“Keith, I can be much more helpful to you here.” He straightens before crossing his arms over his chest.
“I know. I also know I’ll be largely shorthanded without you. But I need you to keep her safe.” If there’s any man I know who puts others’ safety before his own life, it’s him.
“But—”
“There’s no one more important than Mere in my life, Luke. I trust you as much as myself. I also don’t know what sort of sick joke this is.” My head cocks toward the open email on my computer screen.
He doesn’t look overly pleased but still grabs his phone before dashing out of the room.
I forward the email to Connor and sprint to his office on the ground floor. Taking two steps at a time. I enter his room without knocking.
“What’s up, Keith?” Connor raises his gaze from the map laid out on the table.
“Check your email,” I rasp, my breath heavy due to the run and anxiety.
Connor turns in his wheelchair to face his laptop. “Fuck! Where’s Mere?”
“She’s in the library. They didn’t take her.”
“But—”
“I don’t understand myself. I—” My phone vibrates, signaling an incoming email. “That fucker sent me another email.”
I open the notification and that’s when I see her.
Clementine!
Her mouth taped as she is wedged in a corner inside a dark van. “Fuck!”
“What is it?” Connor rolls out from behind his desk.
“It’s Clementine.” I can’t look away from her face. Her always so zealous, expressive eyes look terrified, making my heart go wild in my chest.
“Who?”
“She’s my tenant. Those fuckers thought she was Mere.” My fists clench in anger, phone digging into my palm.
“How do you want to play this? They’ll soon realize this girl is not your daughter.” Connor looks at the picture as I point my phone toward him.
“But that might not be good for Clementine. She’s a Hawthorne from Cherrywood.”
“Fuck! We don’t have much time.” He rolls back to his desk, already picking up his cell phone. “I’ll ask Gavin to scan the emails, see if we can find anything in them.”
I nod. Gavin King, Connor’s brother, is our tech wizard.
“I want to check my house and see if I can find some clue.”
Connor nods briefly. “You go and I’ll set up a team here.”
I drive like a madman with Clementine’s frightened face swimming before my eyes.
I leave the car on and run into the house. The main door is open and the fire alarm blazing.
I dash into the kitchen and open the windows before pulling out the burned casserole from the oven. Clementine was cooking something. Did they grab her from the kitchen?
Looking around, I see no sign of a struggle. When I enter the living room, I find a half-full wineglass on the table. Taking a whiff, I smell a fruity, red wine. She must have bought it for herself. But the living room looks untouched. My gaze jumps from one corner to the other for any sign, any clue, but I come up empty-handed.
“What the fuck happened here?” I groan before hearing Snowy mewl as she peeks out from inside Mere’s room.