“I’m going to wring her bloody neck,” he vowed fervently.“What the hell was she thinking?”
“What she’s always thinking about—other people.She’ll do anything to make sure no one else gets hurt.My Hannah is a caretaker, a nurturer—she simply can’t help the way she reacts,” Brenda said softly.
“So where is she?”Darryn asked and looked around the room.
Zoe shook her head.“We’ve been racking our brains, but I don’t know!She’s not answering her phone; we knocked on the door of her apartment in Sea Point, Cape Town, but no one answered.Caitlin has a key, so we’ll take a look when she arrives.Hannah didn’t contact any of us, not even Mom, and that is so not her!She must be frightened out of her mind,” she ended on a sob.Dale pulled her close to him.
Darryn stared at Zoe while her words sank in.
She was somewhere in the country, but they didn’t know where.
There was silence for long minutes.Frustrated, Darryn started pacing.Where could she be?He tried to remember the names of places she had spoken about, but he realized quickly they didn’t talk much when they were together.They either tried to avoid each other, or they made love.
He knew so little about her.When Caitlin told him Hannah gave money to a fund for war orphans, it came as a surprise.But considering everything else he’d heard about Hannah over the last twenty-four hours, it now made complete sense.He had been the idiot who only saw her beautiful face, enjoyed her body, but never bothered to really get to know her.
“At least if we can’t find her, chances are White won’t be able to either,” David said into the silence.
“But we have to find her before he does,” Brenda said, her eyes brimming with tears again.
Darryn pulled the older woman into his arms.“We will.I promise,” he said, and a strange calmness came over him.“What about the police?”he asked his brothers, although he knew the answer.
“We’ll do better using a private detective; as we all know, our police are completely useless,” David said.“However we should probably contact them as well, just to have our fears on record.And maybe, you never know, there might just be a lone policeman or woman who will actually do something.”
Darryn nodded.Unfortunately, it was so true.The last two chiefs of police were in jail.He wouldn’t put too much hope on the police.They would have to rely on a private company and themselves.Because they had to find Hannah.He loved her; he needed her.Around her, he became a better version of himself.
“Is there anything you can tell us about White that might help us?”Hannah’s mother asked.
“Wait a minute,” his mother said.“White.Stephen White.I only now register his name.Is this the little guy who went to school with you?”his mother asked.
“Yeah, but we were never friends.How come you remember him?”Darryn asked.
“I remember his mother.She was always going on about how he worshiped you and tried to imitate everything you did.He even started playing rugby, because you were captain of the first rugby team.”
Darryn stared at her.“He contacted me when I was a fashion photographer.”
“He wanted to do what you were doing,” his mother said.
Don swore.“So when you got to be with Hannah…”
Darryn shook his head.“Damn, I never knew that, Mom.He was so into computers, I was surprised when he contacted me about photography.”
“So his computer skills must be how he always knows Hannah’s whereabouts,” Don said.“And she undoubtedly figured that out as well, which is why we can’t get hold of her.She probably got rid of her phone.”
“So what you’re telling me is that he is capable of hacking into any system, including ours?”David asked incredulously.
“That’s the problem.I’m not sure what he’s capable of.All I know is that we have to get to Hannah before he figures out where she is.”
“It’s late—we’re not going to get anything else done tonight,” his mother said while getting up.“Don and Caitlin will be back tomorrow; let’s meet at their place over lunch.”
“I’ll make a list of places Hannah spoke about,” Zoe added.
“I’ll see what I can find out about getting a private detective,” David said.“I have contacts.”
“Maybe she will still contact one of us,” Brenda said.
Darryn hugged her close, needing her warmth as much as she needed the hug.
Chapter Ten
