Oh no, Beth and Simone are in trouble. Can Mick and Josef find them? Thanks to all of you who are reading, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 11

Celeste closed her laptop and leaned back in her first-class seat. She was on her way home to New York on the midnight flight. There was only one other passenger in the first class section and he was fast asleep. Celeste was using the flight time to type out a report to her employer relating all the details of the successful conclusion of her assignment. Once she got home, she would send it off.

She was pleased it went so smoothly. When the plan was laid out, she thought it was good, but needed a few adjustments. For one, the victims were vampires who had mates and she did not want to be the focus of any revenge. Vampires lived a long time and if she were found out as a participant in the abduction, she would become their target so she insisted she be staked as well as the women. That made it look like she was an innocent who was also attacked. If anyone found out she was there, she had good reasons for not helping the two women once they were taken. Of course, she didn't disclose any of this to her unknown employer. It was enough that the employer agreed with her arrangements and since the strategy was successful, no one else needed to know. She hoped her counterparts were careful to make sure the young vampires were never found. She felt a twinge of regret, as she had rather liked the women, but she took a contract and she couldn't renege—it was bad for business.

Celeste beckoned to the nearby flight attendant to refill her champagne glass. Soon she would be back at her apartment near Central Park and get some serious time in her own freezer. Then perhaps a few weeks in the Caymans to check on her finances. Now she could spend time at the beach since she'd found these wonderful pills that allowed vampires to stay out in the sun…..

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The truck that carried Beth and Simone drove north into the LA suburbs. Their destination was a garage in Burbank, where there was a large SUV waiting for them. Pulling into the cool darkness, Vincent and Trina quickly transferred the boxes containing the two women into the back of the 4-wheel drive. Shutting the door, they opened a cooler from the truck and refreshed themselves with some blood. It was late afternoon and they still had a long drive ahead of them. Their destination was far into the California mountains and they needed to get started immediately.

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It was after 5 pm, and Mick tried Beth's cell, again getting her voicemail. He didn't want to interrupt her trip to the fashion show, but wondered when she might get back. He had finished his case and wanted to share it with her and perhaps take a drive out to the new house.

He'd give her a few more minutes and try again.

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Time seemed to have stopped for Beth. The pain of being staked receded, pushed aside by her thirst. But overriding all was her hopelessness at her situation. She couldn't move and was totally numb. Trapped inside the wooden crate, her vampire senses were useless. She couldn't hear or detect anything except the vibration from the movement of the vehicle and even that was muted. It had only been a few hours, but she could understand how this type of suffering could make one mad. She kept an image of Mick before her, trying to be confident he would find her.

She remembered her turning, when she and Mick had been taken and left to die in that basement. Mick turned her and they escaped, but that was not an option now. She was alone. She didn't even know if Simone or Celeste was near. In order to keep her fear at bay, she used her reporter's skill to review what had happened that afternoon. The only thing that seemed out of the ordinary was Celeste's suggestion they meet that designer. She went over it in her mind and realized it must have been a trap. Her first thought was their new friend had lured them there, but Beth had seen Celeste staked as well.

They must have been targeted by an enemy of Josef or Mick. She feared for Simone, who was younger. How would she cope with being staked with no blood?

After a while driving, she felt the truck stop and noises, then scented the strange vampires moving her. A wild ray of hope filled her that they would be released, possibly for ransom. In a few minutes that hope was dashed when she felt the movement stop and a door slam, then silence. She could now scent Simone, and growled, the only noise she could make in her paralyzed state. She heard a return growl from Simone and was relieved her friend was awake. She wished she could communicate with Simone, but now they each knew the other was nearby. Beth tried to keep focused but as time passed, it was more difficult.

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Josef hung up from his conference call with Singapore. It had taken longer than he anticipated and he checked his watch. With a smirk, he thought about Simone and the amount of clothing she'd bought today. Planning to give her grief, he dialed her number, but it went to voicemail. Frowning he checked his watch. Surely she should be done by now. He pushed a different number.

"Hi, Josef," he heard Mick's voice.

"Hey, have you heard from the girls?"

"Uh no, but Beth didn't say how long they'd be. Why?"

Feeling uneasy, Josef said, "They should have been back by now. Simone wanted to catch a few hours freezer time before we went to see that new singer at the club."

"I just tried Beth a few minutes ago and the call went to voicemail," Mick commented, catching Josef's anxiety.

"Just a minute," Josef responded. With a few clicks on his computer, he brought up the GPS for Simone's cell phone. Where there should have been a signal, there was nothing. "Mick," he said in a dead voice, "I can't find the signal from Simone's phone."

"What?"

"Can you check Beth's GPS from your computer?"

"No."

On the other end, Mick heard Josef yell for Rider England. "Well, find him and get him up here. Now."

Josef came back on the line. "Mick, come over to the office. Rider will be here in a few minutes. I don't like the fact Simone's phone is off line. We can try Beth's phone."

Mick was reluctant to leave in case Beth returned, but Josef had resources if they were needed. "All right, I'll put a note on the door, since her cell isn't answering."

"I'll see you in a few," Josef said, his tone grim.

Mick left the loft with growing fear. He hoped he'd hear from Beth any minute. A quick trip to Josef's office and Mick was up the stairs at vampire speed, not wanting to wait for the elevator. Josef's assistant Deb, buzzed him into the office without a word.

Josef was pacing in front of his desk, and barely acknowledged his friend.

"Any word?" Mick asked.

"No. I'm waiting for Rider," Josef growled.

"When will he get here?"

Josef stopped pacing and checked his watch. "Any time. He took a few of the girls to the Santa Monica beach house. I also sent James and a few of the guys over to the convention center, but James says they can't get in."

Picking up Josef's concern, Mick's alarm grew. He knew if Beth showed up she'd ream him for over reacting but things seemed wrong to him. He went to Josef's bar and without asking poured some blood and scotch. Wordlessly, he offered one to Josef, who shook his head.

Mick downed the drink as the door opened and Rider came in, looking a little flustered. He could tell Josef was upset, but didn't know why. "What do you need boss?"

Josef pinned him with a look. "Simone and Beth are missing. First, I need you to check the GPS on their cell phones."

Now understanding Josef's behavior, Rider slid into a seat in front of the laptop he used when working in the main office. Clicking through the programs, he asked Mick, "What's Beth's phone number?"

Mick gave it and waited while Rider worked his keyboard. After a few moments he looked at the worried husbands and said, "Sorry, but both their phones are untraceable."

Josef frowned and Mick asked, "What does that mean?"

Reluctant to give bad news, Rider said, "Well, their phone batteries could have died, but it doesn't seem like that would happen to both at once …. or the GPS turned off…"

"Or the phones could have been destroyed," Josef finished.

Mick gave him a sharp glance. He now thought something had happened and he wanted action. If his Beth was in danger, he was going to take that fashion place apart until he found her. "I'm going over there." He turned toward the door but Josef beat him with vampire speed, his hand on Mick's chest.

"You can't get in, it's too public. It'll cause a scene." He turned to Rider. "Check all the cameras in the area and see if you can find them. They took my limo at about 2 pm."

Rider's fingers flew over the keys and he brought up the street cameras in the area. "I see them getting out of the limo and talking to another woman. Then the three of them went into the east entrance."

Josef and Mick crowded over his shoulder, looking at the video. "Who is she?" Josef asked.

Mick shook his head. "I don't know."

With a frustrated huff, Rider said, "I can't get a good picture, so the facial recognition won't work."

They ran the video several more times and Mick said, "It looks like they know her or at least don't feel a threat. Did Simone mention this woman at all?"

Josef shook his head. "I didn't talk to her much last night, I was working on a deal in Brussels. She just said she'd had a good time and was going back today. She was out of the freezer before I got up. What about Beth?"

"I didn't get to see her either. I was doing some surveillance and Beth called me and said she wanted to get some freezer time as they were going out early again today. She was asleep when I got back and left before I got up."

"Damn," Josef swore under his breath. "Rider, watch all the cameras to see when they came out of the building."

Rider nodded. With vampire vision he could view the video at a fast speed. Mick and Josef waited tensely. At last, Rider sat back, defeated.

"Sorry, boss. I've run the cameras up to the present and there's no sign of them coming out of the convention center by any of the doors. It looks like they closed the show a few minutes ago so they shouldn't still be inside."

Mick surged with fear for his wife, and looked at Josef, who seemed to be thoughtful. In fact, now he felt only determination from his friend.

The older vampire went to his desk, unlocking a drawer. He drew out a small flash drive, handing it to Rider. "Bring up the program on this."

Rider did as asked and said, "It's encrypted."

Nodding, Josef handed him a piece of paper. "Here's the password."

"What is it?" Mick asked, a little impatiently.

Josef smiled grimly. "It's a way to find Simone, and hopefully, Beth. You remember when Simone was taken by that vamp who worked for my old partner?"

"Yes."

"I wasn't going to have something like that happen again, so when Simone was a fledgling and sleeping so much, I inserted a GPS tracker in her arm. It healed up right away and she never knew."

Mick looked at Josef in astonishment. "You mean she doesn't know it's there?"

"Of course not—she'd kill me."

Before Mick could feel relief that they had a way to find their wives, Rider interjected, "I'm having a hard time finding the signal."

"What do you mean?" Josef growled. "I used the most up-to-date technology they had."

"It's in real time, so I can only see where she is now. It looks like she's into the mountains up north, but the signal is intermittent."

"Can you boost the power?" Mick asked.

"No can do," Rider frowned. He pulled up another program, as the two watched. "The signal is bouncing off a satellite and they lost one of their feeds last month." He typed in another program. It was an overlay map of California. "All I can tell you is it looks like Mrs. Kostan is on one of the roads going into the mountains."

"Let's go," Mick growled.

"No," Josef said, suddenly. He turned to Rider. "Can you track the signal with your computer if we're near enough?"

"Yes…..but it won't work from a car, not in the mountains."

"Fine." Picking up his phone, he texted a message. A moment later he received a response. He looked at the two vampires.

"Rider, you bring your computer and any other tech stuff you need. I'm getting an airplane to fly over the area where you think Simone might be. Mick, I need you on the ground in communication with us."

"No way. It will take forever to drive up there."

Josef glared testily. "We can't land, and I don't know how long it might take to pick up the GPS signal. We can direct you if we get a trace. You can take some of my security guys."

Mick knew he was right, but was not willing to put up with being stuck in a car with strange vampires. He had an idea. "Never mind that," he said, "I'll bring someone."

"All right, I'll leave it to you," Josef said, trusting Mick's experience.

"When will you take off?"

"As soon as I get to the airport. James is chartering an airplane that has long-range ability that can fly lower than jets."

"Fine, I'll be on the road within an hour. I'll have my phone on, so keep me posted." He felt better now that he had something definite to do. He would find her.

As he got into the Benz, he made a call.

"Hello," Guillermo answered.

"Hey, G. I need your help."

On the other end, Guillermo heard the anxiety in Mick's voice. "What's wrong, buddy?"

"Someone's got Beth and Simone."

"What? What happened?"

"We think we can find them, but I need to get up north in a hurry. Can you come with me? I'll explain on the way."

"Sure, do you need anything?"

Mick thought a moment. "Yeah, bring some blood and any medical equipment."

"Do you need weapons?"

"No, I've got that covered. I don't want to take the time to rent something, do you have your SUV?"

"Yeah, sure. It's all gassed up, but I'm at the south donation center."

"Fine, I'll see you in half an hour," Mick replied. He needed to stop at the loft to pick up his firearms and change clothes. He wheeled the Benz into the garage, and was glad Guillermo had a 4-wheel drive, they would need it in the mountains. When he found Beth, he determined they would go shopping and buy one for themselves.

Mick allowed himself a few seconds of happiness, thinking about what he would do when he saw her, then pushed down the emotion. He had a job to do.

TBC

Okay, Mick and Josef are on the hunt, but will they be able to find their ladies? Coraline might have outsmarted them this time. Thanks for reading, and all your support for our vampires.