Damon followed the young girl who had been leaving the Torrent house. He knew her to be Carey Torrent from what the housekeeper had informed him. He had missed her by a few moments.

The girl zipped her purple VW convertible bug down the street—way over the speed limit. Loud dance music blared from her radio. She bopped her blonde head to the tunes. It was a few miles before she stopped at the local parish. She parked next to Landley's car and ran into a side door. Interesting, Damon thought.

He waited for a moment. Elena hadn't called yet, and he didn't like sitting around. He headed for the same entrance Carey had used when a woman rushed out. She tugged a shawl around her shoulders, but the scent drifting from her wasn't one that could be hidden. Sex.

She made eye contact with him before turning away. Shame and excitement floated from the woman. He watched her run to her minivan before going into the building. A long, quiet hallway broke off into two sections, neither looking especially attention-grabbing. The brown wallpaper darkened the space, seeming to close it off around a person.

He took the right side, following the scent where the woman had come from. An office door stopped him short. Jonathan Landley, Pastor. Things just got better and better. He knocked on the door. There was a quick shuffle before someone opened it.

"Yes?" said a man in his mid-to-late forties. The pastor. He gave Damon the once-over, his hand moving to anxiously rub over the back of his neck.

"Would you happen to be Mr Landley?" Damon already knew he was the man. He also knew he had been the one having sex with the woman who had rushed out of the building.

"Yes, what can I do for you?" The man's smile didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm looking for Roxy Santos. She has gone missing."

"Really? That is sad news. Her mother is a very active parishioner," he said. Though he tried to sound sympathetic, Damon knew the man didn't give a damn.

"Is that your wife I just ran into in the parking lot?" he asked casually.

"Who? Rebecca? No no. She is a parish member. One of my best."

Yeah, he would bet. His best affairs. The scent of sex overpowered the preacher's office. "Sorry, I was told to speak to Carey Torrent, but I seem to have lost her when she came into the building."

The pastor made a show of glancing down at his watch. "Well it is time for our young adult hour down at the centre, so she is probably there with my boy, Josh."

"Right. Would you happen to know anything on the whereabouts of Miss Santos?"

The preacher shook his head. "Sorry. She wasn't an active member. She hardly ever came by here. She did clean up at my home and hung out with my son. My wife and son could be of more help. I'm a busy man." He sighed and glanced up at Damon. "Trying to save these souls."

Damon had deep respect for those who took their religion seriously, but this man was a joke. He clearly used his position to get away with having affairs with parishioners. "Right."

"If you will excuse me, Mr…?"

"Salvatore, Damon Salvatore, FBI," he smiled coldly, watching the preacher's already pale features turn ashy. "I will go search for Miss Torrent."

Damon searched through the preacher's mind to see if he had anything on Roxy. All he found was that he was having an affair with the local mechanic's wife. He also randomly hired prostitutes to visit him. Nothing on Roxy.

Although he was tempted, he didn't mess with the preacher's mind. He knew better than to do that on a regular basis. He left the man's office and followed the hallway down to a centre opening. He was about to enter when he heard two voices.

"Well, where the hell is Luis?" the female said.

"I don't know," answered a male one.

He knew that voice. Josh Landley. He also knew Josh was lying.

"Luis wouldn't just disappear like this," said the girl, her voice laced with frustration. "I don't understand where he could have gone."

"Relax, Carey, I'm sure he will be around in a few days," murmured Josh. "Oh, the cops came by my house today."

"Oh?" Carey asked, but wasn't really interested.

"Roxy is missing."

Carey gasped. "Do you think she might be with Luis? He wouldn't cheat on me, would he?"

"I don't know. He was the last person she was going to see when she went missing."

Something slammed against a wall. "That bitch!"

"Calm down, Carey. If someone tells my dad you are throwing things in here. We will get in trouble."

Carey growled. "Shut up, Josh. You are a little punk. If you had any balls your girl wouldn't have been seeing my boyfriend anymore," she spat. "This is why I can't be with someone like you. You need to grow up."

"Whatever. I told her not to see Luis," he replied, his voice a mere whisper.

"And?" Carey shouted. "She clearly didn't pay your stupid ass any attention."

"I'm sure they will turn up," Josh whispered.

Damon marched into the room. They had their backs to him, but he could scent Josh's fear and Carey's anger.

"Whatever. It is his loss if he is with her. I will make his life miserable for as long as he lives in this town. Nobody turns on me. And not for that piece of trash. I'm going home." She shoved away from him and rushed out a different exit.

Josh was alone for a moment before he turned around.

Damon grinned. "Hello, kid."

"Aw hell!"

"Hmm, so let's see," Damon said, marching towards a frozen-in-place Josh. "What happened between this morning and now that I don't know about?"

"I don't know what you are talking about man," Josh sputtered.

Damon didn't want to go digging in the kid's mind. There was never any guarantee that doing that wouldn't have a negative side effect, so he tried again. "Just tell me where Luis is and how he got there. It will save you a lot of grief." He allowed the boy to see his face start to shift, and his eyes take on the full-on black of his demon side.

"Holy shit! What the hell are you?"

"Didn't we have this conversation already? You really should listen. I'm your worst nightmare, kid." His voice was low, rough, a mere growl. He lifted Josh off the ground and brought him closer. "Answer the question or I might be forced to turn your brain into mush if I try to figure it out myself."

"I—I don't know," Josh screeched, fear shooting out of his system.

"Yes, you do." Damon sighed. "I can tell. And unless you want a lesson on how, I suggest you tell me where Luis is."

"He…he hangs out at this old warehouse with Roxy and his half-sister." Josh swallowed rapidly.

"Where is this warehouse located?" Damon's power slipped. The building shook with a deep tremor that rattled the walls. Paintings and crucifixes crashed to the floor.

Josh gasped, his face green with fear. "Holy hell. Did you do that?"

"If you don't tell me where Luis is, I will do even worse," Damon promised.

"The warehouse." Josh gulped. "It is like a mile from here. Just take the main road to Rack Drive. It is the only one there."

"And Luis will be in there?"

Josh nodded repeatedly, his fear increasing along with his paleness. "Yes."

"And you don't know where Roxy is, right?"

"No." At least that was still true.

He marched out of the same door Carey Torrent had left and dialled Elena. "Where are you?"

"Walking up the main street," she huffed. "For some reason, I thought walking on this hot day was a good idea. Go figure."

"Hang on, I will be right there. I know where we can find Luis."

"Where?" Elena asked breathless, her voice laced with interest.

"A warehouse not far from here."

"What the hell is he doing at a warehouse?"

"We are about to find out, Elena."

x x x

Elena gulped down the bottle of water and fanned herself. The air conditioner in the SUV had yet to cool down the heat on her skin. Sweat dripped down her spine, sucked into the waistband of her khakis. She yanked on the front of her T-shirt, blowing air into her breasts.

"I can help you out with that, if you need," Damon offered, his gaze caressing her breasts.

Elena laughed. "What, are you taking lessons from Enzo on what not to say to women?"

Damon chuckled with a shake of his head, his eyes on the road. "Point for you."

They reached the warehouse in no time. Elena glanced around the deserted building. Her only thoughts that if Luis was in there, Roxy might be too.

Damon ran. He entered through the side of the building, forcing a door open and peering into the darkened corners. The sun had started to go down.

"Come on." He hurried down an aisle of empty shelving, his footsteps resounding on the concrete.

Elena followed closely behind Damon, nerves growing tense with each turn they took. Then he stopped, slowly making his way to a corner so dark she squinted to try to make anything out.

"What is it?" she asked, her voice trembling with concern.

"Luis," Damon answered, lowering to reach into the corner.

Metal snapped, and then he was lifting the teen boy in his arms.

"Oh my God!"

Dark-red patches of blood coated Luis's body. His torn T-shirt had gone from what she assumed was grey, to burgundy and clung to him. Bruises and cuts marred his face and arms. There was dirt and blood matting his dark hair to the side of his face. She couldn't tell if he had any active wounds or if it was from before.

"He is not bleeding anymore, but he has got severe trauma. He needs a hospital." Damon rushed out of the warehouse and put the kid in the back of the SUV, his limp body draped on the seat.

"Who do you think did this?" Elena asked, now wondering if her cousin had suffered a similar fate.

Damon growled. His fingers jammed the key into the ignition, care all but forgotten. "I don't know, but I bet Josh Landley knows."

They rushed Luis to the local hospital, weaving through the light traffic to get the boy some help. Once he was in the hands of the emergency doctors, Elena turned to Damon. "That boy was left to die."

Damon stared in her eyes and pulled her in for a hug, tight to his chest. "I know, darling. He won't die."

They waited until a doctor came out to speak to them.

"How is he doing?" Damon asked.

Elena heard the concern in his voice. The kid had been beaten severely. With anger and probably with the hope he wouldn't be found alive. Outrage over someone hurting that boy pressed at her already enraged mind. What if Roxy had been killed? Would anyone know? So far Josh Landley had given information on Luis, but that didn't mean he knew where her cousin was. If he had, Damon would have gotten the information.

Such a young girl, Elena thought. Missing. Life could be so unfair.

"He has got head trauma. We have given him pain medication. He probably won't wake up until tomorrow, though." The doctor shook his head and shoved his hands in his scrubs. "He is lucky. If you two hadn't found him, I'm not sure how badly things would have gotten. Head injuries can be deadly if left untreated."

"Thank you, doctor." Elena shook his hand and gave him her card. "Please call me if he wakes. We need to know who did this to him."

The doctor nodded, shoving her card into his pocket, his hands lingered in them. "I will have the staff watching him, and we will call you if anything changes."

They returned to the SUV with purpose. "We need to speak to the police. And to Josh Landley."

Damon's eyes glowed with his beast, the lines of his face tight. Feral. "We are going to find your cousin, Elena," he assured her. "You can count on it."

When they reached the Landley house, they noticed Josh's car was missing.

"Damn," Damon cursed.

It was useless. None of the Landleys were home. The housekeeper didn't know where they were either.

Damon drove them to the local police station. A young deputy stood behind a counter. He played with his cell phone, his gaze snapping up to attention at the sound of their footsteps.

"You are back," he said, staring at Damon with curious brown eyes.

"I am. We need to speak to the sheriff." Damon's tone demanded immediate attention to an urgent situation.

The deputy's eyes bugged out. "What is wrong?"

"We found Luis Gomez bound and beaten in an abandoned warehouse." Elena fumed. "He should do something about it." She watched the boy turn to her, anxiety filling his eyes. "Or I will."

"Ma'am, the Sheriff isn't here right now—"

"So call him!"

The deputy shook his head. "I can't. His radio is off. He doesn't take calls after six pm. He says it is his family time."

"Well then." Elena turned to Damon. "Let's go pay him a visit."

Damon grinned. "I like how you think."

"Wait," the deputy called out when they turned to the main entrance. "You can't just go to his house. He will have you arrested. He doesn't let anyone in his house."

Damon laughed, his eyes glinted of his beast. "He can try. In fact, I hope he does."

x x x

Sheriff Young and his family lived near the Landleys. Their home had a pretty picket fence, a bed of pink tulips and a fountain in the centre of their front yard along with a really wide driveway. Damon put the SUV in park when April Young rolled into the driveway next to them in her convertible.

"Elena?" She frowned, her lips pursed into a pout as she glanced back and forth between Elena and Damon. "Can I help you?"

Elena blinked. April had definitely been out having fun. She wore a skimpy mini dress that showed off her legs. The bust was low enough to show a generous amount of her breasts.

"Hi, April. Sorry to come all the way to your home, but we need to speak to Sheriff Young."

"I'm sorry you came all the way out here so late." April's voice lowered to a seductive tone, her gaze stuck on Damon. "My husband is out with some friends and won't be back until later. In fact, this is our solo night." She grinned at Damon. "We do whatever we want and stay out as long as we want."

Elena was two seconds from smacking the other woman into some decency, followed by kicking her ass into common sense. Two seconds. "Thanks, April. And you wouldn't know where we can find him?"

April shook her head. "No, he does his thing." She licked her lips. "And I do mine."

Well, that was informative in ways she didn't need it to be. "Okay then. Sorry to have disturbed you, April."

Damon got into the SUV, waving at April. "Thanks for your time."

"Just call if you need anything else." April winked.

"Let's go before I slap some respect into that woman," Elena growled.

"We should go to your place. You look exhausted." Damon backed up past April's convertible. A U-turn and they were on the road.

"Yeah." She sighed. "I'm getting hungry too."

Damon gave her one of those 'I'm going to make love to you until your brain is fried' smiles she loved. "I will cook while you shower. Sound good?"

Sounded like Damon was gunning for her to change her mind about staying with him. Unfortunately for them, her reasons were a lot stronger than any amount of romance he showed. Stronger than her guilt. Elena loved him. That was the main reason she did what she did.