There'll be Hell to Pay (Hellcat Series Book 6) by Sharon Hannaford Page B

feel alone, far enough that she didn’t feel smothered. Razor
was seated on the bar counter, his intelligent yellow eyes
following her every movement and his tail twitching with his own
disquiet. She would soothe him if she could, but right now, if she
opened her senses towards him, she’d only unsettle him further.
    “ Fill us in. What have we got to go on?” Alexander asked,
concern etched across his perfectly drawn features. He and Fergus
had joined them minutes after Julius had gone to rouse them,
despite the last rays of sun still colouring the landscape.
Alexander was now at Master level, with Fergus not far away from
it, but neither would take the final test so long as Julius was
still alive. And not for fear of Julius but instead out of loyalty
and respect.
    “ Kyle says that whoever took her was professional about it,”
Gabi said; her voice sounded dispassionate to her own ears. “They
used a blow-dart to take out her tyre and made their move when she
pulled over. They knew exactly where to take her from, the only
blind spot to street cameras. And they knew the kind of people who
would be trying to track her. They used perfumed aerosols all over
the scene. Not even Kyle could pick up a scent marker.” Her voice
cracked just a tiny bit, and she had to clear her
throat.
    Julius took
over the account. “Her car was closed and locked, the keys left in
the gutter, her bag and phone missing, no evidence of their
presence left at the scene. There were also no traces of blood or
any signs of violence. Whoever took her was careful of her
well-being.” He was gently reminding Gabi that her mother was more
than likely safe. At least for the moment.
    “ That’s good tae know.” Fergus spoke up for the first time. As
usual he was standing near the door. The ruggedly built Scotsman
with the vicious scar down the side of his face was always on
guard; it was his natural state of being.
    “ Trish was able to track the suspicious van to the outskirts of
the central city, and then lost them.” Gabi spoke again, her throat
still tight, but her voice clear. “There aren’t as many cameras
once you leave the main CBD. These guys were acutely aware of
cameras when they…when they took her, so it stands to reason that
they would know how to escape without leaving much of a trail. They
were last spotted on the eastern fringe near the university. It
looks as though they were heading for the southern motorway, but
that might just be what they want us to think.”
    “ The Werewolves are mobilising; teams have been sent to the
airports, train stations and all major routes exiting the City,”
Julius continued. “They have the description of the van and the
suspects.”
    Alexander’s
eyes narrowed contemplatively. “Has this got something to do with
one of SID’s cases?” he asked. He left the rest unsaid, but they
all knew what he was alluding to. Before anyone could reply, the
doorbell rang and they could hear Kyle’s voice.
    “ Send him through, Claudia.” Julius barely raised his voice
with the order to his newly appointed head steward. Gabi and
Maximillian, the previous steward, had never truly seen eye to eye,
but they had tolerated each other: Gabi because she could annoy the
man for sport any time she chose, and Maximillian because the
alternative was losing the best job he’d ever been offered. The
relationship, however, had not withstood the introduction of Razor
and Rocky to the household. The first night Gabi left on an errand
without Razor, Maximillian had attempted to evict her pets. The
Vampire had lost an eyeball and three fingers for his audacity. It
took a good twenty-four hours or more for a Vampire to regenerate
after that kind of damage, so it was obvious what had transpired
when Julius arrived home later that evening. Maximillian had been
packed off to supervise the cleaning of one of Julius’s office
blocks before Gabi returned to the house. Claudia, his replacement,
was much easier to get along