"You need to turn your phone over to Ryker in research and development. He and the other techs will can contact the caller, track where the message came from, and give us her location. Before you worry, let us help you," AJ said.
"What am I supposed to do while Ryker is examining my phone? I have to go to her. This isn't a message Carmen would send me. It has to be Dalton. Obviously, he is manipulating her."
"You'll risk becoming his hostage too. How do you know this isn't an attempt to get you alone with him?"
"Just give me back my phone!" I said and snatched it out of his hand. "I'll just take an Uber home and get the cops involved."
"A hostage situation involving deranged entities is outside of the federal and local government's jurisdiction. Trust me, the cops can't help you. They haven't been able to help the other missing individuals, you probably had no idea about, either."
"I don't care about the others. I'm only worried about Carmen."
"True, but do you know where she is being kept? You were sent a vague message with no clues. That's an obvious set-up. You don't even know where to begin looking."
Ugh. He's right.
"We'll think this through together," he said in a non-demeaning way almost soothing. He took my shaky hand and squeezed. His calm energy sapped my anxiety and returned my common sense.
"Where do we begin?"
"We need a plan. We don't know for sure if the Mindstalkers have your friend or not. But I recommend we check her normal hangouts, residential, place of business, and so on, just to make sure this isn't a farce. In the meantime, we'll have Ryker's team do their thing with the messages, and make sure Kaleb is aware of the situation. We'll find the truth and investigate this thoroughly."
"Okay," I said.
"You know where she lives?" he said.
"Yes, but it's a gated community with security. We shouldn't have an issue though, I've been to the property once before when I helped her move the last of her stuff in."
"We'll figure things out when we get there," he said. "It's going to be fine, Solstice."
Fever blanketed my skin like magma. Beads of sweat collected under my brows and coated my neck.
"I-I feel weird again," I admitted as the fever returned.
I held his gaze as something within me started to take over.
"You need to release your pent up energy. The buildup of energy can cause major damage to your central nervous system, and your inner-Mindstalker will take over in order to return you to homeostasis. The first thing it targets is your metabolism. Your inner-Mindstalker triggers the need to gorge and binge. Your chances of becoming corrupted increased," he said.
"I've never felt like this ever," I said.
AJ embraced me. His hand smoothing around my shoulders. I pressed my forehead against his shoulder. I leaned against him for support. My arms wrapped under his arms and my hands brushed against the ripples of muscles that corded his back along his spine. Just below the surface of his skin, around his lower back something snaked across my hand.
He pulled out of our embrace, and clutched my hands in his, holding it as far from his body as possible.
"Sols," he said. "Don't make me give in."
I'm not sure why I just pawed AJ or why he allowed me to. Part of me developed interest in allowing it to happen again. But the one with restraint was AJ. I didn't expect that. If he needed to feed, why hold back from taking what he wanted?
Sharp pain sliced through the base of my skull just under my hairline. The ache felt like an ice-cold dagger being plunged and dragged down to the sink of my back.
My hands went numb. My knees buckled. Both my phone and purse tumbled to the ground. The side of my head throbbed as pain raged through my senses, simultaneously.
I cursed inwardly. I hated that AJ saw me like this. I gritted my teeth. A groan escaped my lips, and I held my head in place to keep it from dislodging from my body and taking off like a rocket.
"Sols, do you trust me?" AJ said, his voice growing deeper. He asked the question while drawing me back to my feet and leaning me against his chest. He smoothed my damp bangs from in front of my eyes. I stared into unfamiliar sapphire flames which replaced the gold of his irises.
"Trust you to do what?" I muttered against his chest.
"I can help you. Only if you trust me. Will you do that for me?" he said.
"I don't have much choice, do I?"
He stepped back, I braced myself against the bumpy roots of an old oak tree with a wide trunk. The long branches were steady and held enough leaves to block out most sunlight. AJ drew his shirt off. The fabric landed on the ground at my feet. He drew me from the tree trunk and led me deeper into the shadows. We hid in secret.
Blue ink encapsulated the white of his eyes, leaving no sign of humanity within them. AJ's hands grasped my hips and smoothed his hands expertly along my lower back. His fingers brushed against the outline of my bra straps and he clasped the back of my neck. I didn't realize until the last possible second that I'd been holding my breath. My imagination ran wild thanks to his touch.
My hands smoothed along his bare chest. Static leapt from my fingertips to the ridges carved by tense muscles flexing beneath the surface of his skin. He turned me around, pressing my back against his chest. His hand slipped from my nape and he clasped my mouth.
"I needed to determine the best point of entry," he said. "But when you feel pain, I want you to bite down and do as I say. Understand?"
"Yes."
The initial explosion of piercing white-hot heat came sudden and singed my nape as the heat traveled down the length of my spine. More sharp pinches along my spine followed, forming a highway of molten heat running down my spinal column.
I bit down on AJ's hand hard to mute my screams. He grunted but held me close and kept his hand in place. Heat engulfed every single cell in my body until relief finally came.
I reopened my eyes, and my blurred vision cleared up. It shouldn't be anywhere near sundown. However, the forest had a deep indigo tint to it as if the sun started setting mid-day and welcomed me with night. That wasn't the case at all.
"Your eyes," I said looking into his face. "They're indigo."
"Our eye color tends to match the eye color of the Queen that claims our energy. It also expresses the changes in our mood. But you were observantly watching my eyes. And I've done the same. It's the one tell-tale sign that an entity is present within a host."
AJ led us to a spot to sit. His chest cradled my back as I sat between his outstretched knees. His cool energy flowed through me, filled me from head to toe, and circulated feverish energy out of me.
The pain faded leaving only lingering satisfaction. A tight coiling sensation between my shoulder blades made me shift forward. My breathing caught and one of AJ's syphons expertly dove behind his back without me noticing. The ache dissipated and I started to heal the final of four openings in strategic spots along my back.
AJ wrapped his bloodied hand in his t-shirt. I undid the wrapped shirt to see the damage. He didn't stop me. I dropped his shirt onto my lap, and I examined his hand. Healed for the most part, slightly red and covered in faint teeth-shaped bruises.
He laced his fingers through mine, drawing me back against his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head.
AJ's syphon disengaged from between my shoulders, and the sharp tightness in my spine dissipated. I gazed back into his eyes, nervously. Would his humanity return soon?
Or was this normal for him?
"AJ?" I whispered.
He lips brushed against my forehead. My senses were heightened, I breathed in deeply, the scent of salt, cinnamon, and man overwhelmed me. I felt dizzy with delight. And then he stunned me by grazing my shoulder with his teeth. He kissed my shoulder lightly and pulled away slowly.
"You taste simply exquisite, my Queen," he said in a tantalizing growl.