place?”
“We went to the Cape a couple of times, to New Hampshire, Foxwoods, the Jersey shore—”
“It would have to be somewhere close. Even if she is controlling Julie’s mind, she wouldn’t be able to take her far. Where did you meet?”
“At one of Opal’s parties. It was in an old warehouse down by the waterfront.”
“Did it have the same kind of soundproofing as the party last night?”
“Yes.”
“Where exactly is it?”
More rustling sounded on the other end before Preston spoke again. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. Tell me where it is.”
“I’m coming with you. If Jasmine is like this because of me or doing this because of me, then I’m coming with you.”
Dante gritted his teeth against his mounting frustration. He could hang up and catch a taxi to the waterfront, but there were a lot of buildings there. It could take hours to figure out where Jasmine had Julie. And he had a feeling that if he said no, Preston would go on his own.
“Tell me where to meet you,” Preston said.
Dante tried one last time to get him to stay out of this. “She’s not like this because of you. From what you’ve told me, she was losing control before you broke up with her.”
“I don’t care. She has my sister. I’m coming with you.”
“Fine.”
He glanced around his location, but he wasn’t far enough away from Jasmine’s apartment to have Preston meet him near here. He couldn’t send Preston straight to the waterfront in case he beat Dante there. The last thing he needed was the guy walking straight into Jasmine’s hands. There wouldn’t be any reason to keep Julie alive then.
Then he thought of a neutral location. “Meet me near Lavender Moon, but don’t go inside.”
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Dante hung up and called Cassidy. He would keep her from being involved in this, but she would worry if she didn’t hear from him. He wouldn’t tell her what he discovered in Margie’s apartment until later.
“Hello,” Cassidy said breathlessly as wind blew across her mouthpiece.
The sound of her voice melted some of his lingering revulsion over the brutality he just witnessed. He ached to hold her again. She was the only one who could make this day any better.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “You sound like you’re running a marathon.”
Cassidy chuckled. “Sort of. I’m running late for work and just got to the bar. How are things going with you?”
“I might know where Julie is.”
“That’s great! Where?”
“The waterfront. I’m heading down there now to check it out. I’ll meet you at Addy’s in a little bit.”
“You shouldn’t go alone.”
“Preston is coming with me.”
Cassidy didn’t know how to feel about that. She believed Preston didn’t have anything to do with Julie’s disappearance, that he cared about her and wanted to find her, but she didn’t trust him with Dante’s life.
“I’ll meet you down there,” she said.
“No. You have to work, and I’m not entirely sure where it is on the waterfront. There are dozens of possibilities, if not more. I’ll be fine.”
“Dante—”
“I’ll be fine,” he assured her. “Don’t worry about me. Go on stage and wow them; I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“But—”
Dante waved at a taxi, and it pulled up to the side of the road. “I have to go, but I’ll be in touch soon. I love you.”
Before Cassidy could reply, he hung up.
Chapter Forty
Cassidy stared at her phone with a mixture of dread and annoyance. She’d been around enough alpha males to know when they were shutting her out for “her safety.” However, Dante shouldn’t be doing this alone. Okay, he wasn’t doing it alone, but he shouldn’t be doing it with someone he barely knew.
Dante was trying to keep her safe and acting like an idiot. When she prodded at the bond connecting them, her apprehension flared when she discovered that he’d shut her out. What was he trying to keep hidden from her?
Cassidy returned her phone to her pocket as she contemplated the phone call and what to do. The waterfront was a vast area with a lot of buildings. If she left now and went down there, how would she find him? If she stayed here, how could she keep from going insane?
When a shadow fell into the room, she looked up to see Rick in the doorway. “Are you going on tonight?”
“Yeah,” she muttered because she didn’t know what else to say.
She hadn’t had enough time to process Dante’s phone call. Should she walk out, go to the waterfront,