“Out. He left ages ago … didn’t you hear him leave?” Even as I asked, I knew from the look on their faces they didn’t. “He said he was going to finish this.”
Ethan’s face drained of color.
Michael pinched his brow. “He must have gone out the back.”
Ethan grabbed his phone. “Bob’s still looking for Sarah … or he was.” His voice cracked. “I’ll call him and make sure he’s alright.”
“I will call Monique,” Michael said, his face strained.
Panic prickled down my spine. Had he found her, hurt her? Hurt any of them.
Ethan left the room, while Michael paced to the window. “Monique, are you alright? Karson left the house some time ago.” I couldn’t hear her response but his face relaxed, so I knew she was fine.
Ethan returned, his face pale. “Bob can’t get hold of Marg. He hasn’t heard from her since last night.”
Michael rubbed the back of his neck, then put the phone on loudspeaker. “Did you hear that, Monique?”
“Fuck,” Monique muttered. “Where would he take her?”
“What does that mean?” Georgie asked, her eyes darting around the room.
Ethan thrust his hand through his hair. “It means Karson has her and he will do whatever it takes until Sarah comes out of hiding.”
Find him and forgive him.
Chills rolled over my skin like waves.
“He must have picked her up last night.” Michael paced the room. “My guess is he has her here somewhere. He’d need somewhere he knows she wouldn’t be found, somewhere relatively secluded and not too far from home.”
“How many buildings does Karson own here?” Josh asked.
Ethan was pacing now too. “Twenty or thirty, maybe more. Most are in the business district. He could have her in the basement of any one of them.”
“Can we get her tracked?” I suggested.
“Yes,” Ethan replied, “but by the time we get samples to the witches, it would take too long.”
“It’s worth a try, I’ll call BJ,” Georgie said, spinning on her heel, the sound of her shoes clicking as she ran across the foyer filling the room like a heartbeat, like a clock counting down.
Tick-tock.
Another cold shiver washed over my skin.
“How many of the buildings are empty?” Josh asked. “Like you said, he’s not going to want to risk anyone finding her.”
Michael nodded. “He’s correct. But I don’t know how we can find out.”
“The real estate agent,” I said quickly. “He might know.”
Michael and Ethan nodded at each other, as Monique said through the phone speaker, “I’ll call him now.”
“Will he hurt Marg?” I asked, my voice so thin it was barely audible.
Something uncomfortable flashed across Ethan’s face. His non-answer was the answer. My legs wanted to collapse. The thought of what he might do to her?—
Forgive him.
“We have to find him before …” I trailed off. He’d had her for hours, so she was probably already suffering.
