Thirst [All-American Vampires 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (18 page)

Hawk held out another picture for Claire to look at. “This is the lovely home that Mr. Garrison owns in the Brentwood Hills subdivision.” His mouth held a hard edge. “This is where your sister is right now.”

As Claire looked at the photograph of the elegant mansion behind the high gates, she felt as if Cassidy were almost within her grasp. She reached out a trembling hand and lightly touched the printout. Which room was Cassidy’s? Was she being held prisoner in some elegant room and treated like a prized possession? Or was she down below in some cold and dingy basement, brought out to tease and torment before being savagely fed upon?

She raised her eyes to meet Hawk’s. “How do we get her out?” If anyone could do it, Hawk could. She trusted him implicitly. She stood up and turned to him. “What do we need to do next, Hawk?”

He grasped her shoulders. “The first thing we do is stay patient. We’ve got to plan carefully so that we don’t make any careless mistakes. I’ve got my men on alert and ready to move out. I need to talk to them, see who all is available and where everyone is currently located. Then I’ll find us some place to stay in the area to use as a base. When we get there, that’s when we’ll do the majority of our planning. It won’t do us any good to try to jump ahead. There are steps to follow on any operation like this, and we’re going to follow them exactly. Okay?”

“Okay.” She understood what Hawk was saying. If it were up to her, she’d probably be in the car and on her way to Memphis right that second. But that would accomplish nothing but getting her killed and probably Cassidy as well. Thank goodness Hawk was with her. He knew how to handle things, and she was going to rely on his judgment and experience.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Gia’s voice came from somewhere behind her.

Claire swung around and reached out a hand toward the woman who had done so much for her. Gia took her hand in a tight grip and both women looked at Hawk. “Me, too. I don’t want to just sit here and twiddle my thumbs while everyone else is doing whatever they can to get my sister free. I want to do something. Anything.”

“I’m glad you ladies want to help. As it happens, I have just the job for both of you. We’re going to need as much intel as we can get on Garrison and his property. Gia, get on your computer and find out whatever you can about the man himself. We need known associates, financial status, habits. See if you can find out if there’s any place he goes on a regular schedule, like a gym or a night out with his boys. He’s a high-profile man, so there should be plenty out there.”

“I’ll get right on it.” Gia left the room.

“What about me?” Claire lifted her chin. “What can I do?”

“Get your laptop out of the car. You’re going to look into anything you can find out about the property in Brentwood Hills. Dimensions, layout, fences. See if you can find a blueprint of the house. Any kind of alarm system he has. Security. Dogs. Whatever you can find out about that place will help us figure out the best way in and where he might be keeping Cassidy. Okay?”

She was relieved that he wasn’t just giving her busywork to keep her occupied. “I’ll find out everything I can, Hawk.”

“I know you will, sweetheart. Why don’t you set up in the study with Gia? You two might be able to help one another out in your searches. There’s bound to be some crossover.”

“Good idea.”

Hawk gave her a quick hug before she left the room. At the doorway, she glanced back, but he was already on the phone.

She joined Gia in her study after she’d run out to retrieve her own laptop from the SUV. She sat down on the sofa and booted up her computer. For a long time neither woman spoke. The only sound in the room was the clicking of computer keys and the occasional noise from the nearby printer.

Claire eagerly searched for the information Hawk had requested, shamelessly hacking her way into protected databases as fast as she could. She saved all her data on her hard drive, deciding to print the whole lot at once when Gia was finished with hers. She was surprised at the amount of information she was able to find. Garrison’s home had actually been featured in an issue of
Memphis
magazine. There were photographs of several of the rooms along with some of the grounds as well.

As she began saving the information, she found her mind wandering again to the odd comment Gia had made about Hawk and alcohol. She turned the information over in her mind, debating what Gia could possibly have meant. Casting a glance at the witch, she wondered if it was a good idea to ask her about it. Finally she decided she had nothing to lose.

“Gia?”

“Hmmm?” Gia seemed absorbed in whatever information she had on the screen.

“That thing you said earlier, about Hawk not drinking wine or beer. What was that about?”

Gia looked over at her, a shadow of guilt on her face. “I shouldn’t have said that. Please, just forget it.”

“Does Hawk have a drinking problem?” Claire refused to let Gia off the hook, so she continued to prod.

“Look, Claire, I like you a lot, but Hawk and I go way back. I owe him so much. He helped me out when I was having some serious problems. It’s just not my place to talk about Hawk’s personal business, even to you. I know you care about him, and I can see how much he cares for you. But if you want to know anything about his personal life, you’re going to have to ask him directly.”

Claire had to respect the witch for her loyalty to her friend, but she was frustrated that Gia wouldn’t just tell her the truth. “What if he doesn’t want to tell me?”

Gia just smiled. “I really don’t think that’s going to be the case. Hawk’s never looked at a woman the way he looks at you. I have a feeling he’ll tell you anything you want to know.”

Claire considered that as she went back to collecting the information Hawk had asked for. She supposed it had been a bit underhanded, trying to go behind Hawk’s back to find out more about him. She’d just have to bite the bullet and ask the man himself.

An hour later she closed out her web browser and looked up to see that Gia had finished her search as well. The witch had moved to the printer and was pulling out a large stack of papers and putting them into a file folder. She looked over her shoulder as Claire walked over to join her.

“You ready?”

Claire nodded.

“Just hook up your laptop there.” Gia pointed a finger, and Claire saw the dangling cord she needed. It took only a moment to get her laptop connected to the printer. Then she hit the button that would print all the information she’d been able to gather together.

With a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, Claire retrieved her own stack of papers and put them into another folder that Gia had ready. The two women smiled at each other.

“I think we make a good team, Claire.”

Claire grinned. “I think you’re right, Gia.”

* * * *

“All right. The house in Memphis sounds perfect for our base, Kirby. Go ahead and book it for two weeks. We shouldn’t need it that long, but let’s be on the safe side.” Hawk looked over the notes he’d been making. “And I talked to Nic Girard. Quinn is sending a couple of his men to help out. They’re already in Starkville, so it won’t take them long to get to Memphis. They can go ahead and start getting things set up there. Call them and let them know the address and where to pick up the keys. You can get their number from Nic.”

“Got it, Hawk. The boys will leave here at dusk tomorrow night. Brady’s just left Vicksburg, so he won’t be too far behind you.”

“Excellent. We’ll be leaving here soon. I’d like to get some miles covered. We’ll probably stop for the day around Grenada.”

“Okay. I can book you a room in Grenada and get you that information.”

“Sounds good.” He heard a noise at the door and looked up as Claire and Gia walked into the room. “Look, I’ve gotta go. Text me the hotel info on my cell.”

“All right. Good luck, Hawk.”

“Thanks, Kirby. Talk to you soon.” He hung up the cell and slid it back into his pocket. Then he looked up at the two women. “Ladies. Did you get all the info?”

Claire nodded and held out two file folders. “This one has the information you asked for on Garrison, and this one is the house and grounds.”

He took them. “Good. Claire, I’m afraid we’re going to have to get moving soon. We’ve got a lot of miles to cover before dawn. I don’t want to be caught without any shelter when the sun rises.”

Gia looked disappointed. “I was hoping you two might want to spend the day.”

“Thanks, Gia, I appreciate the offer, but there’s still several hours of traveling time. I want to get us as close to Memphis as I can. We don’t have any time to waste.”

She sighed in resignation. “Of course. I guess I wasn’t thinking. I know how urgent it is that you find Cassidy as quickly as possible.”

Hawk was glad that she understood. “You’ve been a huge help, Gia.”

He saw Claire loop an arm around the witch’s waist and give her a quick hug. “You really have. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t been able to locate Cassidy.”

Gia hugged her back, and Hawk was pleased at the obvious affection the two women demonstrated. He knew that Claire didn’t have many friends, but he was hoping that would change once Cassidy was found and things returned to normal. Well, as normal as it ever got for vampires, anyway.

“Claire, go grab your computer and then we’ll get on the road.”

She nodded and, after giving Gia another quick squeeze, left the room.

Gia walked over to him and slid an arm around his waist. “I like her, Hawk.”

Hawk smiled. “Me, too.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Look, she was asking about that thing I said when you two arrived. You know, the wine and beer crack. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking, or I would have kept my mouth shut.”

Hawk had known that he was going to have to talk to Claire about his alcoholism if he planned to have any kind of long-term relationship with her. He’d wanted to postpone it until after they had found Cassidy, but it looked like he was going to have to go ahead and tell her the whole story. It wasn’t something he was proud of, and he didn’t enjoy reliving that part of his past, but she deserved to know who it was she was getting involved with.

“It’s okay, Gia. I’ll talk to her about it.”

He gave her a quick hug and had just released her when Claire came back in, her laptop bag slung over one shoulder.

Hawk saw her eyes narrow a bit when she noticed how close he and Gia were standing, but he just smiled. “Ready?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Whenever you are.”

“Let’s hit the road, then.”

Gia led them down the hallway and out the front door, where she gave both of them another hug. “Be careful, you two.”

“We will. Look, Gia. I meant to tell you this earlier, but it slipped my mind. We may have a couple of guys on our tail. If they follow us here, you need to be prepared.”

Gia shrugged. “I have protective wards around the house, so I don’t expect that I’ll have any problems. Most people can’t even find the place if I don’t want them to.”

Hawk knew that Gia’s coven was very powerful. He’d experienced their warding abilities before, so he knew that Gia would be safe. “Just be aware that somebody might come sniffing around, okay?”

“Will do. Let me know how everything goes. I’ll be thinking of you guys and keeping my fingers and toes crossed.”

They said their final good-byes before Claire and Hawk climbed into his SUV and drove off.

“I really liked Gia,” Claire remarked as they hit the highway and headed north.

Hawk smiled. “I’m glad. She’s good people.”

“She wasn’t what I was expecting,” she told him.

“In what way?”

“Well, for one thing, she was absolutely beautiful. You didn’t mention that she was so gorgeous when you told me about her.” Hawk knew Claire was jealous, and he barely managed to suppress a smile.

“Didn’t I?” He was enjoying this game.

“You and she were involved?”

“I don’t know if I’d say we were involved, exactly.” Hawk knew his short answers were annoying Claire and wondered how long it would take her before she got to the point.

“But you were lovers. Right? I could tell that from the way she greeted you.”

Hawk raised an eyebrow questioningly. “What do you want me to say? Yes. We were lovers, but we were never involved in anything more serious than a few brief encounters.”

Claire was silent for a moment, but Hawk knew she wasn’t finished. “She knows you pretty well, though.”

“Yes. I’d say that was a pretty accurate statement. We’ve been friends for a long time.”

“What did she mean by that comment about you not drinking beer or wine?” Hawk reached out to turn off the radio, which had been a low background hum to the conversation, because he didn’t want any distractions for this conversation.

“Gia told me you asked her.” Hawk speared her with a brief look before returning his attention to the road. “You should have come to me first if you had any questions.”

He heard her give a low huff of frustration. “Probably. But I’m asking you now. Are you going to answer?”

Hawk considered his next words carefully. “I’m an alcoholic. I’ve been sober a long time, and I intend to stay that way, but I don’t deny the fact that at one time, I let alcohol have way too much control over my life.”

He waited tensely for her response. It came quickly, as her hand reached out to rest on his knee and give it a light squeeze of support. “That’s so great that you were able to overcome such a self-destructive addiction. I know it had to be hard.”

He let out a relieved breath, not even realizing he’d been holding it. “It wasn’t easy. I had help from some good friends, or I never would’ve been able to do it.”

“What made you start? The drinking I mean. Was it when you were turned?” Hawk didn’t normally like to talk about that time in his life, but he figured it was only natural that she should want to know.

“No. Way before that. I started drinking after my family died. It was difficult. Not only my wife and child but most of my village was killed by the smallpox that ravaged our home. Almost everyone I had known was gone. The rest were fragmented, spread out. My whole life was gone, and I just crumbled. A group of trappers had come through our village the month before. Several of the villagers had traded for bottles of whiskey. I hunted until I’d found every bottle, and then I went on a week-long drunk.”