Arriving at the island was different this time; I had bigger problems than the gawking eyes that still followed our every move. At least we flew directly to Tonbo’s office headquarters. Mack wasn’t here, but Blake told me Tonbo would skin him alive if he didn’t bring me to see him first thing. When I thought of the impish man with bushy eyebrows and brilliant onyx eyes, I couldn’t see him skinning anyone alive. Even with his oddities, Tonbo exuded kindness. I had to admit I was looking forward to a chat with him now that I knew about Sammy.
When I entered the building and felt the blast of icy AC, it sent my heart galloping. Every part of me screamed that Mack should be here with us now, like last time. The swirling blue-green color below my feet didn’t help either. I’d seen those tiles before when I was Sammy. When Mack had brought her here…
I glanced at the circular desk, hoping for a distraction, but seeing the three beautiful damsels manning the phones only made me think of Kate.
I turned to Blake. “I’d like to see her while I’m here.”
“Who?”
“Kate.”
He glanced over, and I didn’t miss the panic he tried to hide in his eyes.
Keeping me from Jaxon was one thing, but Kate too? I erupted. “You can’t keep me in a bubble forever, Blake. I’m ready to talk to her. She could have answers.”
He blew out air as his shoulders dropped. “It’s not that. You’d be fine seeing her… if she were here still.”
I stopped short. “What do you mean? Where is she?”
Blake glanced around before ushering me under the enormous breadfruit tree. He frowned. “She… escaped last week.”
My mouth went dry. “What? And you didn’t think you should tell me?” It was one thing to question the girl who’d done so much damage when she was ‘behind bars,’ but quite another to know she was free. Was she out there plotting something again? With Sammy?
“I didn’t want to worry you, Sam. Her trial was scheduled for tomorrow. She’d been nothing but compliant, repentant even. Then one morning last week, she was just gone.”
“And nobody saw anything? What about the surveillance cameras?” I asked, trying to swallow down the rising panic, but my tongue suddenly felt like it was too large for my mouth.
“Something tripped them out.” Blake took me by the shoulders. “Sam, she probably just didn’t want to stand trial for what she’d done. I’m sure she’s long gone, and besides…” His face softened as he pulled me closer. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
I knew now what he’d been trying to hide from me. Coming to the island had forced him to tell me that Kate had escaped. But he shouldn’t be keeping stuff like this from me in the first place.
“You should’ve told me, Blake. The last time something tripped out the wires, Sammy and Kate broke into Tonbo’s lab and stole serum,” I reminded him. “Kate escaping… well, it can’t be a good thing.”
“I know,” he admitted to my surprise. “I’ve wanted to tell you since I found out, but I didn’t want to scare you. You’ve been through so much already.”
The pain I saw in his eyes softened my rebuttal. His honesty with me was something we’d have to work on, but standing in the middle of a lobby wasn’t the time or place.
“Come on, let’s not think about her right now,” he said, steering me away from the breadfruit tree. “There’s someone dying to see you. Every time I come, he begs me to bring you.”
I sighed and grumbled. “Oh, alright. Let’s go see Tonbo. I’ve missed him too.”
His smile grew as he stretched out his wings. I couldn’t help but be captivated by the way the light bounced off his blue-green, iridescent wings. He reached out a hand to me, his eyes expectant, waiting for me to follow after. I let my wings come to life and grabbed his fingers. We lifted up through the open lobby, stopping on the tenth floor. Like last time, we hadn’t even knocked before the double walnut doors swung inward. Tonbo’s face peered out at us, the wisps of silver in his round, black eyes as hypnotizing as ever. The smile and warm greeting I’d expected, however, were nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he shooed us in. “Come in, come in! No one out there can be trusted!”
With that, his little arms ushered us through the doors, practically shoving us into his private office. The doors slammed behind us. I glanced at Blake, thinking it was nothing more than another odd moment with Tonbo. My grin died on my lips as I saw Blake’s concern.
“What do you mean?” Blake asked. “Tonbo, what’s going on?”
Tonbo’s onyx eyes widened, the silver streaking through the black pulling me in. “There are enemies in our midst, Blake,” Tonbo announced. Glancing at me, he added, “Does she know about Kate?”
Blake nodded, and Tonbo continued, “Kate’s not the only one to disappear. Others have gone missing too.”
My stomach sickened. I wasn’t sure which scenario was worse—Kate escaping or her being taken. Either way, it didn’t bode well.
Blake’s eyes were fastened on Tonbo. “Who else is missing?” he asked, his jawline taut.
“Ancients,” Tonbo replied, his shoulders sagging. “Some of my dearest friends. Ones who would have never left on their own. Just gone. Someone is taking them.”
Blake grimaced. “Do you think it’s Kory?”
“It’s the only conclusion I can come to,” Tonbo said, sighing heavily. “As to why, I don’t know. What would he want with them? They aren’t trained soldiers. They’re some of the kindest souls I know.”
Although I hadn’t met any of the ancients, I remembered Mack had mentioned them as being some of the first Dragon Fae. They lived in the Outskirts, the islands outside the main channel, surrounding City. They didn’t leave because many of them couldn’t morph back to human form or use camo to hide themselves. Tonbo spoke warmly of his friends, but for some reason, I had a healthy fear of the ancients. It was something Mack had said about them, though I couldn’t remember what it had been.
“Why indeed?” Blake repeated, almost to himself. “You think his army has formed already? Maybe he’s sending the bugs in after the ancients?”
Tonbo flinched. “I sure hope not.”
“How many are gone?” Blake asked.
“Four so far. From different family clusters,” Tonbo answered, rubbing his chin. “All of them taken while at the beach. No one has seen anything… but with camo, that isn’t too surprising. What’s more alarming is the lack of scents left behind.”
“Do you think Kate’s disappearance is related to theirs?” I asked, hoping her being gone really had nothing to do with Sammy.
“Perhaps,” Tonbo said. “It has me thinking if Kory is behind all of this, he’s got someone on the inside helping him out.” Tonbo glanced at his doors leading out of his office. “Trust no one, Blake and Samantha.”
I suppressed the ironic laughter I felt within. Trust no one is my life’s mantra. Although, I thought, glancing at Blake, I do trust Blake. Even with his annoying habit of withholding information from me. And Tonbo didn’t send my creep vibes into overdrive. The only other person I was still struggling to quantify my feelings over was Mack. But I refuse to believe he’s the inside guy.
Blake met my gaze. “Sam, I think it’s time we go see Mack.”
Tonbo’s lips twitched into a frown. “Ahh, my poor Mack. I can’t make heads or tails to what happened between you and him, Samantha.”
“That makes two of us, Tonbo,” I answered as Blake stepped closer, taking my hand in his. “But I think it’s time I talk to him again. I don’t like the idea of him sitting in some holding cell.” Tonbo threw his arms up. “Nor do I. He was granted full pardon for his actions. There’s no lock on his room. He’s free to go whenever he chooses.”
“Does he ever leave?” Blake asked, his tone a bit too hard for my liking. I glanced over, wanting to know what he was thinking, but Tonbo sighed.
“No. That boy will not forgive himself.” Tonbo scratched the back of his head. “I hate to admit it, but the last few days with your brother have kept me from seeing Mack. I’m glad you’re going to see him. And will you be visiting Jaxon after?”
“No, not today,” Blake answered before I could get a word out. I knew I shouldn’t be disappointed, but I was. It’s probably a really bad idea, anyway.