“Shit. Did you call dispatch?”
“Didn’t have their number saved in my phone and hoped you were working. You’re the one who’s been on the case from the beginning. I can get ahold of the station though.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Spencer said. “I’m awake now. I’ll be right over and call the station myself. See who’s on shift and can head that way. The sooner we get someone there to speak with him the better.”
“Agreed. I want this idiot out of my house and away from Celine and Parker as soon as possible.”
Disconnecting, he hurried down the steps and stopped at the base of the stairway. The foyer was empty. “Celine?”
Duke ducked his head out from the doorway to the living room and frowned. “Where are they?”
Alarm blasted inside him as heat climbed the back of his neck. “What do you mean? They were right by the front door when I went upstairs.”
“They weren’t there when I got down here, and the living room’s empty.”
Lane rushed toward the kitchen. His heart rate kicked up three notches as every worst-case scenario played in his head. “Celine!”
The kitchen was empty, the only thing out of place one of Parker’s bottles in an oversized mug on the counter.
Duke stepped in behind him. “Doesn’t make sense, man. They didn’t just disappear.”
He sprinted back to the front hall and turned in a circle, as if Celine would magically appear. When he stopped, his eyes caught on the closed door. The deadbolt wasn’t locked. He frowned.
“What is it?” Duke asked.
“I secured the deadbolt as soon as I shut off the alarm. It’s unlocked now.” He flung open the door and the cool, night air rushed to greet him. Stepping outside, he squinted down the long lane that led to the country road.
Nothing but darkness stared back.
He jogged down the porch steps and kept his ears tuned for any signs of struggle, any signs of Celine.
The porch light blinked on behind him, illuminating the driveway. Deep ruts in the gravel caught his attention. He knelt down and fear grabbed hold of his throat. “Tire tracks,” he called out. “We need to look at the video feed from the front camera.”
He plucked his phone from his pocket and opened the app that showed the video feed. New activity waited in the log. He clicked on the thumbnail and played the video.
The front door swung open and Kevin dragged Celine from the house. His long, determined strides didn’t match the broken man who’d sat in a heap on the floor moments before. Rage and terror contorted his boy-next-door features and he held something against Celine while forcing her down the stairs.
Lane sucked in a sharp breath. “Holy shit, he’s got a gun on her.” He watched helplessly as Kevin shoved her in a car and drove away.
“How much of a head start do they have?” Duke asked.
Lane checked the time stamp. “About ten minutes. Dammit, I shouldn’t have left her alone with him. What the hell was I thinking?”
“That you needed to get authorities here as fast as possible. This isn’t your fault, and the last thing Celine needs right now is you falling apart because you feel guilty.”
The hard truth was like slap in the face, but one Lane needed.
“You’re right.” He scrubbed his palms down his face as his brain spun in circles. “I need to call Spencer again. Get an APB out on the vehicle so deputies are looking for it. But where would he take her? And why?”
Duke shrugged. “I don’t know man, but we can’t leave Parker here to run after her. Especially when we don’t know where to run.”
With his phone in hand, he sent a quick text to Suzy and prayed she’d see it then redialed Spencer.
“I’m almost there, dude,” Spencer said when he answered. “And the on-duty deputy is en route.”
“He’s got her, man.” Lane’s voice cracked, and he cleared his throat to keep the emotion from gaining a chokehold on his vocal cords.
“Who has who? What are you talking about?”
