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"Colanced over the top of A Confederacy of Dunces - and was surprised to find Beth walking into his room

One look at the queen&039;s face and he sat up fro?"

"Have you seen Layla?"

"No, but I&039;ve just been here since I got back froht "She&039;s not in her roo as it slipped around her shoulders "She and I were going to hang out, but I can&039;t find her She&039;s not in the clinic, or the kitchen - and I looked for Qhuinn down in the training center as well as up here He&039;s gone as well"

Maybe they were having a ro in the uine

"Have you tried their phones?" he asked

"Qhuinn&039;s is in his roo hers if it&039;s with her"

As he got to his feet and started to get a little hyped, he thought, calency In fact, this was a big house with a lot of roorown adults Two people should be allowed to go off together and have it not be a crisis

Especially if they were having a young together

The sound of a vacuum off in the distance drew his attention

"Come with me," he told the queen "If there&039;s one person in this place who&039;ll know? He&039;s down the hall with a Dyson"

Sure enough, Fritz orking in the second-floor sitting rooot slapped in the face with all theby the couch

Great Just fabulous

"Fritz?" the queen called out

The doggen stopped the back-and-forth and killed the machine "Well, hello, Your Majesty Sire"

Lots of bowing

"Listen, Fritz," Blay said, "have you seen Layla?"

Instantly, the butler&039;s face became downcast "Oh Yes Indeed"

When he didn&039;t fill anything else in, Blay prompted him with an, "Annnnnd?"

"She took the car The Mercedes It was about two hours ago"

What the hell, Blay thought Unless"So Qhuinn ith her"

"No, she was alone" As a boatload of uh-oh hit Blay&039;s stomach, the butler shook his head "I tried to insist that I take her, but she would not let ?" Beth asked

"She said she had no destination I knew that Master Qhuinn had taught her to drive, and when she ordered me to tender upon her palm the keys, I knew not what to do"

The queen spoke up "You are not at fault here, Fritz Not at all We&039;re just worried about her"

Blay took out his phone "And there&039;s GPS on the vehicle, so this is going to be fine I&039;ll just hit up V and he&039;ll be able to locate her for us"

After he sent the text, the queen reassured the butler so for a response

Ten minutes later? Nada Which meant the Brother with the IT skills was in the middle of some business don

Fifteen minutes

Twenty

He even called, and didn&039;t get an answer So he could only assuotten shanked during fighting

"Qhuinn&039;s not in the gyh that question had already been answered

Beth shrugged "Not when I checked"

Blay put in a quick call, got Ehlena, and a moment later was informed that the workout room was empty, Luchas was asleep, and there was no one in the pool or on the basketball court

The guy wasn&039;t in the house And not in the field, because he was off rotation That left only one other conceivable place

"I knohere he is," Blay said gruffly "I&039;ll go get him while ait for V to check in"

After all, that fe world by herself, he had a right to be involved in locating her And sure,he didn&039;t: hard to believe he would have left his phone in his roo out in the car He&039;d want soet in touch with him

On that note, why had he left his cell behind at all? Not like hi okayand he didn&039;t want to be interrupted

Great

Looping back to his rooht need one - and a coat that was only to cover his hardware Then he jogged down the stairs and went out the vestibuleand deht

He resu lot of the Iron Mask, and when he got to the club&039;s rear door, he hit the bell and showed his face to the security caiving hi ti for - "

"Yeah, he&039;s at the bar"

Of course he was "Thanks"

Blay nodded to the bouncers, Big Rob and Silent Tom, and pushed out of the staff area into the club proper As he eht into his sternum - or maybe that was his heartbeat

Annnnd there he was: Even though there were a hundred people crowded around the bar, Qhuinn was a neon sign to hi at the far end, his back to Blay, his elbows splayed on the black varnished wood, his head hanging low

Blay exhaled a curse as he thought, here they were, back at the beginning And yup, before he could evenup to Qhuinn, her hand lingering on his arood look at her

Blay kneas next A quick up-and-doith that mismatched stare, a slow so off to the bathrooms -