Free Angel's Pain by MAGGIE SHAYNE

then she paused and took stock. Since when was her first instinct in times of trouble to run to them? To run to him?
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    Reaper looked up when Briar burst into the den where they had all gathered upon waking. Roxy had called them there, and was, even at that moment, leaning over a laptop computer, punching up news stories. Ilyana was at her side, a good six inches taller and painfully lean where Roxy was lush and curvy.
    â€œThere were four incidents, all the same, each in a different state, and all apparently took place overnight,” Roxy said.
    â€œIt had to be Gregor,” Ilyana added. “Somehow, he’s responsible for every one of them.”
    â€œEven a vampire couldn’t have been in four states at once,” Seth was saying.
    Reaper ignored them, his eyes focused on Briar’s face, and a second later he was beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder to snap her out of wherever she’d gone inside her mind.
    â€œWhat is it, Briar? What’s happened? Is Crisa all right?”
    Her eyes shifted into focus again, met his. “She’s gone.”
    â€œGone?” He was blank for a moment, before the meaning grew clear to his mind. “Crisa’s gone?”
    Briar nodded hard. Her eyes seemed strained with worry, and her jaw was tight. “Her bedroom window’s open. She changed clothes before she left.” Blinking twice, looking down but clearly not seeing, he thought, she went on. “We have to find her.”
    â€œWe will.” Reaper turned to face the others, who had fallen silent one by one at Briar’s entrance. “We’ll split up into teams and head out in different directions. Everyone try to home in on her and—”
    â€œI don’t think so, Reaper.” The declaration came quietly, but in a firm, determined tone, from the mortal Ilyana. She’d straightened away from the computer and squared her shoulders. When he shot her a look of disbelief, she pushed a hand through her short platinum hair, a slightly nervous gesture. And yet she went on firmly, saying, “We just got our first solid leads on Gregor. Finding him is our mission, or am I mistaken about that?”
    Reaper held her gaze and he didn’t bother making his voice gentle. “ My mission is to find him.”
    â€œIt may be your mission ,” she said, her tone softer now, “but it’s my goal in life. There’s nothing more important to me right now.”
    She was afraid of them, he thought. All of them, and Briar in particular. That she was showing enough courage now to disagree with him instigated a surge of admiration for her guts, in spite of the irritation that came with it. “And yet you’ve never told us why,” he said.
    â€œI don’t freaking give a damn why!” Briar let the words burst from her in a rush, fueled by emotion he’d rarely seen in her. “Look, mortal, it was my goal in life, too. But now Crisa’s missing, and you know she can’t take care of herself. Finding her takes precedence.”
    â€œThis from someone who pretends not to care about her,” Roxy muttered. “I knew better the whole time, of course, but—”
    â€œCan it, Roxy.” Briar swung her gaze around the room, letting it land on the others. Seth and Vixen, Jack and Topaz, Mirabella. “No one among you wants to get Gregor more than I do, believe me. But this is Crisa we’re talking about.”
    â€œShe’s one of us,” Vixen said. “She’s more important than any mission.”
    â€œShe’s not more important than mine,” Ilyana said softly. She shared a look with Roxy, who nodded her agreement.
    â€œWhy?” Reaper demanded.
    Ilyana looked at him, then lowered her head and shook it slowly.
    â€œOh, for the love of God, Ilyana, just tell them, will you, so we can get on with this?” Briar snapped. When Ilyana turned her wide eyes toward her, Briar rolled her