“How am I supposed to get him to Portland?” I asked. Had they figured out they didn’t have Corbin the first time? Or did they expect me to make him show up because we’d met during our kidnapping?
“That’s not my problem, Im. You’re going to have to figure it out.”
The phone went dead, and I crumpled. Except rather than hitting the cold cement sidewalk, Cyrus captured me in his arms and ushered me back into the bakery.
The tears started at once, but somehow, I squeaked out a brief explanation. “They have my mom.”
With those simple words, everyone jumped into action. Katy and Cyrus started talking to one another as Cyrus pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped a red button on his home screen. Katy looked up to the ceiling and began talking as if she was speaking to herself, and Vonnie turned around and used the bakery phone to place a call.
Then somewhere in the midst of all the chaos that was the next few moments of my life, a cupcake magically appeared in front of me. Another chocolate and chocolate. But there wasn’t time to enjoy a treat, so I pushed it away slowly.
What would my mother do? What happened if I didn’t present Corbin tonight at 9 p.m.?
My mom didn’t have a Cyrus Kensington to save her. She was alone, and there was nothing in that present moment for me to do about it. Nothing but sit, worry, and eventually eat a cupcake.
TWO HOURS LATER,Cyrus led me back to our hotel room. He walked me all the way to the edge of the bed and took off my shoes, the cute strappy sandals he brought me in the Georgia park.
“Why don’t you lie down for little? We’ve done everything we can do right now.”
I shook my head. How could he think about sleeping now? “I don’t think I can rest.”
“You don’t have to sleep or anything, but try to relax. I’m going to go wait for Ridge in the lobby. Once he gets here, I’ll bring him upstairs and we can listen to his plan. I have full faith he will get your mother back.”
“If you trust him, I trust him.” If a kidnapper told you not to involve someone specific or the police, that’s exactly who you should call.
Cyrus pulled back the comforter on the bed and tucked me in. “I’ve got you, beautiful.”
The door clicked closed when he left, and I waited in silence. But it seemed to stretch on and on. One second turned into a minute, which turned into ten, and even though I wasn’t sure exactly how much time passed, it took them too long. I pushed back the covers and stood from the bed, putting my sandals on.
Every second we waited, my mother was being tortured by a criminal somewhere on the East Coast. She was my mother, and I had to rescue her. If not for me, she wouldn’t be in the predicament. I didn’t think she was in danger originally. Otherwise, I would’ve told her to go into hiding. I would’ve returned home and made her safe. Everything about this was my fault.
The hotel left little notebooks on the tables and I scribbled out a quick note telling Cyrus I’d find a way to Portland and see about rescuing my mother. I couldn’t hand over Cyrus or his brother, but if I had to trade myself, I would. It was a long shot, but I couldn’t allow my mother to become someone’s sex worker because I hadn’t taken care of her.
I opened the room door slowly, trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. For the last two days, Drake had been stationed outside, but I peeked my head out, and he wasn’t in the hallway. Drake was missing from his usual perch, but I saw a recent addition to the hallway.
A body trying to climb out of a window at the end of the hall.
The room door shut behind me, and the person in question turned. The moonlight from the window highlighted her face. “Katy?”
She stepped away like it was no big deal and smiled. “I’m so sorry about your mother. But I know Ridge will get her back.”
“Are you climbing out the window?” My mother was still foremost in my mind, but I had questions about why a grown woman needed to sneak out a second-story window.
Katy looked back at the window as if it was the first time she’d seen it and she didn’t have half her body out of it earlier. “Maybe.”
“On the second floor.” What kind of drop did that require?
She tipped her head and walked back to the window. I guess she figured the jig was up so she could go about her way again. “Pretty much the whole town is on camera. There are very few dead spots, but this just happens to be one of them.”
“In the whole town?”
“Pretty much,” she repeated. “I was going to meet up with Vonnie to do some investigation work, but I assume you’re looking for a ride to Portland because the guys won’t tell you their plans or let you help.”
My eyes were still rimmed in red from all the crying, but curiosity filled my features. How did she know? “Yes? I have the address.” I’d given the information to Cyrus to pass it on to Ridge, a man I’d officially met now, but they didn’t delete it from my phone. “How did you guess?”
“Girl, I pegged you from the minute you stepped into the bed-and-breakfast. You won’t let some jerk kidnap your mother or not go after her in your own rescue attempt. That’s the mark of a bakery girl. You’re one of us. You just didn’t know it yet. The guys are always running out to save the day and not including us. It’s BS and forces us to take drastic measures. They never learn.”
“What kind of drastic measures?”
