Dante followed as she hurried to catch up with her brother. “Kyle—”
“Not now, Cassidy,” he said.
“Kyle.”
She grabbed his wrist and pulled him to a stop. Turmoil churned in his eyes when he turned to face her. Her hand tightened on his wrist.
“You’re going to get through this,” she said.
A vein throbbed in his temple as his jaw locked. “I don’t even know her fucking name.”
She didn’t know how to respond, and before she could think of something, he squeezed her hand and removed it from his wrist. Tears burned her eyes as she watched him walk through the crowd.
“What is going on?” Dante asked her.
Cassidy blinked away her tears and started walking again before they lost Kyle amid the sea of people and vamps. “I’ll explain later.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
“Yes,” Cassidy said with a conviction she didn’t feel.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The bar came into view as they caught up with Kyle. At the far end of it, Cassidy spotted the man she recognized from the boy in Lindsay’s pictures. Preston rested his elbow on the bar as he leaned against it. His resemblance to Julie was evident in the shape of his face, brown hair, and blue eyes.
Dante led the way to where Preston stood surrounded by three girls. The girls hung on his every word as they laughed loudly. Cassidy and Kyle hung back a little when he stepped closer to the quartet.
“Preston Parks?” he asked.
Preston’s eyes flicked toward him before returning to the girls. When he touched the back of one girl’s hand, she giggled. These three humans were quite enamored with the vamp.
“Who wants to know?” Preston asked without looking at Dante again.
“My name is Dan Vares.”
Preston brushed some of the blonde’s hair over her shoulder before touching her cheek. “And?”
Dante reminded himself to keep control of his temper in this place. The last thing he needed was a battle with Zan and Bull. However, he understood why Zan called this pretentious prick a pretty boy, and he itched to make him a whole lot less pretty.
“I’m looking for Julie Abbott,” Dante said.
Preston’s smug attitude vanished, and his head swiveled toward Dante. He jerked his hand from the blonde, stood away from the bar, and nudged the women aside as he stepped toward Dante. The women whined in response, but he didn’t acknowledge them.
“Have you talked to her?” he demanded.
Dante kept his confusion hidden as Preston looked at him like he was a puppy and Dante had the treat. “No. Have you?”
“No.”
“Do you know where she is?” Dante asked.
Preston’s shoulders hunched forward, and he ran a hand through his hair. “I haven’t seen her in two weeks,” he muttered.
He looked so upset by this that Dante didn’t know if he should comfort him or hand him an Oscar for putting on such an outstanding performance. Move aside, Tom Hanks and Jack Nicholson.
Then Preston’s face paled, and he stepped closer. “Why are you looking for her? Is she missing?”
“Her mother hasn’t seen her in two weeks either, and she’d like to find her.”
“Oh no,” Preston breathed. “That can’t be. I… I didn’t know. I would have…”
“Would have what?” Dante asked when Preston’s voice trailed away.
“I would have been looking for her. I have to find her.”
Dante was watching his number one suspect go down the drain; no one was this good of an actor. But if Preston didn’t have something to do with Julie’s disappearance, then who did? And where was she?
“Can we talk somewhere a little more private?” Dante asked.
“Yes, of course. Let’s get out of here.”
Dante stayed close to Preston’s side as he led the way back through the crowd and toward the door. He didn’t think Preston was acting, but he wasn’t taking any chances Preston might try to cut and run. Glancing over his shoulder, he made sure Cassidy and Kyle remained close to them.
Zan remained standing by the door. When he saw them, he quirked an eyebrow before opening the door. Preston didn’t say anything as he left, but Dante nodded to Zan.
“Thanks for the help,” he said.
“I hope you find her,” Zan said and closed the door behind them.
The dim light illuminated the small landing as the sounds of the party faded away again. As they circled Preston, fear flashed across his features and he glanced back at the door.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” Dante assured him as he edged a little in front of Cassidy. Her displeasure over this move radiated through their bond, but he ignored it. He didn’t know or trust Preston, and he would keep her safe.
Preston looked dubious, but he focused on Dante again. “You really don’t know where Julie is?”
“No,” Dante answered as he pulled out his pad and pen. “We were hoping you did. So, the last time you saw her was two weeks ago?”
“Yes.”
“Did anything different happen then?”
Preston ran his hand through his hair and tugged at the ends of it. “No. She came over to my place, and we hung out for a few hours.”
“Then what happened?”
“She said she was going home and left.”
“Did she go to your place often?”
“A couple of times a week. Sometimes, we’d go out, but we also liked to stay in and watch a movie or bullshit.”
“Does she know you’re a vampire?”
“Yes. I was turned after we started hanging out. Before I turned, we’d go to these parties and the human vamp clubs, but we mostly went to those for laughs. I’m the one who got her interested in vampires. It was a lot of fun and a distraction from things.”
“What things?” Dante asked.
“Just life. It was fun to lose ourselves in a land of what we believed was a fantasy. And then, one day, I met a vampire.”
“And who was that?”
“Jasmine.”
Dante showed no reaction to this familiar name. “And where
