“Did a bad man take my mommy away? The man Mommy talked about? Jay?”
Oh shit. Prisha’s perceptiveness stumped Reece for a moment. “Yes.”
Her eyes instantly glazed with unshed tears and her bottom lip quivered. Silently, he kicked himself.
“Is he going to hurt Mommy?” Tears rolled down her cheeks. His heart ached with the dread of not knowing.
“Hey, sweetheart, I won’t let him hurt her.” Reece pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight.
“You promise?” she held onto his neck and whispered in his ear. He let her cry.
“Yes, sweetheart, I promise,” he said when she finally straightened. “Would you stay with Kelly while I go look for your mommy?” Reece wiped her tears and smoothed her hair back.
She appeared to contemplate his question. “Will you bring Mommy back quickly.”
“I’m going to try my best, okay.”
Prisha nodded. “Okay, I’ll stay with Kelly then.”
Reece stood and picked her up. “How about some pancakes?”
“Yes, please.”
He walked toward the kitchen. Silently, he prayed. He had every intention of keeping his word to the child, whatever it took.
Later, after another futile search, Reece glanced from one brother to the other. Both appeared just as agitated. “I’m scared for her, Cody.”
“We all are.” Samantha rubbed his arm in a consoling gesture.
His two brothers and sister in law had flown out the day before as soon as Reece called with the news of Aria’s kidnapping. They landed barely an hour ago.
“We don’t have a fucking clue what he wants from Aria or where he’s taken her.” Reece jerked a hand through his hair in frustration. He glanced around the cabin, searching for answers to his agitated questions. “I should’ve been more careful.” His gaze settled on a photo of Aria and Prisha on the mantelpiece.
“Reece, whether you were careful or not ain’t the point. Either way, Jay would’ve kidnapped Aria,” Cody said. “We need to focus on how we get her back. Has the Sheriff given you any news?”
He shook his head. “It’s more than a day and nothin’. Not a damn clue how the bastard got in or out of Shadow Valley. He could be anywhere. We found a cave at the back of the property. The stuff he left behind showed he’d camped out there for a while and the only other way out of this place. The dogs picked up Aria’s scent to the opening on the other side and down to the pier, then zilch.”
“God, that’s one seriously obsessed bastard to camp out in this weather,” Jace muttered.
“My father thinks Jay forged his passport.” Samantha dropped into the couch with an exasperated sigh.
“You don’t think he’d take her back to South Africa, do you?” Reece hunkered down in front of Samantha.
“It’s a possibility.”
“But how did he get her out.”
“Probably had a passport made for her, too,” Cody answered. “The man seems screwed up enough to have planned this whole damn thing down to a ‘T.’”
“No one just pitches up in a strange town and walks off with one of the residents without someone seeing something.” Samantha stared into the fire as though lost in thought. “I’m pretty sure he had help.”
“Why?” Reece stood.
“Apart from Kelly, who Aria knows for the last three years, is there anyone else she befriended recently?” Samantha jumped up in excitement.
Cody slid off his stool and neared his wife. “She’s on to somethin’, Reece.”
“The only other person is Rowena. She moved here recently and...” Reece trailed off for a moment. “Wait. She’s from South Africa. Shit. How the heck did I miss that?”
