He glanced at it. The home screen showed no new messages, but when he clicked on his text conversation with Olivia, their exchange now continued past her smiley face.

Gabriel: I could use your assistance if you aren’t otherwise occupied.

Olivia: Just waiting 4 you. What’s up?

Gabriel: I may have found my mother. It seems unwise to proceed without backup.

Olivia: Good call. Give me an addy & we’re on our way.

Their current address followed. Then,

Olivia: Be there ASAP!

Gabriel: I’m inside. Text when you arrive.

Olivia: Yes, sir. :)

Gabriel stabbed the button to call her back. Nothing happened. He checked his connection. No service. He typed a message anyway.

Stay where you are. I didn’t call you. Do NOT come here.

The text appended at the end of the conversation, with the exclamation mark to show it hadn’t sent. He flicked on the wi-fi and watched until it showed no service found.

“The next step is to raise it over your head,” the voice said. “See if you can get signal that way. Then ask your father if his is working…Oh, I see he’s already checking. I’ll leave you both to that. I have a new arrival to greet.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

It took longer than expected to reach Gabriel’s location. Snow was falling along with the temperature, which meant Ricky couldn’t travel at his usual speed. He had an old car at his dad’s but didn’t put the bike away until he absolutely had to.

The address Gabriel texted led to an abandoned school. And the moment I saw that, my brain screamed, Fae.

The school looked as if it’d been empty for years. Nature had already reclaimed the playground, asphalt erupting with greenery, half covered in snow, an ancient swing set strangled by dead vines. Now, that greenery had begun its assault on the school itself, moss and vines tentatively cracking the foundation as they crept up the walls.

Seanna hadn’t wandered here on her own. Someone had put her here. Someone fae. Set her up and waited for us to take the bait.

I called Gabriel as soon as I got my helmet off. When he didn’t answer, I sent a text. Then I walked to his car, where the key fob in my purse automatically unlocked the doors.

“Someone was in the backseat.” I held out a wrapper from candies Lydia kept in a jar. Ricky didn’t suggest Gabriel had grabbed one and tossed the wrapper in the back. That was about as likely as him putting down the windows and cranking the tunes.

“And if there was a person in the back,” Ricky said, “that means someone else occupied the passenger side.”

I checked the front passenger side and found a pen wedged behind the cushions.

“A Montblanc refill in a cheap pen,” I said.

“Champagne tastes on a Budweiser budget?”