My eyes land on the subtle security camera above the door, the one Lola installed after the fire. I storm back inside, pulling Skyler away from the coffee machine.
“I need to see the camera footage.”
She blinks at me, a bottle of milk in her hand. “What?”
“The security cameras, I need to see them now, Skyler. Lola’s missing.”
I didn’t think I was shouting but the whole shop goes quiet and then everyone dives into action.
“Call the police,” Shaun tells his wife before heading over to me. Skyler retrieves an iPad from under the counter and the three of us crowd around it as she pulls up the camera app.
My heart leaps when Lola appears on screen, dashing out the back door of the shop. She checks the gate then stops and leans against the dumpster. She’s alone. Until she isn’t.
“That’s not Carson,” I say, frowning at the tall blond on the screen.
“It’s Scott,” Skyler says, sounding just as confused as me.
“The guy Lola traveled with?”
Skyler nods and then Scott grabs Lola, wrapping his hand over her mouth and any confusion is replaced with pure rage.
“What the fuck?” I growl.
Kelsey rushes over to the counter then. “Hey, can I help at all? If you need to go I can look after the place.”
“Please,” Skyler says, relief mixing with the worry. “I don’t understand how Scott’s here. He was in Paris.”
Kelsey’s gaze drops to the iPad. “That guy? Well, he’s definitely not in Paris. He’s been coming into the Lagoon every night for the past two weeks.”
I zero in on her. “What?”
Kelsey turns the iPad to face her. “Yeah, it’s him. The guy who barged into you. He’s been staying down in one of the house boats at the marina.”
I look at Mase. “Let’s go.”
It takesus too long to get to Surfer’s Bay, even with Mase driving like this is a mission.
Skyler’s sitting in the back trying to call Lola while Shaun and Pippa stayed behind to talk to the police.
Desperation pumps through my veins, the numbness burned away by my need to hold Lola. I keep picturing her at eighteen, walking away from me on that beach.Why did I ever let her go?
The seatbelt bites into my hand where I’m holding it as Mase yanks the car to a stop in the marina car park. Pine Rock harbor is fairly small, only about twenty or so boats bobbing out in the shallows.
We make our way down the jetty, searching for the boat Scott was staying on. Kelsey didn’t know which one but only two of the houseboats are available for renting.
An old couple are sitting out on the deck of the first one, so we carry on to the next, at the very end of the jetty.
I jump down onto the boat. It rocks beneath me as Mase follows. “Wait here,” I say to Skyler before creeping towards the cabin door. We’ve already lost the element of surprise, so I kick it open.
The place looks barely lived in, the only sign of any occupant are the dishes stacked on the draining board.
I barge through the small door beyond the dining area to find the bedroom empty too. There’s no clothes or luggage. Nothing. If Scott was staying here, he’s not planning on coming back.
I slam the closet door shut and pace back out onto the deck. “She’s not here,” I tell Skyler, trying to stay calm and think when all I want to do is tear the world to pieces until I’ve got Lola back in my arms.
“Fuck!” I drag my hands through my hair and stride across the boat, gripping the railings.
I stare up at the cliff on the other side of the marina, the one I watched Lola jump off when she was seventeen.
