Masked

CHAPTER 19 | Oh, What A Tangled Web We Weave

Daniel glared at Parker as she entered the suite with Bobby. He opened his mouth to give her another piece of his mind but then snapped it shut. He wasn't going to have an argument with her in front of everyone.

He grimaced and held his temper in check. Getting through this without completely destroying the hotel room would be a miracle. The moment he realized she was with Matheo, he'd broken out in a cold sweat. Did she have no sense of self-preservation? It had taken Simon, Zeke, and Jay to stop him from storming out to save Parker from that genocidal maniac.

"She's on the move again," Zeke said.

He refocused, and watched the monitor as the blond who had met with Matheo flagged down a taxi. The team pursuing her piled into a dark suburban van and followed from a safe distance.

Daniel leaned forward to get a closer look. "Don't lose her," he said into the open phone line to his team on the ground.

He glanced back at Bobby, who was hovering in the background, a nervous twitch in his eye. From the light sheen of perspiration on Bobby's forehead, Daniel figured he'd better put Parker's cousin out of his misery. "Kyle and the team are waiting for you downstairs. Report back to him now."

Bobby threw Parker an encouraging smile and bolted out the door.

He turned back to the monitors and opened a telepathic connection to Kyle. He's on his way down. Remember, Vic and her team are on point. You are their back up and are to remain well out of their way. We need Matheo to lead us to Elise, and that won't happen if he knows we're on to him.

"I should be down there," Simon said. "One Direction doesn't have the experience I do."

Daniel severed the link with Kyle and turned to Simon. "We've been over this." The situation did not sit well with his beta, but they had no choice. Simon was his father's son in not only personality, but looks. Where Matheo was olive skinned with dark hair, David and Simon were blond with fair skin. Matheo would recognize his nephew in an instant.

Daniel, sensing Simon was about to argue, said, "Am I clear?"

Simon remained quiet, but continued to pace the floor.

Feeling the absence of Parker from beside him, he tore his eyes away from the screen and sought her out. Parker had kicked off her shoes and was now sitting on the couch, her laptop open, and a familiar expression on her face. She was on a mission to find information.

He was beyond infuriated that she had put herself at risk, coming face to face with the lowlife. The relief that had washed over him when he heard she was safe had been replaced by white-hot anger. He should never have agreed to putting her in danger. The council had made her his responsibility, and he wasn't about to fail them now.

Satisfied she was safe—for now—his focus returned to the feed coming from Vic's team. He watched Matheo exit a car that had pulled up at the corner of Boulevard Saint-Laurent and Rue Prince Arthur.

"Stay back. Don't get too close," Daniel said.

"Roger that."

Daniel, Simon, and Parker's omegas were glued to the screen when Matheo walked up to one of the well-lit establishments along the road. A long line of people stood on the sidewalk. Much to the crowd's disgust, the over-sized security staff granted Matheo immediate entry. He disappeared into the club.

Daniel was about to bark out a command to Vic when he heard an unladylike snort from the couch.

Parker looked up to four sets of eyes staring at her. She shrugged and pointed at her screen. "According to Trip Advisor this is the bar to pick up women." She then pointed to Matheo's live feed. "It figures that he would know that."

Daniel snorted. Even he found it hard to keep a straight face at her observation.

Now that they knew Matheo's whereabouts for the time being, their attention returned to the mystery woman. The team following the woman in white was discreetly hidden from view, and trailing at least two cars behind her cab, which had now turned into one of the affluent streets in the Westmount district. The cab slowed and pulled into the driveway of a magnificent turn-of-the-century manor.

Large gates prevented the taxi from advancing any farther up the driveway. The woman left the vehicle and proceeded through the gates, which magically opened for her.

"Quick Samuel, what's the address?" Parker said.

Samuel supplied Parker with the information, and she quickly tapped away at her laptop. "Brenda Hollingsworth, twenty-seven. Heir to the Hollingsworth Empire. She works for Daddy, and has had a very active social presence since she was a teen." She looked up at Daniel. "Well, that answers that question. She is most definitely Human."

He frowned. "What do Elise and Matheo want with the Hollingsworths?"

Parker turned back to her laptop. "That's what I am about to find out."

A few hours later, Matheo exited the club. He headed down the street, his watchers staying well back and out of sight.

He sneered when he spotted a lone woman heading in the opposite direction, and Daniel's heart filled with dread. They needed to tread carefully. If they made their presence known, the woman would be safe, but he would be on to them. If they remained quiet, and Matheo took after her, an innocent woman would be scarred for life. Whichever choice he made, he was damned.

"Only show your hand if her life is in danger."

His attention flicked back to the sleeping woman on the couch. Despite her obvious exhaustion, she had insisted on staying up with him, even after he had dismissed Simon, Jay, and Zeke. Fatigue had finally won out, and she fell asleep, though it was a sleep filled with demons and torment. More than once she had cried out, her murmurings too jumbled for even his sensitive ears to pick up.

Daniel sat down on the couch beside her and carefully placed a pillow under her head. He watched his team as they trailed their prey, and absently stroked Parker's hair. She became more restful, and her expression softened with each touch.

Not for the first time, he wished things could be different.