Chapter Five
Duncan walked into Rylan’s office and looked around at all the people. He could tell something was wrong from the concern on the men’s faces and the tears on the women’s.
“What’s going on?” he asked the group of men when he got to them.
“Kyla is gone,” Rylan said.
“Gone? Where?”
“We don’t know. We have people scouring the city for her, but there’s no trace of her,” Travis said.
“How do you know she’s not coming back?”
Trey handed him the note Kyla left. “She’s gone, and I feel responsible.”
“Why?” Duncan asked.
“Because I did have Travis come get her last night because I wanted alone time with Jenna.”
“It’s got to be more than that,” Rylan said. “That woman is a sweetheart, but she’s tougher than she looks. No matter how many times life has knocked her down, she gets up fighting. It’s a wonder she hasn’t become a drug addict.”
“Why would you say that?” Duncan asked. The knot inside of his stomach tightened with every bit of information he learned about Kyla.
“Her mom was one. Kyla lived with her and her habits until she was twelve, and then her mom took off. The only relative she had left was her aunt, and she’s a piece of work who lived in a terrible neighborhood riddled with drugs and prostitution.”
“Jesus.” Duncan rubbed the back of his neck.
Travis turned and called a few of the girls over. “Can you guys tell us what was said that day at Rylan’s house? It was Faith, Ashton, Larkin, and Kyla. You were all in the playroom.”
“We talked about the things we wanted to do together the next time we saw each other,” Faith said.
“Anything else?” Travis asked.
“We talked about our childhood dreams,” Larkin said. “I told them I dreamed of having a pink pony.” She looked at her daddy.
Darian grinned and shook his head. “Not going to happen, baby.”
Larkin pushed her bottom lip out in a pout.
“What did Kyla want?” Trey asked.
Jenna told the guys about the conversation and what Kyla had wanted, which was the opposite of what he’d thought she said.
Duncan’s jaw tensed, and his head throbbed. “We’ve got to find her.”
“And we will,” Trey said.
Duncan felt even worse when Jenna told the story about a day they were going out to lunch. Kyla gave a homeless person all the money she had.
Jenna wiped her eyes and leaned against Trey. “She is the best friend anyone could ever have. I need to find her.”
Duncan had listened to this with a growing sense of dread and self-disgust. He’d hurt that sweet girl, and it shouldn’t have happened. He’d let past occurrences blind him to who Kyla really was.
“I’m going to find her and bring her back,” he said. The group looked at him. The guys all nodded in understanding.
“Why would you do that if you don’t like her?” Jenna asked.
“I don’t dislike her. I overheard you guys talking, and I jumped to conclusions. I let things that happened years before affect me, and it made me unable to see who she was.”