Silence greets my question, so I open the door the rest of the way and step inside. For several long moments, my brain refuses to accept what I’m seeing in front of me.
An empty crib, and my babygirl’s diaper and bikini top abandoned on the floor.
And no sign of my Little one anywhere.
Now it’s panic rather than simple unease clawing at me, tearing at my chest, my throat as I race for the bathroom. Maybe she was upset and decided to use the potty instead of her diaper.
But no. The bathroom is as empty as her crib, and a sob rises in my throat, strangling me.
“Gavin!” As I scream for my assistant, I race for the closet, only to find it empty as well.
“Cat? What’s wrong?” A pause, and I know he’s seeing the same thing I see, though he can’t possibly be feeling the same terror that currently has me by the throat. “Where’s Alexis?”
“I don’t know.” Stepping out of the closet again, I gesture at the empty crib. “I came in to wake her up and she’s gone. She’s justgone. I don’t know where she went or if she’s safe or?—”
“Okay.” Gavin steps forward to grip my arms, his touch like his voice gentle but firm. “Take a deep breath for me. In through your nose and then out through your mouth.”
As I inhale sharply through my nose, he smiles, though it’s distinctly strained at the edges. “Are you going to punch me in the face if I say ‘good girl’?”
Despite my panic, myterror, a laugh bursts out of me. “No. I’d go straight for your balls.”
“Fair enough. Now, take your phone out and call Evander so he can use that clever little tracking device around your Little one’s neck to figure out where she is. She can’t have gone far, the island isn’t all that big.”
Relief nearly sends me to my knees as I yank my phone from my pocket. “Evander. How the fuck did I forget about Evander?”
I’m dialing as I speak, and a moment later Evander’s gruff voice fills my ears. “Cat?” Amusement and curiosity wend their way around his words. “To what do I owe this dubious honor?”
“Alexis is missing. I need you to track her, find out where she is.”
And just like that, he’s all business, his tone brisk and firm when he speaks again. “Pulling her tracker information up now. How long has she been missing?”
“I don’t know. I put her down for a nap after the waterpark, but that was nearly two hours ago.”
Two hours. Once more, fear claws at my chest. She could be anywhere by now.
“Well, the good news is, it doesn’t look like she got far. According to the tracker she’s in the woods just outside your house. If I had to guess, you’ve got yourself a sulky Little girl who is throwing herself quite the pity-party.”
Spinning away from Gavin, I stride toward the nursery door, anger now warring with the fear still constricting my chest. “I swear to god if that’s what she’s doing, she won’t sit properly for a week.”
“Don’t blame you. All right, go out your front door and head to your left. She didn’t go very deep into the woods, far as I can tell.”
I hurry down the stairs as fast as I dare, and then race for the front door, not even bothering with shoes. The thick socks Gavin brought me after I put Alexis down won’t protect me from everything, but I can’t stomach the thought of waiting a second longer to get my arms around my babygirl again.
“I’ve got a lock on your phone. Head west a bit more. No, the other way.”
“Nobody fucking knows which way iswest, Evander,” I snap into the phone as I shift my direction once more.
“I do. Bet the lumberjacks know.”
“Evander.”
“I’m just saying. Hang on, let me zoom in a bit more… okay, yeah, you’re headed in the right direction.”
As I stumble over grass and twigs and rocks, I look around for any sight of her, my head whipping from side to side as my heartbeat grows ever more erratic. “I don’t see her.”
“She might be hiding. But she hasn’t moved, so that’s good. You’re getting closer… There! You’re right on top of her.”
I stop dead in my tracks, my stomach dropping to my feet as I look around the empty forest. “She isn’t here.”
