“We don’t know. Maybe because the rest of his plan has failed. She’s the baby of the family. The most vulnerable.”
“Do you know what he plans?”
“No.”
“Call Quentin. He may have heard something on the grapevine. If he has, I would have thought he’d have said something, but he may not know to look.”
“I will. And don’t worry. We’ll sort this.”
“I know you will. I have every faith in you.” There is another pause. “Elijah, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything. I honestly thought it was for the best. When you said nothing, I thought maybe you wanted to ignore it. When things between you and Darra got worse…I made a mistake, and I’ll take that with me to the end of my days.”
“Mum, I love you. I understand why you kept it quiet. But it was hard having to carry that knowledge alone. But you’re right. If I’d known you knew, I would’ve questioned whether I should’ve done more. I may have lost Lottie altogether.”
“I know,” she says quietly. “We will talk about this some more later.”
“We will.”
I disconnect the call, open my laptop, and my hidden directory. I scour my files until I spot the one I’m looking for.
“Okay, Pen, let’s see what your friends can do,” I mutter.
CHAPTER 63
ELIJAH
When Pen enters the office, I drop the file directly to her machine. She hits a few more buttons.
“And now we wait,” she says.
I pull her into my lap, and her arms wrap around my neck.
“We’ll find out what he’s up to,” Pen promises.
“I hope so. Harper’s had enough to deal with in her young life. I know I’ve been hard on her, but that’s what big brothers are for.”
Pen chuckles. “I’m not sure Harper would see it that way. But she loves you. Family supports one another.”
My phone rings. Quentin’s number flashes up.
“I need to take this,” I say.
Pen moves off my lap to perch on the side of my desk.
“Quentin,” I say. “I’ve got you on speaker. Pen’s here too.”
“Hi, Pen,” he says. “What can I do for you? Your message was a little cryptic.”
I fill him in and hear him moan.
“What is it with that man?” he hisses. “I’ve not heard anything on the grapevine, but then I’ve not been looking. I have the family name flagged in case a story comes in, but hemay know that. Our friendship is not exactly a secret. Give me a couple of hours, and I’ll see what I can find out.”
“Thanks Quentin. I’ll owe you one.”
“No worries. We’ll speak soon.”
He hangs up, and I stand up, moving towards Pen.
She grins up at me. “Your desk?”
