Brayden's face was a mix of incredulity and disappointment when I told him I had to leave.
"But you just... I mean..." It was a rare moment of speechlessness for him.
"I'm sorry," I said earnestly. "Especially after being late and ruining the museum. But it's a family emergency."
"Your family has an awful lot of emergencies."
You have no idea, I thought. Instead of saying that, I simply apologized again. "I really am sorry. I..." I nearly said I'd make it up to him, but that was what I'd said when I left the Halloween dance early. Tonight was supposed to have been the makeup date. "I'm just sorry." ADRIAN'S PLACE WAS CLOSE ENOUGH that I could've reasonably walked, but Brayden insisted on driving me, since dusk was falling. I had no problem accepting.
"Whoa," said Brayden, when we pulled up to the building. "Nice Mustang."
"Yeah. It's a 1967 C-code," I said automatically. "Great engine. My brother's. He's moved it again! I hope he wasn't out driving anywhere he wasn't supposed to - whoa. What's that?" Brayden looked at where I was staring. "A Jaguar?"
"Obviously." The sleek, black car was parked just in front of Adrian's Mustang. "Where'd it come from?"
Brayden had no answer, of course. After more apologies and a promise to get in touch, I left him. There was no pretense of a kiss, not when he was so disappointed in the evening's outcome and I was too anxious about Sonya. In fact, I forgot all about Brayden as I walked up to the building. I had bigger concerns.
"It's Clarence's," said Adrian, as soon as he answered the door.
"Huh?" I asked.
"The Jag. I figured you'd want to know. He let Belikov drive it over since Sonya left with the rental." He stepped aside as I entered and shook his head in dismay. "Can you believe it was locked away in his garage the whole time I lived with him? He said he forgot he owned it!
And there I was, stuck with the bus."
I would've laughed under almost any other circumstances. But when I saw Dimitri's face, all humor left me. He was pacing the living room like a trapped animal, radiating frustration and concern.
"I'm an idiot," he muttered. It was unclear if he was talking to himself or us. "I didn't realize she was gone last night, and then I spent half the day thinking she was out gardening!"
"Did you try calling her cell?" I knew it was a foolish question, but I had to begin logically.
"Yes," Dimitri said. "No answer. Then I double-checked to make sure her flight hadn't changed, and then I talked to Mikhail to see if he knew anything. He didn't. All I succeeded at doing there was making him worry."
"He should," I murmured, sitting on the edge of the couch. Nothing good could come of this. We knew the Warriors were obsessed with Sonya, and now she'd disappeared after going out alone.
"I only just found out she came to see you two," added Dimitri. He stopped pacing and glanced between us. "Did she say anything at all about where she was going?"
"No," I said. "Things didn't exactly... end well between us." Dimitri nodded. "Adrian implied the same thing."
I looked up at Adrian and could tell he didn't want to get into it any more than I did. "We had an argument," he admitted. "She was trying to push Sydney into some experiments, and Sydney refused. I jumped in when Sonya kept pushing, and finally she just took off. Never said anything about where she was going."
Dimitri's face grew darker. "So, anything could've happened. She could've been taken right outside on the street. Or she could have gone somewhere and been abducted there." Or she could be dead. Dimitri was speaking in terms of her still being alive, but I wasn't so sure. The hunters who had jumped us in the alley had seemed pretty intent on killing her then and there. If she hadn't come home last night, the odds seemed good they'd found her then.
Twenty-four hours was an awfully long time to keep a "creature of darkness" alive. Studying Dimitri's face again, I knew he was well aware of all of this. He was simply operating on the hope that we had a chance to do something, that we weren't powerless.
Resolved, Dimitri strode for the door. "I have to go talk to the police."
"Missing person report?" asked Adrian.
"That, and more importantly, to get a search out on that car. If she was taken..." He hesitated, driving home the fear that lurked in all of us. "Well. If she's hidden away somewhere, she's going to be very difficult to locate. But it's a lot harder to hide a car than one woman. If the police can get its description out there, we might get a clue if it turns up." He started to open the door and then glanced back at us. "You're sure you don't remember anything else she said that could help?"
Adrian and I reiterated that we didn't. Dimitri left, giving us unnecessary instructions to alert him immediately if we thought of anything or - if by a miracle - Sonya showed up. I groaned once he was gone.
"This is my fault," I said.