Hey look at that, I'm back! Told you I'd come back when I was on break. Or did I not? Either way, I'm off school for a week and maybe, just maybe I'll finish this story in that time. Things are getting intense, so you better wear a seatbelt. Enjoy the next chapter.

Chapter 20

I was drowning in a sea of testosterone.

Ben rushed me back to Morris, fuming the whole way. Whether he was mad at me for wandering off, or at himself for not noticing sooner what happened, I really couldn't tell. As soon as we docked he called for an emergency Virals meeting.

So, I sat in the bunker, head still throbbing, while thy guys fussed like a trio of old women.

"It's a miracle you weren't carted off to some remote hellhole, or worse, killed." Shelton rocked on his heels, tugging at his earlobe.

"I think we should go to the police. This has gotten out of hand."

"No." I snapped my head up. "This guy was able to sneak up on my while I was Flaring. He vanished without a trace. The police won't be able to help. It's up to us."

The boys all protested all at the same time. My words even sounded foolish to me.

We had nothing. No leads. No plan. It looked hopeless.

"Then what do you propose we do?" Ben demanded. His body was tense. Of the three of them he seemed to be taking my mini-kidnapping the hardest.

"He said that he will be back. So, we just have to wait."

"For what? For him to kidnap you again? Tor, that's not a plan, that's suicide!"

"Hi's right. We can't sit around and wait for him to make the first move. There has to be something we can do."

"I don't know." My voice was soft. "All I want to do is go home and sleep until this issue resolves itself."

"Getting some rest might do you some good. Clear your head."

Ben stood up with me. "I'll walk you home."

"Thanks, but I think I can manage to walk up the beach."

"After today, we aren't taking any more chances with you. If this guy knows about our powers, I'm sure he knows where you live."

I shrugged, but didn't protest. If the guys thought they could keep me safe by watching me all the time, I would let them. Whatever gave them some comfort.

We walked in silence towards the townhouses. The sun was sinking into the ocean and the waves lapped gently along the shore. It was a beautiful sunset. Too bad I was too stressed to enjoy it.

The list of things I had to deal with was growing longer and more frustrating by the hour. Priority numero uno: find my mom. Everything else can wait. Getting her home safely was proving to be a much more difficult task than I thought though.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

I glanced over at Ben. His eyes were masked by his ragmop hair, but I knew that he was staring at me.

"Do I really have to give you a penny for what you already know?"

"Nah, suppose not." Ben paused for a moment, trying to choose the right words. "We're not going to let anything happen to you. You know that right? Shelton, Hi and I will do whatever it takes to keep this guy away from you."

I sighed. "I know, and I appreciate the effort. I really do. But something in my gut makes me believe things won't work out the way we all want them to."

It was the truth. A nagging notion in my head for days kept telling me that by the time this was over, something was going to be changed forever.

"You know, you get really cryptic when you're tired. Did you know that?"

"It's been mentioned." A smirk pulled from the ends of my mouth. This was Ben's way of helping me feel a little better. It worked. Almost.

We reached my house. It was still too early for Kit to be home, so it was going to be just me until then. For once I was glad. I needed to be alone with my thoughts for a while.

"You sure you'll be OK? I can wait with you until Kit gets back."

"Positive. Besides, how can anyone not feel safe with the Stolowitski Neighborhood Patrol on high alert all hours of the day? A wayward clam couldn't get within five miles of the island without her noticing, let alone a raging madman with a trigger happy finger."

Ben smiled. It was one of his rarer, genuine smiles. It was good to see him relax for a moment. I knew the guys were as wound up about all of this as I was. I just hid it a little better.

Saying our good-byes, Ben treaded down the sidewalk for home while I made a B-line for the bathroom. A hot shower could fix almost anything. I used the time to think of theories for the Robert Sinclair mystery. Somehow, he was the center of all of this. Was he guy who took me actually Robert? Or was there more to it than that? There was no real way to tell and without any new leads we were sitting ducks.

During my shower retreat, Kit came home. I heard the door slam and him calling my name. A few minutes later I grudgingly left the shower and threw on some fresh clothes.

I found Kit in front of the stove. Oops. With all that had happened I completely forgot about dinner. That was grounds for an explanation right there.

"Sorry, Kit. Didn't get a chance to go to the mainland."

"It's all right. I suppose it's time I learned how to use this confounded thing. I have PhDs in Marine Biology and Ecology, how hard can it be to use a stove?"

Turns out. It was harder than he thought. After we smoked ourselves out of the house, it was Mrs. Devers to the rescue. She sent Shelton over with grilled chicken, baked potatoes and pasta salad. We would live to eat another day.

The two of us went up to the roof to enjoy our meals, since the entire house still smelled like burnt metal. We didn't have much to say to each other. Most of the things I had done up to this point were things he didn't need to hear, such as getting shot at and abducted.

Kit finally broke the silence. "I got a call from your mom today." I started choking on my chicken.

Coughing heavily I choked out," What?" Kit handed me a glass of water and awkwardly patted my back.

"She called me at my office today. She said that she was going to be held up in Massachusetts for a few more days, and that she would be back as soon as she could."

"Did she say anything else?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. She said that she found three little pests in your room, but not to worry, because she would take care of them. I suppose you have mice or something."

"Right. Mice. We've had them before." My heart fell to the floor. If this was my hunter's way of screwing with me, he succeeded. First he took my mom. Now he was threatening my pack, and using Mom to do it. He was asking for trouble.

"Oh, and she gave me a number for you to call her on. Something about her cell not working. I have it in my work bag."

"Can I go get it now?" There was too much abruptness in my voice. I tried to make my face as placid as I could.

"Sure. You all done?" Kit motioned to my plate, which was still half full. My appetite vanished a while ago.

"Yeah. I'm going to go call my mom." Kit hadn't even responded when I was out of my seat and out the door. I took the stairs down two at a time.

I found the number sprawled on a Post-It on top of Kit's work bag. Luckily for me, I had learned to read his illegible handwriting long ago. I took the paper up to my room. No need to have Kit walk in on this conversation. Or worse, try to call himself.

With the door locked behind me I dialed with trembling fingers. Before I hit call I paused. Should I let the guys know what was going on? No. They're worried enough as it is.

Using a moment's resolve I hit send and waited. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. I about gave up. Then there was a pause.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end of the line was weary, exhausted and fearful.

But I knew it anywhere. The voice that greeted me when I came home every day. The voice that soothed my nightmares. The voice I feared I'd never hear again. It was her.

"Mom?" My voice shook. I had to strong. Not just for me, but for her too.

"Tory? Baby, is that you? You shouldn't have called. Get somewhere safe, don't do anything he…" a muffled cry replaced her voice.

"MOM!" I yelled into the phone.

"I've been waiting for you, Victoria."

"Let her go. She has nothing to do with this." My body shook in forceful tremors. The rage was building. It took all of my control to not Flare. I couldn't be distracted by anything.

"On the contrary, Miss Brennan. She has everything to do with this. How else would I get your attention if I didn't have your mother has my guest?"

"Oh I don't know, how about giving me a call? Fruit baskets are also a nice gesture."

"I'd tread on the side of caution with that attitude of yours. I want to keep your mother alive, but your friends are quite expendable."

"They don't even know I'm talking to you. This is between us."

"Then you will shut up and do as I say. The time has almost come for us to meet face to face again. Tomorrow night at nine o'clock, you will wait at the dock beside the Morris Island lighthouse. You will come alone. A boat will pick you up and take you to meet me. If you try to tell your friends about this, or get help from anyone else, I will kill your mother and everyone who has ever tried to help you. I am a patient man, but I do not tolerate failure of orders. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal. If I do all of these things, will you let my mother go? Whatever you want, it's between the two of us."

"Of course. You have my word. Take care, Victoria. I will see you soon."

The phone clicked.

What had I just agreed to? The boys would kill me if they found out. Unless someone else killed me first.

I began pacing up and down my room as I went through my options. If I told the boys about this, they could be in real danger. Or it could be a bluff. If I went alone, I could be killed. Or I could not. If the boys went with me my chances of making it out alive were a lot bigger. But that circled me back to worrying about them getting shot.

My head spun in circles until I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way out of this I could think of that had everyone living by the end. Crap.

The best option now was to sleep this off. I had until nine tomorrow night to make a plan. That was twenty-one hours away. In the morning I would start fresh and not stop until I had a plan.

Sleep came surprisingly easily. It was astounding how quickly a person could fall asleep when they ran their brains to the ground during the day.

In the morning I would fix this. In the morning I would make plan.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I shouldn't have been surprised that Cooper came to me in a dream again. He was waiting for me when I woke on the island.

My flare came with ease. There was no pain this time. What a nice change of pace.

The time has come, Mother-friend. You need to make the choice to wake up. Cooper took a step towards me. That was the first time he had moved towards me since I started having these dreams.

You still haven't told me what kind of choice I need to make. Does this have to do with my mom? Cooper didn't respond.

There isn't much time. If you don't wake up now, you may never again. You will be trapped here and all will be lost.

Isn't there something you can do to wake me up then? How am I supposed to know how to wake myself up from a dream I didn't know I was having?

When you accept that this isn't real. Then you will wake up. We will be there when you do. The pack has found you and soon you will be safe with us.

Coop, please help me. Tell me what I need to do.

You are a Viral. Use your instincts, Mother-friend. The pack will never abandon its Alpha. The instinct runs too deep. Trust them. They will save your life.

And with that, he was gone. I woke up feeling more exhausted than before.