“No, never, I wasn't interested then, and once I started adopting all of you, I just felt too busy for any kind of romantic entanglements.”
Next to me, Declan gets to his feet, and I can see he’s finally back to normal because he starts throwing orders around. “Okay, Tom, you do whatever it is you need to do with Jake. The rest of us will go back to the house, and Dad will look for the book. Then I think we need to board up the access tunnels so that no one can get through them even if they have the security codes. With no locks on the outer entrances to the tunnels, that’s our best shot of keeping anyone from getting in where they don’t belong, and if we make it hard for them, that could provide enough time for us to catch someone trying to break in.”
“We need to fix that once we get the twins and Harlow back,” I point out as there’s no doubt in my mind that we will get them back.
“Yeah, you’re not wrong. Now that the police know they're there, that’s far too many people in on the secret. Who knows if they have loose lips. Better to close them up and put keypads on them for more security.” Like me, Kai seems outwardly calm. I know that he’s feeling what I am—certainty that we will have Harlow back in our arms soon.
Tom’s phone rings again as we’re preparing to leave. “Hello? What?” His tone changes, drawing all of our attention. “Where? Okay. We’ll get the chopper warmed up, and we’ll be there as soon as we can. Are you sure? I don’t know how comfortable I am with that. Sorry, you know I trust you. I just hate feeling useless. Make sure you’re beside her for every word.” There’s another minute or two of silence before he sighs, his shoulders slumping. “Yup, thanks, man.”
There’s a grim frown on his face when he looks at us. “Jacinta just stumbled into a police station about twenty minutes from home. Thanks to the APB’s Jake put on all of them, he was immediately notified once they learned who she was. Officers are going to take her statement. Jake is already on his way there, and he’ll bring her home when they are done.”
Kai’s already grabbing his backpack and pulling out the keys to the chopper. “I’ll have it ready to go in ten minutes,” he tells us before racing out the door and up to the roof. “Well, don't just stand there. Get ready!” Dad shouts at us all.
Everyone finishes dressing and grabbing essentials, and before ten minutes are done, we’re in the elevator on the way to the roof, Thomas included. With Jacinta coming back home to us, it’s more important to hear what she might have to say before he goes racing off to Cecelia’s.
The rotor blades are spinning at top speed as the elevator doors open in front of us, and we hurry toward the helicopter. Within minutes, I feel the helicopter shudder as it takes off, then we’re winging our way home. I’m just hoping she’s okay and has some good news for us.
It’s still super early in the morning when the helicopter lands at Dad’s place. The family doesn’t wait any longer than it takes for the helicopter to touch down before we’re all climbing out. Poor Kai gets left behind to power down the machine while the rest of us race for the house, where Poppy meets us on the patio. “What’s going on? Have you heard anything about the twins and Harlow? None of the hospitals in the area had anyone matching their descriptions.” Poppy looks like he’s aged ten years overnight. I’ve never seen him this distraught. We’ve been through some tough times, especially when each of us was adjusting to the family and relearning how to feel safe, but this is a whole new magnitude of trauma. I’m not sure any of us will let Jacinta or Harlow out of our sight for the foreseeable future.
“Yes,” Dad says, not stopping, and we follow him into the house.
“Dad!” When he turns, a frown on his face, I nod at Poppy, then to Nana, who’s sitting on the couch, weeping. Ben’s arm around her, comforting her.
“Oh shit, sorry.” Dad sighs and comes back to us, hugging his dad before sitting on the other side of his mom.
“Tell them what’s happening, and that will give Kai a chance to catch up,” Dad orders Thomas.
Nana starts weeping harder as he explains that Jacinta has been found, but we don't know what condition she’s in or anything about the other two.
“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go.” Poppy leads the charge this time, but I’m the voice of reason, which is still sort of odd in itself. It’s not like I don’t have a good head on my shoulders, but I’m just so used to Tom or Dec being the boss when Dad’s not filling that role.
“Hang on, let’s just take a minute to gather ourselves. Dad, did you even tell Molly and Emma where you were going and why? Are they going to be worried? We also need to let Chuck and Melinda know what’s going on. They don’t even know that Harlow’s missing!”
Everyone starts to talk, and Ben untangles himself from Nana. “Maybe I should go.” A laugh almost bursts from my lips when he jumps at the resounding no that comes from my family.
“No, Ben, please stay… that’s if you don't mind all the drama.” With Poppy’s request, Ben quickly places his butt back down on the couch with Nana.
“No, not at all. I’m happy to stay here. I just didn't want you to feel like I was intruding.”
“How about we get Mrs. H out of bed to rustle us up some breakfast? We can make those calls to Chuck and Melinda and Molly and Emma, and by then I’m sure Thomas can get an update on how much longer we have to wait for Jazzy to get home,” I suggest, and Ben shakes his head.
“No, don't wake your housekeeper. At least I can make myself useful,” he says as he gets to his feet once more.
“Ben is a chef. He owns a chain of restaurants in Savannah,” Nana tells us all as Holden smiles and shows Ben the way to the kitchen.
Dad pulls out his cell and calls his girlfriends, letting them know he’ll send a car to bring them home. While he does that, Poppy calls Chuck and Melinda. By the time Kai makes it into the house, Dad’s finished, and Poppy has reassurances that Chuck and Melinda are on their way.
My brother’s puffing when he gets here but breathes a sigh of relief when he sees us.
“I thought for sure you would have been gone already,” he says, grabbing a seat on the sectional.
“No, this one was the voice of reason for a change,” Declan says dryly, pointing to me.
“You just be quiet. How about you call Max and let her know? I’m sure Chuck and Melinda are in such a panic they won't think about it.” While Dec stares at me, a brow raised, I turn to my boyfriend. “And you should call Hope. Not only is she a member of the family, but this could be important for her to be aware of from a company standpoint, too. We need to get the PR team working on this as soon as possible for when the press catches wind of it. Now that Hope is taking over more at Neighpalm Records, we need someone else to take over what she usually takes care of. That’s to figure out at another time, obviously, but right now, we need her to be informed. Plus, you know how quickly she’s taken to Harlow. She’d kill us if we left her out of the loop on something happening to her new sister.”
“Good thinking,” Declan says, pulling out his phone.
“You won't reach her,” Thomas quietly tells Declan, and I raise an eyebrow as he pulls us to the side. “Maxine asked me if she could use a plane and one of our holiday houses overseas. She needed a break, so I gave her the code to my place in Ireland. She should be there already since she was planning to leave yesterday morning.”
