“Damn it! Come on, Skip.” A plea ripped itself from my throat, the words floating up into the sky, reaching no one.
I jogged down the hill where the pickup was parked to see if she was waiting for me there. Maybe her phone just died, and she’d be leaning against the pickup, scowling at me even though it was obvious she was just trying to hide a smile.
When I got to the parking lot, she wasn’t in the cab. She wasn’t waiting by the pickup either, and a smattering of dark red staining the sidewalk greeted me instead.
My heart instantly hammered in my chest, worst-casescenarios playing through my head. Something happened, and I wasn’t there.
A feeling of helplessness washed over me as I placed my hands on the top of my head, my face tilting toward the sky.
Dammit! Where are you, Skip?
“Sierra!” I called her name but received no response. I ran around campus, back to the spot we originally separated, thinking maybe she had turned around and I’d just missed her.
When fifteen minutes had passed and I still hadn’t found her, I dialed the next person I thought of.
“Hello?” my dad answered with a confused tone.
“Dad, Sierra’s missing.” I barely spat out the words through heaving breaths. “We got separated on SGU’s campus, and now I can’t find her and she won’t answer her phone. Mom said she wasn’t at the house, so I?—”
“Slow down, son.” Dad cut me off. “Take a deep breath. What happened?”
“We came to stay with you guys for a bit because Sierra’s been getting threats for months. Back in August her trailer was set on fire and then her saddle got cut at a rodeo in Billings. She thought they were all a coincidence, but then someone threw a brick through my window so we came here because I didn’t think it was safe back home. But then we came to campus and got into an argument. We got separated and now she’s gone, Dad. A-and I’m worried that it might be…”
My dad sucked in a harsh breath as though the same idea dawned on him, too. I heard him typing furiously in the background, and then a noise of frustration ripped from his throat.
“Hayden, I need you to stay calm,” he started to say,and my heart felt like it was beating a mile a minute. “Sierra’s father was released from prison four months ago.”
“Why wasn’t she notified?” I growled, my jaw clenching.
“The courts did try to notify her, but they were unable to reach her.”
“Fuck!” I didn’t mean to lose my cool, but Spencer Bayley was dangerous. “She changed her phone number, and she moves around so much that she wouldn’t have a permanent address. This is not good, Dad.”
“I know. If it truly is her father, then we need to approach this very carefully. We’ll have SAR units deployed and dispatch will send out a BOLO. We’ll find her, Hayden. Don’t worry. Just stay put, okay?” It wasn’t a request, rather an order. “Please, Hayden. I know you want to find her, but I need you to stay where you are.”
It was like he knew exactly what I was thinking. And normally, I wouldn’t disobey my father, but this was different. This was Sierra. The love of my life.
I thought I’d lost her to her father once before when she didn’t show up to our high school graduation, and the same fear I felt back then creeped into my bones. I couldn’t lose her to him again.
Iwouldn’t.
“Okay,” I lied, knowing the moment I hung up the phone I was going to run all over town looking for her. I’d run myself into the ground if that’s what it took.
“Thank you. We’ll find her, son. I promise.”
The minute we hung up, I hopped in my pickup and peeled out of the parking lot. If I had to drive around town all night I would. I wouldn’t sleep, I wouldn’t eat, I wouldn’t stop until Sierra was safe.
I navigated to my police scanner app and turned thevolume all the way up. The second I heard something regarding Sierra, I would be on my way. I knew it wasn’t smart to intervene, and I should leave the police work to my dad and his coworkers, but I couldn’t just sit around and wait.
My mind filed through all of the places she could potentially be, places her father might drag her to, but I came up short. My mind couldn’t operate the same way as a criminal’s.
If I were a piece of shit who kidnapped my own daughter, where would I go?
Somewhere secluded for sure, but where?
Parking my truck at Ranger’s, I ran down the street toward the gas station her father liked to frequent. A bell chimed as I flung open the door, heading straight for the counter where an employee had headphones on.
“Excuse me?” I slammed my hand down on the counter, scaring the young man.
