“I’m not a fucking imbecile, Elijah. The plane landed. Lottie and her friend were no-where to be seen.”
My temperature drops and an uncontrollable shudder sweeps through my body.
“What do you mean, they weren’t on the plane? That’s not possible. She stayed at Dani’s house last night. Her dad was dropping them at the airport.”
What the hell? Has there been an accident? Fuck!
I pull my phone away from my ear to see if there are any missed messages.
Nothing.
I run a hand through my hair. Pen sits up next to me. Her face shows the same concern raging through my body. She can hear Darra without her being on speaker.
Pen picks up her phone and shows me as she dials Lottie’s number.
It goes straight to voicemail.
When she tries again, the same thing happens.
Pen jumps out of bed, grabbing the dressing gown I bought her when she first stayed over, wrapping it around herself. There’s no time to appreciate the beauty of her naked body this morning.
She grabs my laptop and logs in, pulling up the location software I placed on everyone’s phone years ago.
Lottie’s phone last pinged at the airport five hours ago. Then it goes dead.
Fuck, did someone kidnap her?
I squeeze my eyes shut, my breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.
Pen looks up, coming towards me. She takes my phone and puts it on mute, placing it on the bed next to us. Pen’s hand lands on my arm and she squeezes, trying to offer me comfort, but for the first time, I want to shake it off. This is my daughter, and she’s missing.
Instead, Pen ignores me, taking my face in her hands as she forces my gaze to hers.
“You need to breathe,” she says. “We’re going to find her, but you need to focus. Think Elijah. You’re Lottie’s best chance.”
Her words snap me out of my haze. I draw in several shuddering breaths, listening to Pen’s voice as she talks me through some controlled breathing.
She’s right, panic won’t help Lottie. I need to use logic, reasoning.
“Elijah, you bastard.” Darra’s voice comes over the line again. “Are you still there?”
“When was the last time you spoke to Lottie?” I ask, putting the phone on speaker so Pen can hear what is being said while she’s busy tapping away on my computer.
“Her tracker’s been disabled,” Pen whispers, her wide eyes meeting mine.
“Disabled? Impossible. They give off a signal even when the phone is switched off.”
Pen spins her laptop around so I can see DISABLED in bold letters, next to Lottie’s tracker number.
Fuck!
Darra, unaware I’m talking to Pen, hisses down the phone.
“NoshitSherlock. I thought you were the security expert. Even I could tell you that.”
“Don’t be such a bitch, Darra. You think I’m not concerned? I’m trying to work out what’s going on.”
“I’m boarding a plane and will be at Heathrow in two and a half hours. You better have Mason or someone there to pick me up.”
