CHAPTER 52
The pavement feltcold beneath Naomi’s palms.
Micah was saying something, but the words kept sliding away before they reached her.
Gio’s office. The glow of his desk lamp. Her own hands spreading documents across the polished surface, pointing to numbers that didn’t add up, transfers that shouldn’t exist.
I’ll take care of it, Naomi. Trust me.
“Naomi.”
She blinked.
Micah was crouched in front of her, one hand on her shoulder.
Had her eyes drifted closed?
“Stay with me,” he said. “Right here. Look at me.”
She blinked as she tried to bring him into focus.
“Good.” His eyes were steady on hers. “Can you tell me what day it is?”
“Thursday.” She pressed her hand harder against her temple. “I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.” He pulled a small flashlight from his belt and held up a finger. “Follow this.”
She followed it. He shone the light carefully in each eye, watching.
Whatever he saw made his jaw tighten. “I’m calling an ambulance.”
Grace’s face flashed in her mind, and she grabbed his wrist. “No. Micah, we have to get Grace.”
“You hit your head?—”
“I know I hit my head.” Her voice cracked on the words. “I know. But Grace is in a SUV with strangers, and she’s scared, and she needs me, and I’m not sitting on the side of this road waiting for an ambulance.” She held his gaze. “Please.”
Something moved through his expression.
He didn’t like her proposal. She could see exactly how much he didn’t like it.
But he nodded and stood before pulling her carefully to her feet. He kept one hand firm at her elbow until he was sure she had her balance.
“Can you issue an AMBER alert?” she asked.
“I can—but I’m going to wait. Right now, we still have a chance of finding her on our own.”
Then he lifted his radio.
“All units, this is Sheriff Sutherland. I need every available deputy and state trooper within sixty miles looking for a dark SUV last seen heading south on Route 9. Possible split at the county line. Treat as priority—infant abduction in progress.” He rattled off the plate number he’d memorized the moment their vehicle cleared the curve. “I need someone running those plates now. Report directly to me.”
Responses crackled back. Voices Naomi couldn’t quite track using codes she couldn’t decipher. Micah answered each one in clipped, efficient sentences, already thinking three steps ahead.
She watched him and tried to hold herself together.
Then he called for Knox to come to his location. Not many people took this road. They were going to be stuck out here for a while unless Micah got one of his deputies here.
Grace’s face floated into her mind—so innocent and sweet.
