Look into this? Samson was twisting the truth just a little more than usual. The one who was looking into this, or more likely thrusting into this was Zane, Gabriel thought with a bitter laugh.

“You have no right to deny me access to my daughter! She’s a minor, and by law, she—”

“There is more than one law that governs vampires and hybrids,” Samson interrupted, a dangerous edge to his voice now. “And while I understand very well that the right of a father is a primary one, it does not override the laws of our society.”

“I don’t give a fuck about your laws. My daughter is mine! All I asked you to do was protect her. And what do you do? Listen to her stupid blabbering.”

Gabriel’s jaw clenched. So much for the care for his daughter. It wasn’t concern for her wellbeing that had shown through early in the conversation, it was something else entirely. He pushed the thought away, not wanting to follow it to its conclusion.

“Mr. Lewis,” Samson continued undeterred. “We can discuss this—”

“Oh, we’ll discuss this!” Lewis yelled. “As soon as the sun sets, I’m on the next plane to San Francisco, and my daughter had better be waiting for me, or some heads will roll!”

With his threat, the call disconnected.

Samson exhaled on the other line. “You still there, Gabriel?”

“Yep. This didn’t go well.”

“I didn’t expect it to go well. But at least we have a few more hours before we have to face him. Anything new on Zane’s location?”

Gabriel shook his head. “Our contacts have come up empty. Lauren hasn’t heard from Portia either, even though those two are thick as thieves. But Thomas is working on hacking into Zane’s accounts to see if he can find something.”

“Good. And Quinn? He must know something.”

Gabriel rubbed his neck. “I thought so too, but I can’t get anything out of him.”

“Has Zane used his credit card anywhere?”

“He’s too careful for that. Even if he needed gas for the car, I’m sure he paid cash. Let’s face it, if he doesn’t want to be found, we won’t find him.”

“Then we have to figure out a way to draw him out.”

“And how are we gonna do that?”

There was a pause of quiet contemplation before Samson replied, “Get me Quinn. He went to see Thomas last night. I want to know what it was about.”

“Why not ask Thomas?”

“Because Quinn knows something nobody else does. I just have that gut feeling about it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“So do I.”

A click in the line told Gabriel that Samson had disconnected the call.

He sighed.

Behind him, a sound alerted him to the presence of his wife. He turned and smiled at Maya as she floated right into his arms.

“You look worried, baby.”

Gabriel sank his face into her long dark hair and inhaled her intoxicating scent. “That’s because I am.”

“Do you really think Zane will hurt her?”

“If she lied to him, yes.” For Portia’s sake, he hoped she wasn’t hiding anything from Zane.

“But that’s not why you’re worried. There’s something about her father, isn’t there?”

There was little he could hide from Maya, and not just because of their blood-bond. Even without it, she would have known when something was wrong.

“He gave me a chill. There was something in his voice that I didn’t like.”

Maya tilted her head, giving him a questioning look. “More than just a father concerned for his daughter?”

“Oh, he’s concerned all right, but the way he said she was his, it wasn’t right. He considers her his property.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Which means he thinks he can do with her what he wants.” And Gabriel wasn’t sure Lewis’ intentions were in the best interest of his daughter, whatever they were.

“Then you think that Zane might be right after all, that her father wants her to remain a virgin?”

“And if Zane is right, the only question is: why?”

Maya stroked her hand over the pulsing scar on his face. “What if it doesn’t matter anymore?”

He raised a questioning eyebrow. “My sweet wife, I’m not sure I’m following.”

“Whatever the reason for it was, it won’t matter anymore. After spending over twenty-four hours alone with Zane, do you really think she’s still a virgin?”