Erin said, it just doesn’t feel right.”
“I haven’t called off the search and I won’t until she’s found,” Kyle assured them. “It doesn’t matter if she’s protesting or if this is beyond her control. We will find her.”
Ian’s stiff nod was mirrored by Erin.
“What’s being done to find Cheyenne and the girls?” Quinn asked after a tense pause.
“Jake knows we’ll help in any way we can, but we have a different mystery to investigate right now.”