Immortal Hearts Page 0,61

blew it, though. I'm going to have him running home now."

"He's not like that. He gets angry and broods. He's a guy, after all."

"Where could he have gone?" I asked.

"Maybe Sebastian knows." She hopped off the chair. "We'll have to find out."

I gave Stormy a big hug. "Thank you," I said. "You really are a great friend."

She appeared truly pleased by my compliment and grabbed my hand as we headed down the staircase and out the front door.

Stormy got into Becky's truck with me, and we headed to Sebastian's apartment. I hadn't been to it before but I knew where it was.

Sebastian lived in a four-family unit in downtown Dullsville next to the Sugar and Spice restaurant.

The Mustang was there - but not the Mercedes. It wasn't a good sign.

I rang the bell a million times.

"Hey, dude, lay off the bell," we heard him say into the intercom.

"It's Raven. Is Alexander with you?"

"No."

"Can we come up?"

"We? Uh... Sure."

The three of us tromped up the steps to Sebastian's door.

"Hey, ladies. What's up?" Sebastian was standing in his jeans and with his hair damp as if he'd just showered.

"Have you seen Alexander?" I asked.

"No. What's up?"

"We were just looking for him," Stormy said. "Jameson said he went out, but we don't know where."

"Are you okay?" he asked me. My eyes were still puffy; I felt like "crybaby" was written all over my face.

"Yes."

"They got in a fight," Stormy blurted out. "And when I find him I'm going to read him the riot act."

"You do that," Sebastian said with a chuckle.

"Maybe he went to the Crypt. I was supposed to meet him there later tonight."

I sighed. Maybe Alexander was there. I wasn't looking forward to trying to reconcile in front of all the vampires of Dullsville, but I didn't have a choice. I wanted to make up regardless of how or where it happened.

"Off to the Crypt," Stormy said.

"Hey, wait up for me," Sebastian said, putting on a T-shirt and boots. "I don't want to miss a thing." Becky drove us to the Crypt, with Sebastian following closely behind.

When we arrived, I was anxious to find Alexander. We saw Onyx and Scarlet talking by the coffins.

"Is Alexander here?" Sebastian asked.

"We haven't seen him," Onyx said.

"We have to find him," Stormy explained. "It's very urgent."

"What's up?" Scarlet asked.

"I just need to read him the riot act," she said.

The girls laughed.

"He might be here somewhere," I suggested.

"I'm going to hang here, dudes," Sebastian said. He sidled up to Onyx, who appeared glad to see him. "I'll give you a buzz if he shows up." Becky, Stormy, and I headed into the Crypt, where we ran a younger clubster - Valentine. I wasn't sure if Stormy knew about Valentine and Billy's confrontation at our house. And I wasn't going to tell her about it now.

"Hey, Stormy!" Valentine said.

"Hi, Valentine. Have you seen Alexander?"

"No. Uh ... did Billy come with you guys?" he asked.

"No," she said. "We came to find Alexander."

"Great! While you're waiting for him to show, we can hang out."

"Uh, I really need to find him," she said.

"You have all night. We can hang out together. Want a drink?"

"I'm not thirsty." She was distracted, scanning the crowd for her brother.

"Well, I am," he teased. "And it's not for anything served at the bar."

It was odd to see Valentine flirt with Stormy.

"I'll go and look for him and catch up to you in a few," Becky said.

"Thank you," I mouthed to her. I, too, was scanning the crowd for Alexander, and I wasn't about to leave Stormy by herself in the club.

"Why don't we dance?" Valentine asked Stormy.

"Maybe we can later," she answered.

Valentine appeared disappointed, but that didn't stop him from trying other tactics. "Do you want to play pinball? My brother just got a cool machine in today."

"Not now," Stormy said. "We're on a mission."

"I'm glad it'll just be us hanging out from now on," he whispered to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Billy and Henry - " I overheard him say.

"What about them?"

"They're old news."

"What do you mean?"

"Ah, we don't really mix well together. After that night at Henry's. They could have really hurt us."

"But they didn't."

"Well, next time we might not be so lucky. Our kind needs to stick together."

"No, we don't. In fact, we need to branch out. And that's just what I am doing."

"No, we don't. In fact, we need to branch out. And that's just what I am doing."

"Are you going to tell him what you really are?" he asked.

"No."

"What if he