I have to get to him.That was the only thing I could think of. I actually got up from my chair, ready to leave, before I realized that I hadn’t driven.
Helen was explaining what the police were doing and how the school was helping, but it all seemed to be coming to me through a fog. I realized belatedly that Peyton was clutching my shoulder, half holding me up as I slumped at the table.
“Her father has been notified?” I finally asked, my voice raspy.
“Yes. He met police officers at his home.”
I took a deep breath. “Do you need me to come to the school? I would prefer to go to the house as well, see if I can be any help to the police or the family.”
I phrased it as a question but there was no way I was going anywhere but Liam’s house, whatever she said. Luckily, she agreed that I should go to the family while she stayed at the school and coordinated things there.
“I can give you the address,” she said and I fumbled in my purse for something to write on before Rosa shoved her phone into my hand, the map app already opened. I typed in the address as Helen read it to me, vaguely thinking about how I had never been to Liam’s house in all that time we’d been sneaking around. I would always invite him to my place, not wanting Josie to ever see us together.
As soon as I was off the phone, the girls were already standing, reaching for their bags. “We heard most of that through the phone,” Rosa said, taking several bills from her wallet. “We’ll go with you.” I glanced down at our half-finished meals—and the nearly empty margarita pitcher.
“Shit,” I muttered. “We can’t drive.”
“Already on it,” Peyton said, typing something into her phone. “Our Uber is almost here.”
I closed my eyes, trying to take a calming breath. I was so grateful that my girls were here right now. I had no idea how I would have managed on my own.
Was Liam on his own? Surely, he had Evelyn and Peter with him. Maybe Jay as well. I wondered where he’d been when he heard. At the rink? On his way home? I shuddered to think about him driving after hearing that news.
“Come on,” Rosa said, pressing my purse into my hand and gently nudging me into motion. “Let’s get you there.”
The first personI saw after knocking on the door to Liam’s house was the last person I would have ever expected to see there.
“Andy?”
“Hey.” His familiar green eyes, so much darker than mine, were anxious. “Everyone’s in the back.” He opened the door wider so we could come in. I didn’t need to ask my question—what the hell are you doing here?—because Andy had always been able to read my mind. “I was with him at the arena when he got the news. Didn’t think he should get behind the wheel so I drove him over.”
That didn’t explain why Andy hadn’t simply asked his driver to bring Liam, but I was pretty sure I already knew the reason. Whatever issues the two of them might have, there was no way my brother would leave someone alone with the worst news of their lives.
When we got to the back room, the girls stayed back, hovering around the door, probably not wanting to get in the way. My eyes scanned the space. Evelyn was crying, showing a police officer pictures of Josie. Peter was on the phone, pacing behind her.
Sitting on a couch in the center of the room, staring blankly at the floor, was Liam. Jay sat next to him, a hand on his shoulder, while another officer asked questions. I didn’t think Liam even heard him. I was pretty sure he was in shock.
Without a thought for who was in that room or what they might see, I walked straight to Liam. He looked up when I was a few feet away and the moment he saw me, his face crumpled. I rushed the final few steps and he grabbed me around the middle, burying his face against my stomach as I stood helplessly over him.
“It’s okay,” I soothed, running my fingers through his hair, trying to keep my voice from breaking. “We’re going to find her.”
“Gracie.” His voice was muffled in my blouse. “I…Ican’t.”
I didn’t need him to elaborate. His daughter waseverythingto him. If something happened to her, if the police couldn’t bring her home, I didn’t think Liam would be able to survive it.
I slid down to my knees so I could look him in the eye. He looked terrible, eyes red, face completely wrecked. I wanted to apologize, to beg for his forgiveness that I had allowed this to happen. But that wasn’t what he needed. I took a breath and tried to keep my voice firm and strong. “Listen to me. Josie is probably the smartest little girl I have ever taught. I have no idea why she would sneak off, but I am certain she can take care of herself until we find her.”
“She’s used to being in a city,” Jay pointed out from Liam’s side. “That girl schooled me on the subway when I came to New York. She knows how to get around and make smart decisions.”
Liam didn’t seem to hear him. “I just…I don’t understand why she would do this. Why she would run away.”
I traced my fingertips over his cheeks, wanting to soothe away the pain I heard in his voice. “She was having a tough time,” I murmured. “Maybe this was an extension of that.”
“Chloe,” he muttered, swallowing hard, and it was only then that I even remembered that the woman had been around. I hadn’t seen her in the living room. Maybe she was out somewhere and hadn’t heard the news? But from the flash of rage in Liam’s eyes, I wondered if maybe it was more than that.
“Did something happen?”
“She went to visit friends in Houston,” he said, voice flat. “She said she was coming back, but…” he trailed off, shrugging, and behind me, I heard Evelyn sob.
