27. Where is he

TWENTY-SEVEN

Last night was great. Damien more than made up for his boasting, and after I was panting beneath him, I finally muttered something about how I'm glad I met him when he was forty. I think a later-twenties, early-thirties Damien would've been the death of me.

But that was last night.

Today? I'm freaking out.

I can't find Orion.

At first, I figured he was still exploring the house. It didn't take my cat long to learn that off-limits didn't apply to him; honestly, it doesn't apply to me, either, anymore. More often than not, he's upstairs, keeping Genevieve company while she's stretching, practicing, or working on her choreography. If not there, he's following Mary around the kitchen, hoping the kindly cook would drop some scraps for him.

I've double-checked the first floor three times already. Vin's door is closed, whether he's home or not, but when I knock on the door and realize he's sleeping off an all-night search for Oliver, I slink away after he confirms Orion didn't slip in when he got home this morning.

Frankie promises he'll let me know if he finds my cat, though I shouldn't worry since Orion usually finds some out of the way corner to nap in, especially when he's having another flare-up. But he's been good lately which is why I'm so concerned when it seems as if he's up and disappeared.

I want to ask Genevieve if she's seen him, but I figure I'll have to wait until the music stops before I head upstairs..

I've learned that, when the music is playing and the door is closed, it's better to leave Genevieve be. She can go from bubbly to demanded in a heartbeat, then blame it on the stress of being interrupted. I don't blame her, either, and it's better for me to find something to do on my own while I'm waiting for Damien to return home.

Once Vin came home and gave him an update on the search—which yielded no sign of Oliver so far—the two men traded places. My husband kissed my goodbye while Vin went to bed.

It's late afternoon now. I tried to distract myself with television in between getting up to look around for Orion. It made it harder to focus because, usually when one of us is in here, so is he.

Finally, right when it's about six o'clock, the music finally dies. I don't hesitate. Launching myself from the couch, I head right upstairs, going so quick that I nearly slam right into Gen coming out of her studio.

She looks fairly fresh for having danced all day, but I barely clock that. Not when I'm way too worried about Orion.

When I don't see him trotting at her feet, my worry only worsens. Even if he was sleeping, if Gen left the studio and he was in it, he'd be right behind her, thinking it was time for food.

"Where's Orion?" I ask. "I've been looking for him all day, and I haven't been able to find any sign of him that he's around."

Did he get out? With all the cameras Damien has surrounding this place, Frankie would've caught sight of my orange and white cat sneaking out. But he hadn't, and he wants me to believe that Orion is just hiding in the house somewhere.

But where?

Genevieve doesn't seem too concerned. "I don't know, but did you check the shit box?"

"Yeah. I did. There was nothing in it."

"Hm. That's weird. I would've thought he'd have filled it by now. I mean, I gave him his medicine this morning."

Record scratch?—

"Medicine? What medicine?"

"You know. The poop medicine."

"Orion doesn't have poop medicine. Gen, what are you talking about?"

She tucks a lock of blonde hair that escaped her bun behind her ear. "Remember? When he was constipated?"

"That was weeks ago. He's been okay since then. And when he gets a little stopped-up, Mary lets me have some canned pumpkin for him." Damien's cook is a sweetheart, and she's been stocking it up for me ever since Genevieve burst into the kitchen, shouting we had a pumpkin emergency.

Gen frowns. "Then what was in that shot?"

Panic makes my voice rise. "What shot? What are you talking about?"

"Okay. Let me explain. Last night, I tweaked my ankle again. Okay? So, this morning, Christopher came over and went with me to see Dr. Liz at the clinic. She told me to take a couple Aleves, then stay off of it if it was still bothering me. Before I left, she told me that she'd been talking to this vet tech she knows about Orion. The vet tech got some medicine from the vet she works for, then gave it to Doc Liz as a favor for us. She said… she said I should go home, scruff him, and give him the injection right away. It would help him stay regular for the next month in case he has problems agian. That…" Her brow furrows. "That was the right thing to do… wasn't it? She told me to give him the medicine."

I can't imagine why. We only called her about the cat once; since then, I only saw Dr. Liz one more time, at Damien's birthday dinner. Neither of us brought up Orion.

If there was such a thing as a shot that did everything Genevieve just said it did, why hadn't any of the vets I brough Orion to as a kitten mentioned that?

Something… something's not right.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," I lie, trying to keep Damien's sister calm. "Where did you give him the medicine?"

"Well, my room. He likes to hang out on my bed sometimes, but I'm sure he would've left by now. I left the door open while I went to my studio?—"

I'm already rushing for the open door. I've never been in Genevieve's room before since I've never had a reason to, and I wasn't going to just walking in there to search for Orion earlier. I'm kicking myself now because there he is?—

—and he's not moving.

My beautiful boy is sprawled out on his side, legs kicking out in front of him. His eyes are half open, and unless I'm panicking too much to notice, his body is completely still.

No!

I run over to him, Gen right on my heels.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Did I kill your cat? Savannah, did I fucking kill your cat?"

I… I don't know. I lift him up, a small burst of relief rushing through me when he's not stiff. Rigor mortis hasn't set in, and he's still warm. Putting his face up to mine, I can tell that he's breathing, but barely.

I whirl on Geneveieve, trying not to freak her out any more than she is—and that I am. "He's alive, but I'm not sure if he will be for much longer. What was in that medicine?"

Her eyes are wide as she takes a step away from me. A moment later, she seems to collect herself. "I don't know. But I know who can find out."

Before she says another word, she dashes out the door. I poke Orion, trying to wake him up. He's not responding at all. It's almost like he's been sedated or something, knocked out so entirely, he didn't even close his eyes.

"Come on, Orion. Wake up, baby. I know you're okay. Please. Please, please, please…"

He doesn't answer, and I'm seconds away from throwing up all over Genevieve's floor.

This time, when she's on the phone, she doesn't even bother with the speakerphone. Slightly panicked by more than a little firm, she's already speaking to someone on the other end as she rushes back in, patting Orion's head with her trembling fingers.

"Dr. Liz? It's Genevieve. Yeah. Hi. No, it's not my ankle again. It's actually about that shot you gave me this morning. The one you said was for the… Right. The cat." I whimper as she pauses. "Uh-huh. What was in it? You… you don't know. Well, something's wrong with Orion. He's… he's, like, passed out or something. Who was the vet… what do you mean, they're on vacation? Doc, we need help."

Gen is quiet for a few seconds before she starts to nod. "Okay. I guess that's better than nothing. We'll be right there."

She hangs up the phone, and I cling to my cat. "What did she say?"

"To bring him to the clinic. She might not be a vet, but she swears she can help. The vet who prescribed the medicine left for a cruise this morning. Dr. Liz has the bag it came in, though, and medical knowledge."

Liz was the one who helped us when Orion got constipated…

"What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

The clinic is closed.

It took close to half an hour to arrive, and I felt every one of those seconds like a piece of glass jabbing into my skin. Orion was no better or worse during the wait, but I couldn't stop myself from thinking that, the longer it takes to get to the clinic, the closer to death my baby is getting.

Part of the wait was because of Vin. Damien's cousin heard me and Genevieve panicking, stampeding around the house, searching for keys and the cat carrier. We woke him up, but before the grumpy giant could ask us what we were doing, Gen launched into an explanation that made the whole thing sound so much worse than it is.

She thinks it's all her fault. I try to tell her that, if a doctor gave me medicine and told me to pass it along to a patient, I'd do the same thing. Maybe not if it was my cat unless I did some research first, but there are a few people in this world you just think you can trust.

Doctors should be at the top of that list.

For Dr. Liz, it's probably the vet friend who gave her the injection to begin with.

To my surprise, instead of telling Gen to calm down, Vin waits until she's finished, then announces he'll be the one to take us to the clinic. That's how I found out that Damien told him he's responsible for watching me when the boss can't. And since Genevieve is Damien's beloved baby sister, that goes double for her.

I'll give him credit. He knew better than to insist on bringing Orion to see Dr. Liz himself. I have to go, and because Gen's still convinced she killed him, it would do more harm than good if we left her behind.

Explaining everything to Vin ate up time. So did the inevitable call to Damien.

Vin was right. If the three of us left the house and didn't tell him, my husband wouldn't like that one bit. Not like we could hide it from him, either. Me and Vin have the trackers, and despite proclaiming that Genevieve doesn't, the overprotective Dragonfly I've come to know and love has some way of keeping an eye on her. I'd put money on it.

Damien didn't try to stop us, either. Instead, earning himself even more credit in my books, he says he'll be right there. He wants to be support for his sister and me—and Orion—and if Dr. Liz can't help or it's bad news, he doesn't want us to be alone, either.

Only one problem. We're standing in front of the clinic, the lights are off, the door's locked, and there's no sign of Dr. Liz or Damien.

Vin started calling him the moment we pulled up in front of the clinic. Too distracted by the dark windows, I didn't realize that he kept disconnecting and starting over until it's about the fourth time.

I swallow dryly. "Is… is he not answering?"

Vin stares at his phone as if he can make it put Damien on the line. "No. He should've been here already. He told me he'd be waiting for us. Damien doesn't lie."

No. He doesn't.

So where is he? Where's Liz? She knew we were on our way, and the clinic is open for a few more hours at least. Why did she shut down for the night before we got here?

What the hell is going on?

I don't know, but just as the panic starts to well up inside of me again, I remember the phone he gave me.

Like the stiletto on my hip, I decided to start carrying the phone with me. After I got dressed this morning, I slipped it into the back pocket of my jeans in case my husband wanted to check in with me during the day.

I have one missed call from Damien. It puts it at twenty minutes ago, around the time he should've arrived here.

Was that him calling to tell me something came up? If so, why don't I have a text or a voicemail?

It doesn't matter. And I'm sure he never expected I would need to track him so soon as he gave me this phone, but I jab my finger on the blue app he pointed out last night, then select his name.

A green dot appears on the screen—and it's moving.

Vin looks over my shoulder at the phone. "Is that Damien?"

There's no time to explain. "Yes. And it looks like he's heading toward the West Side of Springfield." I don't understand. "Did he have to see Devil about something?"

The more Damien opened up to me about his life as a mafia leader, the more I couldn't stop referring to his truce with Lincoln Crewes as a ‘deal with the devil'. Lincoln is the only one who has access to his location—well, apart from me now—and Damien prides himself on protecting his Family by keeping this relationship with the Sinners Syndicate solid.

Maybe that's what happened. Maybe Lincoln needed him, and he went.

The look on Vin's face says that's impossible. "No. And he wouldn't head onto Sinner territory without back-up. I'm his back-up. Something's not right. The boss is in trouble. I've gotta go after him."

He reaches for my phone. I hide it behind my back.

"Savannah…"

"No. If you're going after Damien, I'm going, too. I have the tracker. You have to let me."

He so doesn't have to let me.

If he uses force, not even my self-defense lessons will keep Vin from snatching that phone from me if he wants it. But I think he knows that, if he does, Damien will have his ass for laying his hands on me…. And it's a lose-lose situation for the big guy.

Even worse because Genevieve pipes up with, "What about Orion?"

Shit. I didn't forget about my cat, but she's holding the cat carrier, lifting it up so she'll see any change in him.

"The clinic's closed," Vin begins.

"Obviously. But just because one vet is on vacation, that doesn't mean they all are. We've gotta find one and take Orion there."

"Genny—"

I've never seen Genevieve so serious. "I know you have to make sure Dame's okay. I want you to. But Orion… this is my fault. I'll take care of him. You two go."

"And leave you alone?" asks Vin. "No. I can't?—"

"You have to. Look, I have a friend, okay? He can help me."

"He?"

These Libellula men. "Can you call him?" I ask her. "Get him here?"

"I'm sure I can. It might take him twenty minutes or so to get here, but I'll be okay by myself until then."

"Is it Christopher?" demands Vin. "Why is Christopher twenty minutes away?"

She didn't say ‘Christopher', did she? I noticed it. I know Gen did… but her cousin didn't.

"It doesn't matter. Gen, you know about the dragonfly decals on the windows, right?" I hurry over to the one on the clinic's locked door. "A safe space for members of your brother's Family. Find one. Hide out there with Orion until your friend comes. If you need us, call Vin. I'm sure you have his number. We're going to make sure Damien's okay."

She nods in determination. "And I'm going to make sure Orion is okay."

Because they better both be…