Minnie returned just as Stan and I were helping Joseph sit up to drink some water.

"Good, you're awake," she said as she wet a hand towel and started wiping Joseph's face with it. "Adamo's source at the airport said that Marco and Deidra checked-in. There is a scout looking for them to confirm their exact location. For now, I suggest we get some rest." 

"Has anyone called the Valentinos to tell them what's happening?" I asked as we all helped Joseph into a standing position.

"I was going to call Wren as soon as I got back to my room," Minnie said. "First, let's get Joseph to his."

Once we had Joseph tucked into bed, Stan walked Minnie and me to our rooms. He made sure we both put his phone number in our contact list and insisted we call if we needed him. I joined Minnie in her room after thanking Stan for his help, and when Minnie closed the door, we both looked at each other and chuckled.

"That poor guy has it bad for you," Minnie said, stating the obvious. "If Vincent were here, he would have put a stop to it straight off. I'm sorry if I haven't been a good chaperone."

"Don't be silly. Stan behaved himself in the bathroom, although he did proposition me."

"Oh? What did he say?" she asked as she scrolled through her cellphone, probably looking for Wren's number.

"He suggested a one-night stand. To satisfy our curiosities."

She shook her head. "He's got a lot of nerve propositioning someone who is clearly engaged, especially with the situation being what it is." She appeared to regret rambling as her brows curved into an apologetic arch over her eyes. "I'm going to call Wren. You can rest on our bed if you'd like."

"Actually, I think I'll slip next door to my bedroom and call Colin."

"Sure, honey. And don't worry. I've endured nights like this before. I'm sure you've heard this already, but I'll say it again. Gollums are hard to kill."

~ ~ ~

"Reese? I didn't expect to hear from you."

I welcomed the sound of Colin's voice as I paced the interior of the red velvet room, although it didn't feel like the lover's suite without Vincent.

"Why?"

"I'm still unsure of the boundaries. You know, the boundaries we don't talk about?"

"I know the ones. I'm calling you because Vincent has disappeared."

"Disappeared? How?"

"He flew out in a snowstorm to rescue my stupid wedding dress and he hasn't been seen in nearly four hours."

Colin had the nerve to laugh and it pissed me off. Clearly, he didn't realize the seriousness of the situation.

"How can you laugh? He should have called three hours ago to check in. And there's the thing with Marco and Deidra."

"What about Marco and Deidra? Vincent told me they left the courtroom with their tails between their legs."

"Well, the planes are grounded and we still haven't located them. The man at the inn said the guy delivering my dress met with two people who could have been Marco and Deidra. Even Caleb thinks it's fishy. He took a search party to look for..."

Colin was laughing again before I could finish my sentence. "Haven't you figured out by now that Vincent is invincible? I may match him in size, but he has always been the better fighter. Don't tell him I said that."

A grin appeared on my face for the first time since Vincent last kissed me. I missed the easy way Colin could make me smile. Now, it seemed almost forbidden. "I won't break your confidence. And whether you think I should be worried or not is irrelevant. I called because I thought... I thought you might offer me some comfort."

Silence.

"I'm glad you feel that way," he said softly. "I will always offer you comfort."

"Thanks, Colin. Hey, do you know a gollum from London named Stanhope? Stan for short."

"Stan with the tan? He's there?" Colin took a moment to laugh a bit more. "How did Vincent react when he saw him?"

"He didn't react at all, which is weird because Stan's radar is tuned into my frequency, big time. I can't get rid of the guy."

I waited while Colin coughed from all the laughing.

"It's sad, really," Colin choked out. "He lost his mate tragically, but ever since then he's been like a parasite. Attracted to anything that will host him."

"That about sums him up, which begs the question. Why wasn't Vincent all over Stan's ass about it?"

"Because Vincent knows Stan has no hope of attracting you away from him. Despite his good looks, Stan has the spine of donut."

"Do donuts have spines? I think this is where you're supposed to use the jellyfish metaphor."

"Are you gonna knock a guy for trying to be original? How else am I going to stand out in a crowd?"

"I thought you were supposed to be keeping your brims low, like the hidden gollum mafia?" My joke had Colin starting the whole process of laughing again, and before I knew it, I was lying on the bed with my phone cradled in my shoulder listening to Colin tell me about airplane engines, although I didn't know how we got onto the subject.

It was Minnie's tap on the door that had me lifting my head as I peeled the phone off my face. The bedroom window revealed the pale light of an approaching sunrise. Apparently, I had fallen asleep talking to Colin.

"Honey, the boys have come home," Minnie said as I opened the door to find her face awash with empathy.

"And?"

"No sign of Vincent on their first attempt. The fresh snow made it difficult to see traces of a struggle or even a body. Adamo is meeting us for breakfast to discuss a second mission."

I nodded numbly. "Okay. I'll get cleaned up."

I felt like I had been woken up by a flying brick, and Minnie's pitying look didn't help. I grabbed my toiletry bag and shuffled down the hall to the communal bathroom, grateful to find it empty. It didn't take much to work myself into a sob, and I abandoned my bag on the sink before slouching over it to cry my eyes out.

"Hello, in there?" came Stan's perpetually chipper voice as he knocked on the door. What the hell was he doing here so early? "Is that you, Reese? Are you having a cry, or did you hurt yourself?"

"I'm fine, Stan. I'll be out in a minute."

"No hurry. Just checking that you're alright."

I heard his footsteps shuffle down the hall, and I grabbed a tissue from a jewel-encrusted box to blow my nose. If I wanted to get through the day, I couldn't go to pieces every time I imagined Vincent lying dead in a snowbank.

The buffet table still stood against the living room wall, restocked with breakfast items, and despite the delicious smells wafting from the serving dishes, I steered clear of the rich selections and opted for a baguette and a caffè. No sense risking a repeat of Joseph's performance by introducing a pound of butter to my already churning stomach.

"We are still missing our gollum comrade," Adamo began when everyone had taken their seats around the table. His eyes shone red and glassy beneath the chandelier, the classic sign of excess alcohol and lack of sleep. "I ask that each of you consider joining a search party. There is some speculation that Marco may be behind Vincent's disappearance, but I have been informed that Marco and Deidra were seen boarding their flight, which took off moments ago." He spoke as he slathered his baguette with butter, giving it a thoughtful survey before taking a bite.

"I will volunteer," Stan said eagerly, looking at me for my approval, which I did with a polite smile.

Adamo acknowledged Stan with a wave of his buttery breakfast. "Thank you, Stan. I am sure you will be an asset to any rescue attempt."

"Of course, I will join Stan," Boris offered as he indulged in his rich breakfast.

"When do you expect to dispatch us, Magister Ricci?" Stan asked.

"We still have a magister ceremony to conduct," Adamo said as he turned his baguette on Boris and then Caleb. "Let us enjoy our meal and ponder Vincent's plight when we reconvene."

~ ~ ~

Joseph woke up just in time to leave for the ceremony, looking much worse than Adamo, and I sat next to him in the Land Rover, which navigated the freshly plowed roads with ease. At one point, Joseph leaned into my ear and told me he would have puked on Stan if the horny bastard had pushed his advantage last night. I told him I appreciated his thoughtful sentiment.

The magister ceremony progressed in a blur of mantras, passing of batons, and drinking of sacramental wine. I had planned to be on a flight back home by now and not in court wearing the same green dress, but I got some satisfaction in watching Boris' pinched expression as he gave up his mighty throne to his son. Most of the time, I pretended to sit in Sunday mass, reciting the only psalm I ever tried to remember. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. The last time I spoke it, I was leaving Heath.

During the trip back to Adamo's place, I made my decision to join the rescue party. George was already on his way to the airport, and Minnie had made it quite plain she was not letting Caleb out of her sight. I figured my chances for surviving the mission were iffy, given that one of my comrades wanted to kill me and the other wanted to screw me, but I was ready to don my wings and take off after Vincent with or without comrades.

As soon as we arrived at the high magister's homestead, Adamo gathered our small group together to petition for one more volunteer. That's when I piped up.

"I want to be part of the search party."

"Reese, you don't know what you're committing to," Caleb said, just as I expected. "I know how desperately you want to find Vincent, but your inexperience will only slow rescue efforts."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Caleb."

He attempted to soften his stance as he continued to argue his point. "I know you've logged some flight hours, but search parties can be grueling. You don't know how long you'll have to endure ankle deep snow and freezing temperatures."

I let Caleb speak his mind, while Minnie looked on in horror, like I'd announced I was bungee jumping from the roof, but I could care less about freezing temperatures or grueling searches. I only cared about finding Vincent alive. Of course, I knew Minnie and Caleb were worried about more than my gollum ineptitudes. They were well aware that my comrades could not be trusted.

Joseph seemed to catch on, and he stepped forward, all blood-shot eyes and looking like death warmed over. "I'll volunteer to keep an eye on Reese." 

I wanted to hug Joseph for his commitment to me and Vincent, but Adamo nipped his ridiculous offer in the bud.

"Don't be absurd, Joseph. You need to get your strength back after all the exercise you put your stomach through. If Reese truly wishes to join the search for her beloved, I will go along and make sure she does not falter. It has been some time since I have mentored a young gollum."

Adamo smiled kindly at me, and I accepted his gesture as a step in the right direction. Perhaps he was warming to the idea that hybrids weren't so vile. When I looked to Caleb and Minnie for their approval, I found their faces frozen and impassive. If their trust in Adamo was not absolute, they were doing a lousy job of hiding it.

"Four gollums is a risky number," Caleb said. "You're more likely to be spotted. You will have to pair off."

"That is the plan," Adamo said with a sweeping gesture of finality. "We will leave by motor transport in two hours. I suggest everyone retire for a nap."

I took Adamo's advice and escaped to my room, avoiding a lecture from Caleb and Minnie by claiming I needed to call my parents. There was no point in putting it off. Mom and Dad needed to know what was going on, minus the bit about me joining the rescue party. I ended up giving them the snowmobile version of the story, and they did their best to reassure me that Vincent was not the kind of man to get beaten down easily.

The next call I made went to Sam at MegaMag. I reiterated the snowmobile lie, explaining that the media had not been alerted. He swore his secrecy under some ethical journalism code, and I promised to call back with more details. What I didn't tell him was the police had not been alerted, which I was not happy about.

The next call came a little easier. I was desperate to commiserate with my bestie.

"Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Reese," she said like a true sympathetic friend. "But, Vincent is the toughest guy I've ever met. I'll bet there's a reasonable explanation for why he's missing."

"Try me. I've thought of them all. If there was a way for Vincent to get word to me, he would have done it."

"Now I know why Colin was acting strangely yesterday. We were supposed to hang out but he bailed at the last minute. I haven't been able to reach him on his cell. It just goes straight to voicemail."

"He's probably just dealing with the situation like any guy who has a love/hate relationship with his brother. There's got to be a good amount of guilt going on."

"You're probably right. Don't lose hope, chica. Vincent loves you too much to die. I believe this with every fiber of my being."

"Thanks. I think I'll try to rest now, but I appreciate your positive thoughts. You're the best friend in the world, you know that?" I sniffled into the phone before I could pull it away, and Sylvie was all over it.

"It's good to cry if you feel like it," she said. "Otherwise, you walk around with that shit stuck to you. Those are the only words of wisdom I remember my mom giving me."

I chuckled and sniffled again. "I've had to compose myself for six hours. I'm due for a good cry."

"I'll let you do that then. I love you, Reese."

"Love you, too."

As soon as I hung up, I went ahead and let 'er rip, soaking the pillow of Adamo's crushed velvet bed ensemble with my salty tears. Without Vincent as my rock, where would my waters rush? What compass would I use to find the shore? How had I become such a sap? I scrolled to Vincent's number and held my breath as I pressed the green phone icon. His voicemail picked up immediately, and I listened to his sultry voice telling me to leave a message.

Damn.

I scrolled again, this time to Colin's number. Voicemail.

Damn.