"Do you know where Dobs went?" Frankie asked, trying to control his breathing. He felt out of breath, and his wolf wanted out to hunt down his mate. Since his brother was driving his Suburban, he knew he couldn't allow his wolf out, yet.
"Um, he planned to go to your house first, then your brother's tattoo shop," Lex answered distractedly. It sounded like he was arguing about something one of his buddies said.
"Maybe he's at the house," Frankie said, hope filling him.
"That doesn't explain why he's not picking up his phone," Lex pointed out.
"Maybe he fell asleep there." Okay, that sounded ridiculous even to him, but the alternative … that his mate had left him or been hurt … Frankie didn't want to think about that.
Without needing to be told, Reb drove them home … fast. Frankie tore out of the vehicle and raced up the walk. He paused, realizing he couldn't scent Dobs. If he'd been there within the last couple hours, he should have been able to smell him.
"Daithi?" Reb called, striding past him into the house.
Reb's mate appeared from the back of the house. "Aye?" He frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Did Dobs drop by today? Maybe in the last couple hours?" Reb asked.
"Nay. No visitors at all," Daithi answered.
Frankie shivered, cold creeping through him. "Where could he be?" he whispered.
"What's going on?" Daithi asked, looking between them.
"Frankie's mate, Dobs, is missing," Reb answered softly.
A choked whimper escaped Frankie's throat, and he wrapped his arms around himself. He felt both men wrap their arms around him. One man rubbed his back, while Reb murmured, "Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll find him. Calm down. Panicking won't help."
"What could have happened to him?" Frankie asked.
"I don't know, but let's backtrack. If he was heading over here from Gordon's, let's head that way. Maybe we'll find a clue. Or maybe he returned to Gordon's. It's worth a look," Reb stated.
Frankie nodded and headed out the door, starting to jog once he got outside. He knew how to get to Gordon's. He knew their small town of Stone Ridge like the back of his hand.
"Call Declan," Reb ordered Daithi before hurrying after him.
Intent on covering ground as quickly as possible, Frankie almost missed it. He skidded to a stop, nearly losing his footing on a patch of ice on the sidewalk. Reb grabbed his arm and steadied him. "What is it?"
"I smell him," Frankie said. "He was here."
He looked around and spotted trampled snow and the imprint of several bodies. Also on the ground was a green-feathered dart, and near that, a phone. His hand shaking, he picked it up. A harsh sob escaped him when he recognized several missed calls from his number and Lex's number. A sniff confirmed it even further.
"This is his phone," he told his brother.
"Okay, so now we know someone picked him up. I smell more than one vampire," Reb pointed out. "If it wasn't his friends, who was it?"
Frankie started shaking his head, then frowned. "Mikael."
"Mikael? Who's that?"
"A vampire that's holding a grudge against him for something." At the moment, Frankie couldn't remember what, and didn't really care. If the guy had his mate and had harmed him, he'd happily tear him apart. "Dobs told me to avoid any other vampires except him and his friends."
Frankie called Lex back and told him what they'd found.
"That son of a bitch," Lex snarled. "Earlier, I was calling to tell Vince that Mikael and a couple of his buddies had been spotted at an abandoned gas station on the edge of Stone Ridge."
"Okay, I'll check it out," Frankie replied automatically.
"What? Wait … "
He dropped the phone on the table next to the dart and shifted, ignoring anything else the vampire might have said. He headed toward the back of the house and the doggy door.
"Frankie, where the hell are you going?" Reb called. "Declan will be here any minute!"
Frankie didn't slow down. He heard his brother curse, order his mate to find out what Lex had told him and to wait for Declan. The telltale crack and pop of a shifter changing forms sounded behind him, but then Frankie was outside, the walls of the home blocking further sounds from inside, and he started to run. He had a mate to find.
Every minute that passed felt like a million to Frankie as he sprinted toward his destination. He pumped his legs, forcing his body to run faster that he'd ever before. When he reached the abandoned building, some reason returned and he slowed, scenting the wind. Vampires, several of them, but underneath their smell was the unmistakable scent of his mate.
He didn't see anyone, so he trotted across the short stretch of clearing and started sniffing his way around the building. A shout of pain caused him to freeze under a boarded up window. The scent of blood reached him through the broken window, and a low growl rolled up his throat.
Taking a couple steps away from the building, he looked toward the clearing's edge just in time to see his brother's wolf appear through the trees. Reb growled at him, clearly wanting him to wait, but another cry from inside firmed his resolve.
Pivoting on his haunches, he took two strides and lunged. Ducking his head, he crashed through the rotting boards covering the windows and into the room.
Chapter Eleven
Sweat poured down Vince's body, seeping into the lacerations covering his backside, making them burn. It hurt almost more than the lash of each whip strike. His blood dripped down his back, ass, and thighs. He stopped trying to hold in his cries and screamed out his frustration and pain. It felt good, so he did it again.
Mikael chuckled cruelly from behind him. "You tell me what I want to know, and I'll stop."
"Never," he responded, his voice cracking.
"Have it your way."
Mikael swung the whip again. Vince cried out, his body straining, trying to absorb the pain. His head swam, and he knew he was on the verge of passing out.
The crack and splintering of boards pulled Vince out of his daze. He craned his neck to the left, trying to see. The growl and snarl of a large animal reached his ears, then bodies thudded together and several forms rolled into view.
Two vampires grappled with a huge tawny-colored wolf. "Frankie," he mumbled, fear tearing through him anew. To his surprise, it wasn't fear of the massive animal, it was fear for him.
"Well, well, guess I didn't need you to tell me after all," Mikael sneered. "The damn beast came to us. Grayson, Erics, help them."
Two more vampires headed toward Frankie and the first two men he already grappled with.
"No!" Vince shouted. "Leave him alone!"
"Why would I want to do that?" Mikael smirked, watching the fray.
Backus laughed, his arms over his chest, his attention on the fighting group, obviously enjoying the spectacle.
Frankie bit down on one vampire's thigh, his teeth tearing into flesh. The man screamed and stumbled back, gripping the gushing wound. The second man slashed at Frankie with his claws. Frankie leaped sideways, barely avoiding the slice, but the move took him directly toward the other two vampires.
A second wolf, this one smaller and redder, leaped through the broken window. It immediately charged one of the vampires, distracting him. Frankie snapped at one of the others, his sharp teeth coming dangerously close to the guy's arm.
"You fools," Mikael snarled. "Get out of the way," he ordered, brandishing the whip. "I'll subdue that beast myself!"
The vampire swung the whip and the tails just caught Frankie's hip as he spun out of the way. The big wolf yipped, then spun around to face the vampire, baring his teeth, his ears flat against his head.
"No!" Vince roared again. Howling in rage, his vision hazed as his nails extended into claws. Digging deep, he found a last reserve of strength. Vince grabbed the rope binding his wrists, crunched his abs, and lifted his legs. He wrapped his thighs around Mikael's neck from behind, squeezing tightly.
Mikael snarled and twisted. He dug his claws into Vince's thighs. Ignoring the pain, Vince responded by squeezing tighter. After a few more seconds, where the wolves kept the other vampires busy, Mikael slumped in Vince's grip.