So, I’d been trying to go and visit whenever Victor was working. It was cutting into my coffee allowance that Daddy had put me on, but it’s been totally worth it. When not at Beans and Things, I was working in my fairy garden.
Over the last few weeks, I’d been so busy that my poor fairies’ home had been neglected. I’d been working diligently to winterize the garden for the upcoming season. The temperature had been dropping every day. Before I knew it, Christmas time would be here, and I couldn’t wait.
The next best season in the year was Christmas, coming second to pumpkin spice season, of course. I loved all things Christmas and enjoyed decorating my home. When Alicia was alive, Grandma and Grandpa used to take us to the local tree farm. We would spend hours walking through all the trees, trying to find the perfect one to bring home. After our grandparents had passed, I still tried to carry on the tradition with Alicia. Then, when she was taken, I couldn’t bear doing it alone.
It had been three years since I had a real Christmas tree, and if I was being honest with myself, I missed it. I missed it a lot. Maybe this year is the time to try again. Maybe it was time to make new memories and help keep the tradition Alicia loved so much alive. I also didn’t think that my Charlie Brown tree would survive many more years before it finally fell apart.
Gloria came by the house, but there wasn’t much for her to clean since Daddy hadn’t been home. It was so nice to sit and spend time with her. Gloria told me all about her life growing up in Mexico and how she met her husband. Their love story was one that romance books were made of.
I was starting to get a little antsy again, though. Deciding that I needed to get out of the house, I opted to take a walk. Making sure to grab my phone, I slipped on my tennis shoes and grabbed Daddy’s hoodie. His hoodie was another victim that Daddy might never get back, just like his blanket. The blanket that now miraculously had a twin at the office.
Not that I was complaining. One day, I had left my blanket at the office by accident and had a whole meltdown about having to sleep without it. Daddy drove all the way to the office and grabbed it for me that night. The following day, there was a delivery with an identical blanket.
Daddy wrapped himself with it for a few days, so it smelled like him before taking it to the office and leaving it there. It now had a permanent place on the couch where I liked to sit and read in the afternoons while Daddy finished up his work for the day.
After closing the door behind me, I took off down the sidewalk with nowhere in mind. I just needed to get out of the house and have some fresh air. Soon, it would be too cold for me to walk, so I wanted to take advantage of it now.
Being sure to watch my surroundings, I noticed a van that wasn’t normally in our neighborhood. The tan van had blacked-out windows and no identifying marks on it. The hair on my arm rose and a sinking feeling sat heavy in my stomach.
There was something off with this, but I couldn’t figure out what. I was probably just overreacting. The van most likely belonged to one of the neighbors and was harmless. Realizing that I couldn’t see Daddy’s house anymore, I turned and started making my way back.
After crawling into Daddy’s bed and turning on the TV, I realized that my heart was still racing and my mind was still trying to piece together what was wrong with that van.
Rolling my eyes, I pulled my messages up with Daddy.
Rebekah: I miss you, Daddy. Goodnight
I’d sent the same message every night since Daddy left on his case. He hadn’t texted back, but I didn’t expect him to. Sending up a prayer to whoever might be listening, I curled up with my blankets and Ophelia, closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep.
CHAPTER 19
BEAU
This case was dragging.It seemed like every time we made any progress, we would end up taking two steps backward. I knew that the guys were beginning to tire. I was missing home and my Little girl.
The only thing that had kept me going was the texts that Rebekah sent me every night. I don’t allow myself long to look at them, but it’s like clockwork when they come in. My Daddy heart is thrilled each time she sends them because it means she is thinking of me and trying her best to keep to the routine we were working on before getting called away on this mission.
My biggest struggle was that Seth was here with us. Therefore, she didn’t have any of us around. I knew that Vic had been keeping an eye on her as much as he could, but he had his own life. Plus, I would never ask him to keep watch over his best friend like that. He did text me the following morning after their sleepover to say Rebekah was doing okay and seemed to be in good spirits.
The only other way I was able to keep watch over her was that I was notified each time she left the house in my truck. Call me a paranoid son of a bitch, but I had Seth install a tracker on my truck like we had on his car. It gave me peace of mind knowingthat if Rebekah was driving without me, I was able to make sure she was okay.
“Hey, Boss, come look at this,” Seth called.
I dropped down into the seat beside him. Looking at the traffic cameras he had on his screen, I scanned over what was playing. Ah! This was it! This was the final piece we needed to wrap up the case and go home.
After slapping a hand across his back, I told him to download that video and send it over to the police station. They should be able to use this to make the arrest we needed.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Seth shot me a puzzled look as my phone began to ring in my pocket. It wasn’t my standard ringtone. It was the one I had set specifically for Rebekah. Why was she calling me when she knew I was on a case and couldn’t talk? Unless something was wrong!
My heart began to race as I picked up.
“Daddy?” my girl whimpered.
Immediately, my senses went on high alert. Something was wrong, very wrong.
“Sweets, what’s going on?”
