Page 87 of Shattering Dawn

The bullet tore into the wall beside Gideon. The roar of the weapon was somewhat muffled by the acoustic paneling but the sound was nevertheless loud enough to leave Gideon’s ears ringing.

For a moment he did not move. After a few seconds he became aware that he was still clutching the crystal.

Carefully he slipped the stone back into the pocket of his trousers.Note to self:If he was going to use crystals in the future he would have to develop a new level of control. The learning curve thing.

The atmosphere in the cell was clearing rapidly. The hissing had stopped. Opening the door probably turned off the gas.

He staggered to his feet, braced one hand against the wall, and leaned down to retrieve his shirt and cane. He had to get to Amelia.

When he was fairly certain he wouldn’t lose his balance he crouched beside the unconscious man, collected the pistol, andchecked for a pulse. The guy was alive but it didn’t look like he would wake up anytime soon, if he woke up at all. There was no ID.

Gideon headed for the kitchen door.

He exited the house and limped toward his SUV. There were no sirens in the distance. No sign of the vehicle his captor had used, either. It was probably concealed somewhere nearby. He did not have time to search for it.

When he reached the SUV he paused to take out his phone and call Amelia. He was thrown directly into voicemail. He did not bother to leave a message. There was no point. He tried Shelton next but he didn’t expect an answer. He was right.

Whoever was behind the project to kidnap Amelia had succeeded in grabbing her. He told himself they would not kill her, at least not right away. He refused to think about the possibility that Shelton was already dead.

He desperately needed a starting point. Irene was looking increasingly relevant. He tried her phone. When the call went straight to voicemail he was pretty sure he was right. Irene was not an innocent bystander.

He was about to switch on the engine but he hesitated, studying the garage where Falcon’s dust-covered vehicle was parked. He thought about the gas station receipt he had found at the Lucent Springs Hotel.

A frisson of something that felt a lot like certainty but was probably nothing more than hope whispered across his senses. He had missed something important when he had searched Falcon’s vehicle. He needed to take another look.

Chapter Fifty-two

Shelton was deeplyasleep but alive. His pulse was steady and strong.

Relief briefly flooded Gideon’s senses. He left his uncle snoring on the dining counter and found some paper and a pen in the darkroom. He scrawled a quick note and positioned it where Shelton would see it when he woke up.

He took a quick look around, registering the toppled coffee cup near Shelton’s hand and the missing pistol. Then he went back outside and looked over the edge of the walkway barrier. Irene’s car was still in its parking spot. He continued down the hall to her door and knocked. He was not surprised when there was no answer.

He forced the lock and went inside. The soft hum of an aquarium tank broke the silence. Two goldfish watched him search the apartment but they lost interest when it became obvious he wasn’t going to feed them.

There was no sign of any tech—no laptop, no phone—but Irene’s car keys were on the console near the door.

He picked up the keys and left. It would be next to impossible tocarry an unconscious woman out of the apartment complex without someone noticing. It didn’t take long to find an eyewitness.

The resident in the apartment between Amelia’s and Irene’s answered the door with a can of beer in one hand.

“Yeah, I saw ’em carry her out of here and put her in a van,” he said. “Rivers looked totally out of it. Her friend said she was sick. They were taking her to the nearest emergency room. Between you and me, I figured Rivers had OD’d. She was getting a little weird, know what I mean?”

“How many people are we talking about?” Gideon asked.

“Irene What’s-her-name from next door and the dude who drove the van. So, two.”

“What can you tell me about the man who carried Ms. Rivers to the van?”

“Looked like a gym rat. Steroid city. Never saw him before in my life. What is this all about?”

“I think Ms. Morgan and the man who drove the van kidnapped Ms. Rivers.”

“Holy shit.”

“Exactly.”

Chapter Fifty-three