Donovan joined me in the bedroom, adjusting the sleeve of his sweater. Even under about a dozen layers, he was still unfairly attractive.
“They said they’d round up some volunteers to help look for Landon. I don’t think they wanted me to say anything, but you already know, so it’s fine, I guess. Landon and his family are… what word should I even use? ‘Paranormal’ sounds wrong, like just because they’re different, they’re not ‘normal’. I’ll have to ask Ori.”
Donovan held up a hand to stop me before I could start rambling again. “Let’s stick with ‘paranormal’ for now until we know, okay?”
“Right,” I said sheepishly. “Apparently they’re shifters? So Ori thinks Landon has a better chance out there alone than a regular human kid might, but they’re worried that he didn’t come home on his own.”
“Are Ori and their volunteers going to be working with the police search?”
“That’s not the impression I got, no.”
“Disappointing, but not surprising,” he shrugged. “I talked to the chief. She’s got every officer not on duty rounded up to help, plus most of the fire department. They’re working on spreading the word to get some more people before we head out.”
“Oh, I should call Raina and Camille, if Will hasn’t already. I bet they’ll want to come.”
“You do that. I’ll throw some supplies together.”
With a quick kiss, Donovan went back out to the living area to get ready. Raina answered when I called, and she and Camille agreed to join the search, along with recruiting a few others. At this rate, the whole town would be out searching for Landon.
There was a harsh bite to the pre-dawn chill when we stepped outside a few minutes later. Even bundled up, with a hat and scarf on, the air stung my bare face, and this was the warmest it’d been in days. I couldn’t imagine being lost outside in this kind of cold overnight. A human wouldn’t stand a chance, but I had to hold on to hope that Landon would be alright.
A small crowd waited at the old mercantile building when we arrived. I didn’t see Ori, but that didn’t surprise me. Given what they’d told me, I’d already assumed the non-human crowd would be organizing on their own.
“I need to talk to Will and coordinate this so we don’t get more people lost out there,” Donovan said, and I spotted Will at the front of the group with Chief Cornell and a few police officers. I recognized Ginny Lake and Casey Sheers, the officers who’d arrested me during the fiasco with Andre Marcel a few months ago. I made it a point to avoid the police station ever since, mostly because it was haunted, but partly because it was awkward as hell to make small talk with them after that.
“I’ll find you before we head out,” I nodded. “Go ahead.”
Left to my own devices and with Camille and Raina not here yet, I stepped to the side, out of the main group, and took a quick look at who all had volunteered. I spotted a few other small business owners I knew, along with a few neighbors and acquaintances. Even Mr. King, the town’s grumpy loner, was here, standing apart from everyone else with a scowl on his face that kept anyone from getting too close. A cluster of firefighters stood near the front, along with several paramedics in their gear. I vaguely recognized the medic who’d been at Silver Lake and taken me to the hospital.
I hadn’t realized seeing all of these people at once again would trigger so many memories. A little desperate now for a distraction, I latched onto the first familiar, safe face I saw and made my way over.
“Hi, Quinn.” He stood slightly apart from the group like I’d been, but where I’d done it to observe, I had a feeling he’d just been hoping no one would talk to him.
“Oh. Um, hi, Alex,” he mumbled.
“Did Raina call you? You got here pretty quickly.”
“N-no, she didn’t. My appointments this morning both called and canceled so they could search, so I thought I should help, too.” He shrugged, not meeting my eyes, but that wasn’t unusual from what I knew of Quinn. The few interactions I’d had with him had been pretty identical to this.
“Thank you for coming. With all of us looking, I bet we’ll find him in no time.”
Quinn just nodded, trying and failing to come up with a follow-up. As much as I needed a distraction, I didn’t want to make him even more uncomfortable. “I’ve got to go check in with Donovan, but be careful out there, okay?”
“I will. You, too,” he said with poorly disguised relief.
I went back to wandering the perimeter of the group, nodding to those I recognized as I went past, until I finally found another familiar face standing by himself. Unlike Quinn, who kept to the edges, Julian Delaney stood near the front, fully decked out in winter gear.
“Hey, Julian. I didn’t expect to see you out here,” I said in greeting.
“I’m friends with Khalil, one of the firefighters. He called me and I couldn’t not come,” he said, sounding almost offended that I’d implied he wouldn’t be here.
“I just thought you’d need to be home with the twins, is all,” I explained hurriedly, relief flooding me when he relaxed.
“They’re actually in Aurora for the week with their grandparents. This wasn’t how I’d planned to spend my first kid-free day in three years, but I’m glad I’m able to help.”
“I’ll bet if you let Camille know when they’re coming back, she’ll bake up something special for them. They’re her favorite customers in the whole town.”
“The feeling is very mutual,” Julian laughed. “If we don’t go at least twice a week, they raise absolute hell. Trust me when I say there is nothing worse than the wrath of grumpy three-year-olds.”
