The man approached the counter. My body stiffened, ready for confrontation. Adriel’s presence was the only thing stopping me from bolting.
“Can we help you?” Adriel asked.
The man’s face was covered by a hood, which he kept lowered, but at the sound of Adriel’s voice he perked up. The face that greeted us surprised me. He was younger than I thought, roughly my age, and even more noticeable was how his eyes were wide with fear.
Who is this guy?
“Um,” the young man said in a muffled voice. “I’m... looking for someone.”
Adriel seemed to notice the guy wasn’t a threat and leaned in closer to reply. “Could you speak up just a bit?
“Sorry.” The guy bit his lip and avoided eye contact. He trembled as if this was the most difficult thing he’d ever done in his life. “My friend went missing. He… he stopped coming to - he hasn’t, um, showed up, and I’m worried…”
Adriel and I exchanged a glance. My mind immediately went to Maxwell, who had essentially been banned from leaving the Tenebrae estates until the vampires could figure out what to do with him.
“Is your friend named Maxwell?” I asked.
The young man’s eyes widened. His hood flew off as he nodded vigorously.
“What is your name?” Adriel asked.
“Jordan.” He fidgeted with his sleeve. “Um, is Maxwell okay?”
“Yes,” Adriel replied. “He’s well. His presence was needed for some delicate medical issues.”
“He said something like that,” Jordan mumbled.
I suddenly felt guilty by association that Maxwell had been ripped from his life so he could care for Benji during his labor. With all the excitement and novelties happening in our lives, we had all apparently forgotten that Maxwell had a life of his own.
“Where do you know him from?” I asked gently.
Jordan stared at the countertop. “Um… We have a meetup. Every week. For anxiety.”
Beside me, Adriel nodded. “I see. And Maxwell stopped showing up.”
“Yeah. He usually never misses,” Jordan added.
Now that he mentioned it, I remembered that Maxwell had some of the same nervous habits that Jordan exhibited. I always thought he was a bit shy, but who wouldn’t be, given Maxwell’s strange circumstance?
“How did you know to speak with us?” Adriel asked. There was a hint of an edge to his voice from paranoia, but I didn’t think anyone who didn’t know him well would pick up on it. Jordan definitely didn’t need any more reasons to be nervous.
“He texted me from a number I didn’t recognize,” Jordan mumbled.
A number he didn’t recognize? I’m guessing Margaret broke his phone a while back so he couldn’t call for help, but maybe now Theo is letting him use his cell.
“He said… Tenebrae. I remembered that name. And your name.”
“Mine?” I asked.
Jordan nodded, still not able to face us. “Caleb, he said. “And… you must be Adriel. Theo’s brother. He talks about Theo a lot.”
I had a nametag on, so that wasn’t surprising, but Adriel seemed a bit startled.
“Well, I hope he didn’t have anything negative to say about me,” Adriel mumbled.
“No,” Jordan said quickly, his eyes flashing. “Just that you’re tall and handsome.” His dark skin flushed deep with embarrassment. “Uh, those are his words, not mine.”
Adriel smiled. “It’s all right. We’ll tell Maxwell we met you here.”
Jordan’s eyes flickered back and forth between us and the floor. “Can I see him?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Adriel said. “But rest assured that he’s well, and taken care of.”
The barest hint of a smile crossed Jordan’s face. “Okay. Thanks.” He took a step back, then quickly put a chocolate bar on the counter, paid for it, and left.
“Anxiety meetups, huh?” I said. “I guess that explains why Maxwell seems so shy sometimes.”
“Yes,” Adriel mused. “Let’s tell him about this later.”
“Yeah. The guy deserves that much at least for dealing withtwohormonal half-vampire-baby-carrying omegas.”
