Unlike the twins, Keagan had his own apartment and had been a resident of Pittsburgh for some time before getting a job as a dancer at the Ruby Light. According to records, he’d danced at several other clubs in town and also worked as a bartender. He was paired with Carlo when he was hired at the Ruby Light, and they danced as partners. The search team had followed every lead, every connection, and spoke with everyone, even casually acquainted with the man but still came up empty.
Surveillance remained in place around the apartment, but so far, Keagan had not returned. He was also not detected within the area surrounding his apartment building. They had installed cameras covering a three-block area, hoping that he would surface at some point, but he did not, and hope had faded.
His things were still in his apartment just as he’d left them that last day before he went missing. No one had removed anything, and the place was left as it was apart from searching for clues as to his whereabouts. The building was near downtown in a good neighborhood. His apartment was on the third floor facing the street. Sergio and Kash remained in the hallway while Thomas went inside alone to shift and search for clues.
“When we’re finished here, let’s drop Thomas back at the Center. Then come back and start at the Ruby Light and walk the main street, to begin with, and see where that takes us.” Kash said, but there was little enthusiasm in his tone. He’d hoped for more or at least something, but it looked as if they weren’t going to do any better than the search team.
“I’ll need to get his scent,” Sergio stated.
“The apartment is filled with his scent. He used the same mixture to cloak his scent that Kyler and Gabe had used, but it has dissipated, and his natural scent is throughout the apartment. You’ll get a good read on him once you step inside and take a deep breath.” Kash stated as he leaned his back against the wall and waited.
Sergio leaned against the opposite wall and crossed his arms over his chest as they both waited for Thomas to finish. When he opened the door and stepped out into the hallway, both he and Kash straightened and approached.
“Has he been back here?” Kash asked.
Thomas shook his head. “No, he hasn’t been back here. Fresh scent has not been laid down in a long time.”
“It was worth a try,” Sergio told a disheartened Kash as he followed him into the apartment.
“I just thought maybe the search team had missed something, rather I had hoped they had missed something,” Kash said as he breathed a heavy sigh and walked over and stared out the living room window, which looked out over the main street.
Sergio walked further into the main entrance, a small hallway that opened into a kitchen area to the right and a living room dining area forward and to the left. He saw Kash by the window and Thomas leaning on the breakfast bar, but nothing really registered. His mind began to pick apart every square inch of the room. His vampire was surging to the forefront of his mind in search of something striking and urgent. This room was assaulting him.
He felt his heart rate begin to race, and his eyes bleed out, and laser-focused on everything which was staggering. Sergio wasn’t sure what was happening, but it was important, and he took each step with a watchful concentration. Something important was happening, and he needed to be prepared for whatever it was.
“What’s wrong with you?” He heard Kash ask as he moved towards him and reached out a hand to steady Sergio on his feet. He hadn’t been aware that he was stumbling, but apparently, he was. Kash helped him to one of the cushioned chairs, and he sat down.
The moment he sat in the chair, it seemed to envelop him with an aroma so sweet and pure. It was so intoxicating and confusing he shook his head and closed his eyes, trying to clear his mind. “What is that smell?” He strained to speak amid the assault on his senses.
“Keagan,” Thomas answered as he approached Sergio. “That chair is saturated in his smell. He must have sat there often, probably his favorite chair.” Sergio could feel their eyes upon him, questioning and trying to understand what was plaguing him.
He stopped fighting the sensations rushing through him and just sat straight and took a deep breath drawing in the essence and holding it. The scent permeated his mind, opening him to the presence that was all around him. It was the smell of warm, sweetgrass. His eyes snapped open, and panic flooded his mind. “This is Keagan?” Both Kash and Thomas nodded as they stood over him and watched.
‘Keagan,’ he repeated the name silently several times, and it filled him with a shocking sadness. “Keagan Hahn is my beloved. He is mine.” Sergio barely got the words out between teeth that had clenched on the injustice of it all. He dropped his eyes to his hands that were clenched in his thighs and expelled a long and pain-filled breath leaving him to feel like an empty shell angry and overcome with despair.
Kash was next to him in an instant, grabbing him by the shoulders and demanding his attention. “Focus, Sergio.” He said and squatted down in front of him. “Control yourself, all is not lost.” That
