“I’m here to report an abduction. It took place around an hour ago.”

Jeff’s gaze whipped to mine, his computer forgotten, but when he saw me, his alert expression flattened.

My nostrils flared, and I wondered if I should wave a white flag or draw a pistol.

“Tala Davenport,” he drawled, then leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Fancy seeing you again. What brings you here today? Wait.” He held a hand up. “Let me guess. Your sister is the one who was abducted?”

I gritted my teeth. Pistol it was. “Yes, she was, but I need you to listen and take me seriously this time.”

“Sure, just give me a minute.” He turned back to his computer, his hand settling on the mouse.

With the angle of the monitor, I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I had a feeling . . .

I leaned over the counter to see a game of online poker. “Seriously, Jeff? I’m not joking. I need help. Now!” I banged my fist on the counter, which got a jump out of him.

He closed his game and gave me a withering glare. “Fine. Let me grab the paperwork, but in the meantime, why don’t you tell me what she’s done.”

“She hasn’t done anything. She’s been abducted. Just now—I mean, about forty-five minutes ago. You guys need to get on this right away. Her life could be in jeopardy.” Gods, why am I having to explain this? I mean, I know Tessa’s got a reputation, but she’s been abducted. They should be acting immediately.

Jeff pulled out a clipboard with the magically enchanted forms on it. “How do you know she’s been abducted?”

“Because I saw—” I swallowed thickly, the psychic images barreling through my mind. Licking my dry lips, I said more carefully, “Because a strange man came into our shop about an hour ago. Tessa was helping him, and she was alone with him. And then she disappeared with only her shoe left behind, so I called in a psychic friend of mine. She felt bad energy and got a glimpse of Tessa being taken. My sister’s disappearance is legit this time.”

He scoffed. “A guy showed up, and she disappeared with him. Really, Tala?”

“Did you not hear the part about what my psychic friend saw?” I replied through clenched teeth.

His eyes narrowed. “Have you thought that maybe this is a prank she’s playing? It wouldn’t be the first time. You know how she loves attention.”

If looks could kill, I was pretty sure he’d be dead in his seat right now. “It’s not a prank.”

“Or, maybe she lost her shoe, and that’s why your psychic friend picked up on the bad energy. Everybody gets annoyed when they lose stuff. Did you think about that?”

I leaned over the counter more and hissed, “It’s not like that this time. She’s been abducted. Now, quit wasting time. Who can help me?”

His disdainful expression grew. “Perhaps you’re overreacting again, like you did last time when you thought Tessa was abducted. Was that last year, or the year before that? I’ve lost count, but I believe your sister has gone missing at least half a dozen times in the past five years. Each time, we’ve enlisted an SF squad to track her down, only to find her sunning herself on a beach in Mexico, or hiding away at an exclusive spa retreat, or what was the last one?” He rolled his eyes. “Oh right, she’d gone on an impulsive road trip with a girlfriend and forgot to tell you about it.”

Shame at my overreactions made my cheeks heat, but then my lips parted in disbelief. “You mean the SF won’t help—”

“Look, Tala.” He held up his hand again. “The reality is that Tessa disappears regularly, and it’s not the SF’s fault that she doesn’t answer her phone or respond to any of the mass social media postings asking her to confirm her whereabouts. And how much SF time did we lose on Tessa’s last excursion?” With a tap of his fingers, forms appeared on the ledger, and my sister’s history with the SF scrolled across it in magical ink. “We lost approximately forty-two hours of squad member time on the last one. And I believe you were told that the next time you became worried over your sister’s whereabouts, that you would be billed upfront for the time requested of the SF, unless there was proof something had actually happened to her.” He raised his eyebrows. “Do you have proof this time?”

“No.” My hands began to shake, so I balled them and hid them under the counter. There was no way in hell I could afford to pay them either. That would probably cost more than I’d made in the last ten years. “Look, I know my sister is impulsive and does things rashly, but this time, it’s real.” My tone turned pleading. “This time isn’t one of Tessa’s wayward ventures. She’s been taken, and every second I waste arguing with you is another second that her life could be in danger.”

“Do you want to pay for our time to guarantee immediate action?”

“I can’t afford it.”

His bored stare didn’t lessen. “Fine. In that case, you know the drill. Fill out the paperwork here, and the commander will consider if your case is valid enough to warrant another SF squad departing to search for her.” He pushed the magical ledger across the counter.

Tears of frustration pricked my eyes at how much time had already been wasted, but I placed my hand on the sphere–shaped crystal attached to the ledger. The crystal charm began to fill the ledger out, magically pulling the information from my mind.

When finished, I blinked rapidly and shoved the ledger back to him. “Okay, paperwork’s done. Now can I speak to whoever’s in charge?”

Jeff shuffled the papers. “Keep in mind, she was the squad commander that was in charge of your sister’s last two disappearances. I’m sure you remember how that went.”

Shit. Commander Klebus hated my sister. Well, not hated her, but she had about as much patience for Tessa’s flighty nature as one did a bad rash.

And while I knew protocol would require Commander Klebus to listen to me about Tessa’s disappearance, I also knew that her tolerance had worn thin because of my twin sister’s impulsive past actions.

But how was I to know when my sister’s random disappearances were real versus intentional?

While it wasn’t unheard of for Tessa to randomly up and leave without telling anybody, there had been a few instances where she’d been in trouble and needed help.

On one of Tessa’s excursions, she’d fallen off a cliff while hiking in the Grand Canyon. During that particular venture, she’d felt the urge to find herself and needed time away in nature. However, nature didn’t exactly agree with high heels on rocky terrains. And funnily enough, even as supernaturals, we still required adequate hydration when hiking in a scorching-hot desert. My sister hadn’t even thought to bring along a water bottle.

The SF had found Tessa at the bottom of a canyon ravine following that disappearance. My twin had suffered a nasty broken ankle and had gone twenty-four hours without anything to drink. If we hadn’t found her when we did, she probably would have died from dehydration.

I swallowed down my rising fear. Of course, that episode had been two years ago, and there’d been a few false emergencies since then. Bottom line, even with my “psychic friend” seeing otherwise, nobody was going to believe me that this time Tessa’s disappearance was legit.

But that didn’t mean I was giving up on my sister. She was the only family I had, and I loved her regardless of her faults.

“Just let Commander Klebus know I’m here,” I finally bit out.

“I’ll get this back to her right away,” he replied with mock sweetness, then returned his attention to his computer and pulled up his poker game.

“Do you want me to break your computer?” My fingers stretched toward the cable. All it would take was a wedge of my telekinetic power to rip that cord in two.

The cord began to bend, and Jeff pushed his chair back, the wheels squeaking on the floor as he gave me a shocked stare.