Lost Innocence

by Jannine Gallant

  A peek into Keely’s room told her the girl was still asleep, sprawled across her bed. The covers were kicked mostly on the floor. With a smile, Nina headed to Teague’s bathroom, set her pile of clean clothes on the counter by the sink, and turned on the water. After stripping off her dirty shirt and capris, she stood beneath the hot spray and soaked in the warmth.

  Showering with Teague would be a heck of a lot more fun, but with Keely just down the hall . . . Maybe having a child in the house meant they had to be a little more circumspect, but she didn’t mind. Having Keely in her life was worth making a few changes. She’d grown to care about Teague’s daughter almost as much as she loved him.

  When the room filled with steam, she squirted a dollop of shampoo into her hand, then wrinkled her nose. Pine was a good scent on him, but it wasn’t her first choice. From a distance, Coco went off in a barking frenzy, faint but still audible.

  “What the heck is wrong with that dog?” Nina rubbed the shampoo into a lather as Coco suddenly quieted. She’d just stuck her head under the spray when the bathroom door creaked open. Eyes closed as she rinsed her hair, she called out, “Teague, did you forget something?”

  The glass door clicked.

  “What—”

  Pain exploded in her head. Her foot slipped on the shower floor, and she went down hard as the world dissolved into blackness.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Teague was working his way through a plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns when Mateo hurried into the firehouse kitchen. The look on his friend’s face made him instantly lose his appetite.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I was listening to the police scanner to see if there was an update on the girl we were searching for last night when a nine-one-one call came in from an address on Cedar Lane. A missing child. Nina made the call.”

  Teague dropped his fork as his breakfast threatened to come back up.

  “They’re sending a response team now.”

  As he finished speaking, the overhead PA system engaged and the siren blew. “Request for an ambulance at 820 Cedar Lane. An assault victim.”

  Teague rose on trembling legs as the room swayed around him. He held on to the table with both hands.

  Mateo rushed forward and grabbed him by the arm. “I’ll drive you.”

  Before he could move, let alone answer, his cell rang. Pulling it from his pocket, he stared at Nina’s name on the screen for a second before connecting the call. “What happened?”

  Hysterical sobbing was her only response.

  His gut tightened. “Nina, talk to me.”

  “Keely’s gone.” Her voice was so choked with tears, he could barely make out the words. “Someone hit me, and I passed out for a few seconds. I called nine-one-one. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She broke down again, crying uncontrollably.

  “I’m on my way.” He forced calm into his voice, when he wanted to scream and shout and put his fist through the wall. “So are the police. Don’t lose it on me, Nina. They’ll need to talk to you. Are you hurt?”

  “My head is bleeding.”

  “Hold a towel on the wound.” Running behind Mateo, he took the stairs two at a time, his heart pounding so hard he was afraid he might keel over. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  She drew in a shuddering breath. “They have to find Keely. They have to.”

  “We’ll find her. I need to hang up now. Just sit down and wait for me.”

  “Okay.”

  He shoved his phone in his pocket and nearly broke down when Mateo put an arm around his back.

  “Hold on, dude.” He glanced over his shoulder as Rod took the driver’s seat in the ambulance. “Captain, can Teague ride with you?”

  “Of course. You take shotgun with Rod. We’ll be right behind you.”

  A few seconds later they pulled out of the fire station, sirens blaring. Teague stared straight ahead through the windshield of the captain’s truck, too numb to even think. “Whoever took your daughter only has a few minutes’ head start. The police will find her, and based on the nine-one-one report, your girlfriend’s injuries don’t sound too severe.”

  He couldn’t speak through the burning knot in his throat, so he only nodded. All the horrible memories of getting the call about Jayne and rushing to the hospital rose to the surface in a suffocating wave. This had to end differently. He couldn’t live with the possibility of losing his child.

  Two patrol cars were parked at adjacent angles in front of his house. The ambulance pulled into the driveway and cut the siren. The captain stopped beside the mailbox and turned off the engine.

  When Teague reached for the door handle, Barker grasped his arm. “Let the cops do their job, and let Rod and Mateo tend to Nina. Losing your cool won’t get results any faster.”

  He nodded again and climbed out of the vehicle. Before he was halfway to the porch, Nina ran out the front door. The side of her neck and her hair were covered in blood, and there were dark-red patches on her yellow T-shirt. Tearstains ravaged her face. After stumbling down the steps, she threw herself into his arms, her whole body trembling.

  Tightening his arms around her, he held on, never wanting to let her go.

  “I’m so sorry.”

  He stroked her back. “This isn’t your fault. Let Mateo take a look at that cut on your head. Did you talk to the police yet?”

  “Yes. They’re inside processing the scene, but Chief Stackhouse said they’ll probably have more questions for me afterward.”

  Teague guided her over to the back of the ambulance. “Come sit down so we can assess your wound.” He kept his voice calm, professional. If he did anything else, he might start swearing—or crying—and never stop.

  Nina looked broken . . . destroyed, and it was killing him. But nothing compared to the all-encompassing, gut-clenching fear of knowing some psycho had his daughter.

  Teague sat beside her and held her hand while Rod gently cleaned her wound and examined her pupils. Mateo ran through a series of questions to test her responses. He made a few notes on her paperwork then stepped back.

  “How long do you think you were unconscious?”

  “Only for a few seconds.” She tightened her fingers around Teague’s. “I was rinsing my hair when the person opened the shower door and hit me. My eyes were closed at the time to keep the soap out, and I thought it was Teague returning for some reason.”

  “So you didn’t see the freak who took my daughter?” He forced the words out between gritted teeth.

  “I didn’t see anything. I slipped and fell and hit my head against the shower wall. Everything went dark for a moment before swimming back into focus.” Her breathing was ragged as she continued. “There was pink in the water washing down the drain. I remember the pink.” A shudder ran through her.

  “There’s a laceration on your scalp.” Rod taped a gauze pad over her injury. “Head wounds tend to bleed pretty freely, but the cut isn’t deep. The bleeding has nearly stopped. Are you sure you were only unconscious for a few seconds?”

  Nina glanced up and nodded. “I’m sure. I was dizzy at first, but I could hear Keely screaming. Then she went quiet, like someone covered her mouth.” Her voice broke. “I crawled out of the shower, grabbed a towel, then ran out into the hall. Her door was open, but she wasn’t in her room. I heard a car start while I was on the stairs. The front door had been left wide open, and Coco was shut in the laundry room, barking and scratching to get out.”

  “Did you see the car?”

  Her body shook as she pressed against him. “By the time I reached the front porch, it was already gone, so I called nine-one-one. The person I talked to told me to stay where I was and that help was coming. I went back upstairs to put on clothes and called you. The police were here pretty fast.”

  Teague’s pulse pounded at his temples. “Are the cops out looking for Keely? What the hell are they doing inside the house?”

  “Chris and another officer left to search the neighborhoo
d, and Chief Stackhouse mentioned setting up roadblocks.”

  Mateo squeezed her shoulder. “Nina, do you want to go to the hospital to get checked out? Based on your responsiveness, I don’t think you have a concussion, but it’s always a possibility.”

  “I don’t want to go anywhere.” She raised a hand to wipe tears off her cheeks. “I just want to help find Keely.”

  Teague stroked her blood-soaked hair. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. I feel fine, except for tenderness to the touch on my scalp and a headache.”

  He rose to his feet. “Then I’m going to go talk to whoever is in charge and see what the hell they’re doing to find my daughter.”

  When he reached the front porch, Coco’s faint whining hit him like another punch to the gut. He headed straight back to the laundry room and opened the door. His dog cowered in the corner in front of the washing machine, eyes wide with fear.

  “Hey, you’re okay, girl.” Bending, he scooped her up and held her against his chest. “Are you hurt?” He gently felt her quivering limbs, but she didn’t wince. Apparently, whoever had taken Keely had simply tossed the dog in the laundry room and shut the door. Tamping down on the anger roiling through him, he followed the voices upstairs.

  His boss stood with his back to Teague, speaking to Chief Stackhouse. When the cop held up a hand and met his gaze, Barker turned and motioned him forward.

  “How’s Nina doing?”

  “Upset, obviously, but she’ll be fine.” He glanced at the police chief and forced himself to speak calmly. “What’s being done to find Keely?”

  “We’ve put out an alert along with her photo. Nina sent me a recent shot of your daughter she’d taken on her phone.” The chief ran a hand through his iron-gray hair, looking every one of his sixty-odd years. “Roadblocks leading out of town were established immediately, so chances are the kidnapper didn’t get out of the area, but we’re sending an APB statewide, just in case. Right now, we’re organizing a door-to-door search, using a copy of the photo. We have the manpower already available from the ongoing search for the other missing girl.”

  Teague tightened his grip on Coco, only loosening it when the dog let out a yip. “Don’t you find it beyond coincidental that some woman from Siren Cove may have abducted another child, and now my daughter has been taken?”

  Stackhouse lowered his brows. “I’m not completely dense, son. We’ll be looking for that woman in connection to both missing person cases. Glen, here, has offered his crew up again to expedite the investigation. Since we haven’t found any helpful evidence left at the scene to identify the perp, we’re going to get cracking on the search.”

  “I’ll go out with you.” Teague breathed steadily, slowly, determined not to lose his shit and get banned from the search. “I can’t sit around here doing nothing.”

  “If the person who took your daughter calls about ransom—”

  “Why the hell would anyone do that? I don’t have the kind of cash that would interest a kidnapper. Anyway, I don’t even have a landline, and I’ll have my cell phone on me.”

  His boss cleared his throat. “Are you sure you’re up to this? You don’t look so great.”

  “I’m not going to pass out or do anything stupid.” Unless I find the bastard—or bitch—who has Keely. He clamped his lips shut on the final thought.

  “Fine. If Nina declined medical attention, head back to the firehouse in the ambulance with Rod and Mateo. They’re setting up the task force down at the police station right now. I’ll follow with the captain once he finishes up here.”

  Teague nodded and turned away. His legs weren’t quite steady as he descended the stairs. When he found Nina waiting for him in the entry, he handed her the quivering dog. “I’m going out to look for Keely.”

  After taking Coco, she stroked the dog’s head. “What can I do to help?”

  “I don’t know.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “Stay with Coco. Maybe call Stella to tell her what happened.”

  “I will.” Nina rose on her toes to press a kiss to his mouth. “Find your sweet girl.”

  “I intend to. I just hope it’s before she loses her innocence.”

  * * *

  Nina sat on the front porch, holding Coco in her lap, wondering how in the hell this nightmare had happened.

  The police had left, and Teague was out with the task force, searching door to door for a clue—anything—that would lead them to Keely. Her nerves were stretched to the point of breaking, and her head throbbed. After a moment, she rose to her feet and went inside. She set the dog on the floor and shut the door.

  Staring at the knob, she frowned. How had the kidnapper entered the house? The cops had just assumed she’d left the front door unlocked, but she distinctly remembered throwing the dead bolt before going upstairs to take a shower. After her recent break-ins, she hadn’t been careless.

  Coco followed when she headed into the kitchen. Searching through the drawers, Nina found one that contained ajar of gummy vitamins and a bottle of ibuprofen. She popped three pain tablets into her mouth and swallowed them with a glass of water. Bracing her hands on the counter next to the sink, she stared out into the backyard. The gate was partially open. Again. Had the police searched out there and gone into the woods from the yard? Leaving the room, she stopped in front of the back door. It was unlocked. Frowning, she bent down and pushed the doggy door. It swung freely, but a piece of blue material was caught on the top hinge of the plastic door. She pulled it loose and held it up. A ripped piece of light cotton, possibly from a dress shirt or blouse.

  She glanced from the flapping door to the lock as an idea formed. She went outside and lay down on the stoop. Stretching her arm up through the doggy door, she was just able to reach the dead bolt and flip the lock. On the other side, Coco barked like a lunatic. After switching it back, she turned the knob, and the door opened. She half fell inside.

  “Oh, my freaking God.” Climbing up off the floor, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Chris Long’s direct line.

  “Long here.”

  “Chris, it’s Nina. I just figured out how the person got into the house.”

  “Hold on a second.” He returned to his phone a few moments later. “The front door was open, and the back door was unlocked. Either entrance could have been used.”

  “The kidnapper came through the back door, all right, but it was locked when he—or she—arrived. I found a scrap of material stuck on the hinge of the doggy door. The person lay down outside and reached up through it to unlock the door.” Her voice was flat. “I tried, and it worked.”

  “Damn.”

  “Yeah. It wasn’t my fault the psycho got inside. The cloth looks like it came from a sky-blue dress shirt or blouse.”

  “Thanks. I’ll spread the word that the perp may be wearing a blue shirt. Thanks for calling me.”

  “You’re welcome. Any news yet?”

  “I’m afraid not, but we won’t stop searching until we find her.”

  Nina’s shoulders slumped. “Okay. Bye, Chris.” Glancing at the time on her phone’s display, she winced. Nine fifteen. Keely had been missing for nearly two hours. She tapped a few times to bring up Stella’s number and held the phone to her ear, dreading telling the woman what had happened.

  After a few rings, the call went to voice mail. With a low oath, Nina disconnected. She wasn’t about to break the news of Keely’s kidnapping to Stella in a message. Possibly, the sitter was still asleep or in the shower. Glancing down at her feet, she stared at Coco’s drooping ears and tail.

  “We’ll walk over there. We could both use a little fresh air.”

  After putting the dog on a leash, she locked both the back and front doors before heading across the porch. When her phone rang before she’d gotten to the end of the driveway, she answered without looking at the display.

  “Hello.”

  “Nina, have you heard anything about what’s going on in town? Rumors are floating around abo
ut a missing child, and there are a bunch of cops from out of the area down at the station.”

  When Paige paused for breath, Nina broke in. “Someone took Keely out of her bedroom this morning.” Her throat burned as she forced out the words. “They hit me while I was in the shower, and I couldn’t get to her in time.”

  “Oh, God. Oh, no.” Her friend’s voice rose. “Is Teague . . .”

  “He’s holding it together somehow. They’re out looking for her now.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I don’t know how to answer that. My head hurts, but I feel like I’m going to lose my mind. I keep thinking about Keely, alone and scared to death . . . or worse. It’s making me sick, imagining what’s happening to her.”

  “Then don’t,” Paige spoke firmly. “I’ll come over. Just sit tight, and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  “Right now I’m walking over to talk to Stella, the woman who watches Keely. I thought it was her calling back since she didn’t answer her phone a few minutes ago. She only lives a few blocks away and was supposed to babysit Keely today.” Nina’s grip on the leash tightened. “I didn’t want to leave her a message.”

  “I don’t blame you. Fine, I’ll be over in a half hour instead.”

  Nina stepped over a crack in the sidewalk. The last thing she needed was more bad luck. “That would be great. Right now I could use a friend.”

  “I’ll see you shortly.”

  She hung up and pushed her phone into her pocket. Her head itched from the dried blood, and even though she’d washed most of it off her face and neck, she probably still looked like the victim of a horror flick. When Coco stopped to pee, she waited for her to finish before picking up their pace.

  A block from her destination, she passed a patrol car parked at the curb. Two officers she didn’t recognize, no doubt part of the out-of-town contingent, spoke to old Mr. Peterson, who waved when he saw her. The cops turned to glance her way as she waved back, then returned to questioning the elderly man. Rounding the corner onto Pine, she arrived at Stella’s house a few minutes later. The woman’s motorcycle was parked in her driveway, and next door, a white sedan that looked vaguely familiar had been left at the curb with the passenger door open.