He took off Ross’s shoes, then tucked the blanket up around him a little higher before stealing out of the room.Dunham was right on his heels, shutting off the light, and they didn’t say a word until they were back outside the townhouse.
Glenn’s anger slowly returned as he went down the stairs.The fact he’d had to put his very capable Function to bed was deplorable.How could he have not seen Ross’s fatigue?Had he really been blinded by the professional smile and calm demeanor so much that he’d failed to note anything else?
Had the entire clan been so happy to shove all responsibility off to someone else that they’d failed to realize just what damage they’d wreaked?
Dunham eyed him sideways, clearly reading how angry he was.“Lad’s fine, Glenn.”
“He is so exhausted he literally dropped to sleep when given a chance to do so.”Glenn glared back at him, his anger still churning like an angry swarm of bees in his gut.“And I’m just as much to blame as all of you, which sickens me.How could we have dumped so much responsibility on him and been so blind to his exhaustion?He is the youngest of us bydecadesand yet bore more responsibility than several so-called adults combined.”
“He had the ability to say no,” Dunham pointed out.“And he should have.”
“We have abused his good nature.Ross likes to be helpful.I will speak to him about this as well.We need to impose limits, as he seems unable to do so for himself.But I will speak to the entire clan about this.This situation will not repeat itself.”Glenn snapped his phone out of his pocket and typed a message in the clan’s group chat, demanding everyone be home this evening for a meeting.
It was time to set them all straight.
Himself included.
Astór 6
Where was he?
The Halloween Haunted House was in full swing, each member of his clan either scaring paying customers silly or being support behind the scenes.Ross had taken a fifteen-minute break from usher duties—but that fifteen minutes was now more like forty-five, and it wasn’t like him to be away that long from his duties.Glenn took his own break, letting someone else man the doors, and went looking.
It was entirely possible Ross had simply been sucked into helping someone else and lost track of the time.And yet, something felt out of place.Glenn lifted the walkie-talkie to his mouth and hailed him.“Ross, this is Glenn, please respond.”
No answer.
“Ross, please respond.I need you at the door.”
Still no answer.
Glenn changed tactics.If Ross was in a noisier section of the haunted house, it could be that his voice was drowned out.“Has anyone seen Ross?”
Maria answered in a slight crackle.“He was in the breakroom with me about thirty minutes ago.”
“Anyone else see him more recently than that?”
A beat, as if people were waiting for someone to say yes.
“Glenn, we might have trouble,” Fyffe reported grimly.“I’ve got a walkie-talkie abandoned here in the hallway near the breakroom.And the back door to the place has been busted open.It smells like an orc tramped through here.”
Alarms blared in Glenn’s head even as he whirled and sprinted for the breakroom hallway.Even as he moved, he demanded, “How far does the trail go?”
“Not far.Just past the breakroom, and then it retreats again, I think.It’s like the orc came in for something specific, got it, and left without trying to go any further.Ross’s scent also goes out this door—”
Glenn’s heart rate tripled in panic as he reached the right hallway.At the end of it, Fyffe was at the door, holding it open even as he sniffed at the ground.He sprinted for the man’s side, but stayed a good two feet back to not interfere with the werewolf’s nose.“What do you smell?”
“Ross and orc smell intertwined,” Fyffe reported grimly, still moving while bent over, keeping his nose close to the pavement.He ended his search not ten feet away.“It dead-ends here, and my guess is Ross was forced into a vehicle.Master, this really doesn’t look good.Do you think…I mean, you do have enemies.”
“Too many,” Glenn agreed in a harsh voice.Lifting the walkie-talkie, he demanded, “Keane, start tracking Ross now.He’s been abducted.”
Keane sounded startled but immediately confirmed, “I’ll start the spell now.Meet you in the back parking lot.”
Glenn could issue no other orders until he had at least a direction.He clung to the fact that Ross was taken without bloodshed.Whoever was behind this didn’t mean him immediate harm.He wasn’t revenge against Glenn, but bait.
Very effective bait.If asked to commit some heinous crime in order to retrieve his Ross, Glenn would do it without hesitation.There was no place he would not go in order to retrieve the one taken from him.His heart shuddered in his chest, panic starting to writhe and twist along his veins.His enemies were not known for their mercy, and the idea of Ross in any of their hands….Even his capable, calm Ross would surely not come through this unscathed.
Oh god, why had he not taken more precautions?
