“We can’t be certain,” Brexton said. “There were two of them. A male and a female. The female has red hair and I think may be the fan who tried to kill us.”
Blossom leaned heavily on him and he cast a worried look over her head at Mrs. Connors. The older woman gave him a wan smile and just shook her head. He didn’t quite know what that meant. Should they not discuss the matter in front of Blossom? Was there something Yvis had said that Mrs. Connors hadn’t told him? If he lost Blossom, he didn’t think he’d want to keep living. He’d feel like part of him had died with her.
“There!” Malin said. “What’s that?”
Zlerak blew up the image and they could make out the license plate on the car. He pulled up a different site and entered the plate number. A name, address, as well as the make and model of the car came up.
“Black 1983 Mercedes Benz 300SD,” Zlerak said. “They used a diesel as the getaway car? I drove one of those once. Not my ideal choice if I need to get somewhere fast.”
“John Buckner,” Ryx said, reading off the owner’s name. “Someone should see if he’s at the address listed. Maybe he knows something.”
“I’ll get this information to every available Zelthranite between here and the Canadian border,” Zlerak said. “I could call in the state authorities, but… if the children aren’t listed as legally being Brexton’s kids, then the human police would have jurisdiction.”
“Check with Records,” Malin said. “If paperwork was put through, they would know about it.”
Zlerak pulled a phone from his pocket and made a call. Brexton only half paid attention as he focused on Blossom. Her eyes were a little glassy and she seemed dazed. He lifted her into his arms and sat in one of the chairs, settling her in his lap. She leaned against him but didn’t seem to have much control over her body. What the hell had Yvis given her?
As if his thoughts had conjured the man, Yvis stormed into the room, his jaw tight as he surveyed the lot of them.
“I told her she needed to lie down. Not go running off after you,” he said.
“I’ll carry her back to the clinic,” Brexton said. “When I have the kids, I’ll come back for her.”
“I can take her. I’ll remain with her, and there are two guards there too. Assuming I don’t remove their heads for being too incompetent. How the hell she got past them I don’t know.”
“I’ll stay with her too,” Mrs. Connors said. “She needed to see you, otherwise, I’d have found a way to keep her at the clinic. Yvis said her blood pressure was too high from the stress. I worried that trying to confine her would make things worse or I wouldn’t have condoned her seeking you out.”
“You said she was fine,” Brexton said.
Mrs. Connors shrugged. “No sense worrying you. She’ll be fine with the good doctor watching over her. Go find those babies.”
Brexton kissed his mate’s forehead, then Yvis took her.
Zlerak gave him a chilling grin when Blossom, Mrs. Connors, and Yvis had left the room. “Congratulations, Daddy. You’re officially the father of RaeLynn and Drew. Which means I can call in the human authorities and when that car is stopped, the people inside will face our justice system and not the human courts.”
“Do it. Then let’s head out. If they’re heading north, then so will we,” Brexton said.
Zlerak made the call while Ryx arranged for enough large SUVs to carry the six of them plus two children. Brexton vowed that whoever had taken his kids would pay, possibly with their lives. He didn’t care if one of them was a female. She’d tried to harm him, his mate, and now his children. It was apparent she wasn’t a good human, and her death wouldn’t bother him.
The large black Hummers that were parked at the curb had emblems on the back and sides that marked the vehicle as belonging to the Terran government, and above human laws. It meant they could drive as fast as they needed to without worrying about being stopped. As they sped down the highway, Brexton kept an eye on the blinking dots on Zlerak’s computer. It took them nearly an hour before they started closing in, and then suddenly, the dots stopped moving.
“Where are they?” Ryx asked from the backseat.
“They’re stopped on the side of the road,” Brexton said. “There’s not a town right there, just open highway.”
Zlerak’s phone went off and the head of security answered. When he finished the call, he smiled at Brexton.
“We have them.”
“How?” Brexton asked.
“Highway patrol pulled them over about fifteen miles up the road. They’re going to detain them until we arrive. The children seem to be unharmed, but neither is awake.”
“I’ll make sure Yvis is ready for them,” Marwick said. “They’ll need medical attention to at least find out what they were given and when it will wear off.”
Each mile seemed to pass slowly. When Brexton saw the flashing lights of the patrol car, his chest tightened. The man and woman who had taken his kids were kneeling with their hands behind their heads. As much as Brexton wanted to tear them to pieces, he ran past them and looked in the backseat of the black car. Drew was stretched across the seat and RaeLynn was curled against him. They hadn’t even put the children in car seats!
Brexton’s hands shook as he gathered his children close to his chest and carried them to the Hummer. He paused and looked into the backseat and realized he didn’t have a way to take them home safely. As if reading his mind, Marwick smiled and reached over the backseat and pulled two car seats out.