“What?” both men blurted.
Aidan waved off their alarm. “I kept my hand on his shoulder, healing him in real time, so he wasn’t harmed. I’d hoped being able to stand in sunlight again would quiet the voices and give him a reprieve.”
“Did it?” Seth asked.
“Yes. So I kept him there for an hour.”
“That must have hurt like hell,” Seth murmured.
“It did. But it was worth it. Cliff calmed. Then I called Chris to let him know we were on our way back. Chris turned off the alarm. And we returned.” He looked at Chris. “So I couldn’t have been at the day care. I was with Cliff.”
Chris scowled. “How do we know you didn’t drop Cliff off somewhere, abduct Veronica, then return to him?”
“Ask Cliff. He’ll confirm I was with him the whole time.”
Chris shook his head. “You could’ve mind-warped Cliff the way you did my guards here at the network, made him think you were with him the whole time, then left him in the shade somewhere and sought Veronica out.”
Aidan ground his teeth and turned to Seth. “You can read Cliff’s mind and confirm I’m not lying.”
Seth sighed. “Actually, that’s not precisely true.”
Aidan frowned. “What do you mean? Cliff’s thoughts will confirm I was with him the whole time. You’d see the telltale signs if I had used mind control instead.”
Chris’s face darkened with anger. “Because mind control causes brain damage.”
“Yes, damn it,” Aidan ground out. “But when I used mind control on the guards here at the network, I only erased a minute or two from their memories. The damage done was so minute that it didn’t scar them. But if I had done what you claim I did, I would’ve had to erase half an hour or more from Cliff’s memory, which would’ve caused more damage. Damage that Seth wouldn’t miss if he read Cliff’s mind. So Seth can confirm I wasn’t at that day care center.”
“No, I can’t,” Seth corrected.
Aidan stared at him. “What do you mean? Sure you can. Just read Cliff’s mind and you’ll find his memory intact and undamaged and you’ll know I was with him while this video was recorded.”
Seth sighed. “The brain damage the virus is causing in Cliff has begun to progress more quickly. Cliff’s brain is so riddled with scar tissue now that I wouldn’t be able to discern with certainty what damage was caused by the virus and what damage might have been caused by you if ”—he held up a hand when Aidan started to interrupt him—“you did use mind control on him and erased the memory of it.”
In other words, Aidan was screwed. He shook his head. “I didn’t do this. I don’t know how to convince you of that. I shouldn’t have to convince you of it. But I did not do this.” He pointed to the laptop. “I don’t know who that man is, but it’s not me.”
Studying him thoughtfully, Seth drew his cell phone out and dialed a number.
“Hello?” a male voice answered. Ethan, the American immortal who had only been transformed a hundred years ago.
“Ethan, it’s Seth. Have you got a moment?”
“Sure.”
“Good. I need to borrow you for a few. Am I clear to teleport there?”
“Give us a minute first.”
“Okay.” Seth pocketed his phone. His lips curled up in a somewhat sheepish smile. “I teleported over once and caught him and Heather naked, so I always ask first now.”
Under other circumstances, Aidan would’ve laughed.
A minute later, Seth vanished.
Quiet fell, thick with tension.
Aidan met Chris’s hostile gaze. “In the two years I’ve been here in North Carolina, I’ve come to believe that you’re as exceptional a leader in the mortal world as Seth is in ours. Don’t let past grudges fuck that up and steer you in the wrong direction.”
“I don’t hold grudges. I learn from past mistakes.”
“I freely admitted that I used mind control on the guards two years ago. Why would I lie about this?”
Chris shrugged. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
“You’re making a mistake, Chris.”
“Time will tell.”
“Waste too much of it on me and Veronica will pay the price.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No. I’m worried about her. And I know we’ll find her more quickly if you stop pissing away your time trying to persecute me and instead focus all your resources on trying to find the arsehole,” Aidan ground out, pointing at the screen, “who took her.”
Seth reappeared, his hand on Ethan’s shoulder.
Aidan liked the young American immortal. Ethan had a friendly, easygoing nature and lacked the darkness that wove its way into older immortals who had seen too much of life. Aidan even felt protective toward the younger man since Aidan had transformed Ethan’s wife for him.
Smiling, Ethan nodded a hello to Aidan and Chris. His smile died, however, as the tension in the room reached him.
Though Ethan was six foot four, he still had to look up at Seth, who towered over most of them at six foot eight. “What’s up?” he asked.
Seth motioned to the laptop. “I’d like you to watch this video.”
“Okay.” Ethan leaned forward. Bracing his hands on the table, he stared at the screen as Chris set the video in motion.
After a moment, Ethan’s eyes slid to Aidan. “Is that you?”
Aidan forced a tight smile. “That’s the question of the day.” And if anyone in this room could answer it without scouring Aidan’s thoughts, Ethan could.
Frowning, Ethan again focused on the laptop.
Though Ethan often bemoaned the fact that he had been born with a “boring” gift, in moments like this his gift could be crucial. Ethan had what he often described as a photographic memory raised to the nth power. He remembered every second of every day he had lived. Everything he had seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched. And he remembered it all with crystal clarity.
Heather had even once told Aidan that Ethan remembered the day he had been born.
The video ended.
Ethan straightened.
Seth motioned to the video. “Is that Aidan?”
The American’s brow furrowed. “I’m not sure. It’s harder to tell in profile. Do you have any images of him head-on?”
Chris shook his head. “No. This is it.”
Ethan watched the video again. “It looks like Aidan, but something’s off.”
“What is?” Seth asked.
Ethan motioned to the frozen image of the man speaking with Veronica. “His hair is about a quarter of an inch too long.”
“Aidan could’ve gotten a haircut since then,” Chris said.
“I haven’t,” Aidan told Seth.
“And his smile isn’t quite right,” Ethan continued. “When Aidan smiles, his eyes crinkle a little more in the corners. I wish I could see this guy from the front, because Aidan’s smile is also a little crooked.”
Aidan eyed him with surprise. “It is?”
“Yeah, one side goes up a tiny bit more than the other, but the difference is so minute that I doubt anyone else would notice.”
“Anything else?” Seth asked.
“Well, this guy’s boots are a size larger than Aidan’s and less scuffed.”
“He could’ve bought new ones,” Chris pointed out.