She nodded and she leaned forward. He gladly wrapped his arms around her, just holding her a moment and giving her what comfort he could.
“Congratulations,” Malin said. “I hadn’t heard your mate was pregnant. You should probably take her to the clinic when we get to the station. The stress can’t be good for her or the baby. Maybe the doctor on duty can give her something.”
Brexton nodded.
Mrs. Connors rushed back into the room with a tote bag over her arm. It bulged and Brexton wondered what she’d packed, but if she thought the children would need whatever she’d grabbed, then he didn’t much care what the bag contained. He lifted Blossom into his arms and walked out to his SUV. He buckled her into the front passenger seat, then climbed into the driver’s side while Ryx and Malin took the backseat.
Pryntar followed behind him in a large truck with the other two warriors, and Mrs. Connors was behind the truck in her tiny car. They cleared the gate and drove to the Terran station, with Brexton on high alert. At some point, Pryntar pulled behind Mrs. Connors so that the housekeeper was between their cars, and probably safer if someone was watching and tried to run them off the road. He didn’t know how far the crazy fan or Moretti would go.
The Terran station was lit up despite the late hour and when they stepped inside, Mrs. Connors placed a hand on his arm.
“If you’ll carry to her to the clinic, I’ll stay with her while you and the others find the children. I swear I won’t leave her side, and we’ll go straight to security when we’re finished.”
Brexton felt torn, but agreed.
“I’ll ask one of the guards on duty to head to the clinic and keep an eye on them,” Pryntar said.
Brexton carried Blossom to the clinic, then left her in the capable hands of Mrs. Connors and Yvis. As he was heading toward Zlerak’s office, he saw two guards walk toward the clinic, and he hoped at least one of them was on their way to protect his mate. He needed to find RaeLynn and Drew, but he hated not being by Blossom’s side.
Zlerak’s office wasn’t big enough for everyone so they went to one of the conference rooms. The head of security had pulled up a map on his laptop that showed two blinking red dots rapidly heading up the coast toward northern California. He plugged the device into a cord that seemed to be attached to the table, and the image transferred to the wall.
“Where the hell are they going?” Brexton asked. “I thought Moretti was trying to sell them to someone in Mexico.”
“He is, as far as we know,” Zlerak said.
“Then why is heading in the wrong direction?” Pryntar asked.
“Can I access the footage from your security system remotely?” Zlerak asked Brexton. “Do you have cameras in places other than your front door and the gate?”
“There are several around the outside of the house, and some along the perimeter of the property,” Brexton said. “After a fan climbed my fence and tried to break into my house, naked, my manager suggested I up my security. I usually set an alarm inside when I go to bed, but I either forgot or they bypassed it somehow.”
“Speaking of that, legal said they’ll have a new manager for you next week,” Zlerak said. “Until then, the legal team at the station will handle any press releases or damage control for you. Including this mess with the kids. They’re debating on releasing the children’s pictures and asking people to watch for them, or keeping quiet so we don’t alert whoever has them that we’re aware they’re missing.”
“You think they were hoping no one would notice until morning?” Malin asked.
“Probably,” Zlerak said. “It was late and they likely assumed everyone was in bed for the night. Since you said they turned off the monitors, it’s possible they thought they’d bought themselves at least a few hours.”
“The children were only alone for an hour, maybe an hour and a half,” Brexton said. “They don’t have too much of a head start.”
As much as he’d loved having that hour with Blossom, now he felt guilty that he’d been pleasuring his mate when their children were taken. He could only imagine how Blossom must feel. Neither of them had heard a thing, and since they hadn’t been watching the monitors, it was hard to say how long the units in the kids’ rooms had been shut off. He’d have to see if they made a unit that gave some sort of warning when the main part was turned off. If an alarm had sounded, or the damn things had even beeped, then they could have checked on the children immediately.
“I’ve alerted the Terran station in San Francisco, and they’re going to keep an eye out since it seems the kids are headed in that direction. In addition, they were sending three guards to scout along the highway, but I need to see if we can figure out what vehicle the children are traveling in. That’s why I want access to your security footage. I’m hoping we can at least get a description of the car if not a plate number,” Zlerak said. “If we can get a video of the man or woman actually leaving with the children, that would be even better.”
Brexton pulled up the site he used to view his security footage and logged in, then let Zlerak take over. As much as he wanted to rush after the kids, he knew they needed a plan. And the more information they had beforehand, the better their chances of bringing RaeLynn and Drew home. Everyone watched the video footage projected on the wall, and when he saw a tendril of red hair hanging down the back of a female dressed all in black, he knew it was the fan who had tried to kill him and his mate. But she wasn’t alone. A male, also dressed all in black, had accompanied her.
What worried him was how still the kids were. Both hung limply, and there was no way they had slept that soundly. He didn’t remember seeing anything out of the ordinary in their bedroom, but had he missed something? An empty syringe or maybe a cloth with some sort of chemical agent that would knock them out? Neither of the children stirred as they were carried out of the house. The kidnappers stepped out of range, but popped up again further down the fence line and he saw where they’d managed to get onto his property.
A car was waiting for them. Something dark with four doors, but he couldn’t see the make or model. The headlights were rounded though, and the body of the vehicle didn’t look like the sleeker style of a newer car. Moonlight reflected off a silver grill on the front of the car, and he could see something sticking up from the hood.
“An old Mercedes,” Blossom said as she came into the room, seeming calmer than before.
Brexton went to her, pulling her in close. “Are you feeling all right? What did Yvis say?”
“He said she needed to remain calm and trust that you would get the children back,” Mrs. Connors said. “And he gave her something to mellow her a little. Said it wouldn’t harm the baby.”
“You recognize the car?” Ryx asked.
“Someone used to come see Mike every now and then, and they had an old Mercedes. It was dark like that, and had the little emblem that stood up at the front of the hood. He took them, didn’t he?” she asked.
