“I love you,” I continued. “But you are capable of managing your own life.”
“Wow,” she said.
“You can be annoyed with me later,” I said. “Right now, I have to go help find a child.”
She let out a huff. “Fine. Go save the neighborhood. I’ll just figure it out myself.”
Petty. Predictable.
Then my mother sighed. “Okay, good luck finding her.”
We hung up.
I stared down at my phone for a moment.
For the first time I could remember, I had not rushed to fix my mother’s problem.
My heart was beating hard in my chest—mostly from nerves, but also from pride and disbelief.
Shaking my head, I turned back toward the street.
The search continued. Minutes passed. Then more minutes. And the longer we searched, the worse the possibilities became.
My thoughts drifted unwillingly to Liam.
The way he had circled the neighborhood the other night. Checking everything. Watching everything.
I had been furious with him for that.
But standing here now, waiting for updates that weren’t coming fast enough, I suddenly understood that kind of vigilance came from fear. The kind of fear that settled deep in your chest when someone you cared about might be in danger.
If that was what Liam had been feeling that night, I could not imagine carrying it for long, because the small slice I was experiencing right now already felt unbearable.
My phone buzzed again.
No new leads.
I paced across the sidewalk.
Think. Think.Think.
Then something obvious occurred to me.
Bobbi might be unpredictable, but she wasn’t invisible.
And I knew one person with a very particular skill set when it came to finding things.
I pulled up his contact before I could talk myself out of it.
My thumb hovered over the call button for half a second, then I pressed it.
The phone rang for what felt like an eternity, but it was only three rings.
When he answered, I spoke immediately.
“Liam,” I said, “I need your help.”
Chapter 23
