by KB Winters
“And hey, you know Karena is a pro at planning a wedding in a hurry,” Colton teased.
I chuckled, but brought my free hand to the back of my neck, nervously tapping my fingers. “Keep her on standby for now, but she’ll be my first call when—if—that comes up.”
“Fair enough.”
We talked for a little while longer, but my mind was distracted by thoughts of Colton and Karena’s wedding, and what it would be like if the tables were turned, and it was me standing in Colton’s place, waiting for Isla to come down the aisle towards me. I’d never really thought about my wedding day, but now, with Isla’s face in mind, it was impossible to push aside.
Chapter Seventeen
Isla
The weeks that followed passed in a crazy blur. Adding Lucas to my life had a way of expanding the time I had, instead of reducing it. Somehow, having him in my life gave me more drive and energy to power through the other aspects of my life. Even work was getting easier to deal with. He’d convinced me to give up my Saturday night shift at the bar, and while I’d been sad to say goodbye, it had been worth it to have each weekend completely free to spend with him.
Most of our dates revolved around his family and mine. We alternated between having dinner at his place, and him coming to Everett to spend time with Lily and me, or, on rarer occasions, just the two of us. He’d even brought the whole posse, as he called them, minus Carrie, over to meet my parents for dinner one night.
“Pumpkin? Is that you?”
I followed the sound of my mom’s voice into the kitchen as I shut the side door from the garage. I’d just come home from another amazing date with Lucas and was still smiling like a lovesick teenager, as I floated into the kitchen where she was sitting at a bar stool at the island.
“Hey mom, what are you still doing up?” I asked, propping my elbows on the granite surface.
She shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep. How was your date?”
“Amazing. As always,” I sighed. “Lucas is just…he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Well, besides Lily, obviously.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy, baby,” she said, smiling over at me. “Lucas is a wonderful young man. Your father and I are both thoroughly impressed with him.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I crossed the kitchen to get a glass of water, and as my back was turned, something shifted in the silence. I looked over my shoulder and caught my mom frowning down at the counter. “Mom? Is everything okay?”
“I hate to do this…but…” My body went on red alert as I spun slowly to face here. Only then, realizing there was an envelope on the counter in front of her. “Mark called your father today.”
My heart plummeted to the floor. “It’s really happening?”
She nodded slowly, her eyes glossy with unshed tears. “I’m so sorry, baby.”
Since the meeting at the park, Samuel had been MIA, and I’d been so caught up with Lucas that I’d managed to shove his impending threat to the back of my mind. After that initial summons, I’d met with Mark Dwyer, a family law attorney—one of my dad’s friends who had offered to handle my case pro bono—and he’d been in contact with Samuel’s lawyer, but nothing had happened beyond that initial conversation. I’d been all too happy to put it outside of my mind and wait for Mark to sort things out.
“Why didn’t he call me?” I asked, crossing the kitchen to get my purse. I pulled my phone from the outside pocket and groaned. I’d missed his call. I listened to his voicemail and cursed myself for not hearing his call. His message didn’t give specifics. I turned back to my mom. “What did he tell Dad?”
“He thinks he’s got it negotiated with Samuel’s lawyer to try mediation first. If the two of you can work out a co-parenting plan, you might be able to avoid a court appearance altogether, which, would obviously be better for everyone.” I crumpled and my mom reached for me. “I know this isn’t what you want, baby, but you’re strong, and I know you’ll do what’s right.”
I couldn’t find words to say.
All the happiness and joy I’d been filled with, drained away as my mind reeled through the thought of sending Lily to live with Samuel on the weekends or for long stretched of time during the summer. I couldn’t even fathom a life where that became the new normal for us. All of my energy had been caught up in building visions and dreams for our life with Lucas and building a family with him.
With Samuel in the picture, everything would be ruined.
* * * *
“Where is he?” I asked Lucas, not expecting an answer.
I stalked across the hall, the only sound the angry slapping of my heels against the parquet flooring of the mediation offices. After several weeks of going back and forth with Samuel through his lawyer and my own, we were waiting to see him for our first round of mediation to work out a co-parenting arrangement with the help of a professional mediator assigned to our case through the family court system.
“Isla, baby, come over here,” Lucas’ tone was solid, commanding.
I spun on my heel and walked back to him. “I can’t believe he’s twenty minutes late without so much as a phone call…” I fumed.
Lucas wrapped an arm around my shoulder and tucked me against his side. It had become my regular place, nestled against him, as though the spot had been made just for me. He kissed the side of my head and stroked my shoulder with his fingertips. “It doesn’t matter, Isla. If he’s late, that’s just one more mark against him. He’s obviously not taking this seriously, and if you ask me, that only makes our case stronger as to why he shouldn’t be given partial custody.”
I relaxed slightly, both Lucas’ physical presence and his continual use of words like “us” and “our” a comfort in the middle of my raging anxiety.
While we’d agreed not to dwell on it, we had sat down and established a game plan, as far as what we would ask the mediator for, in regards to Samuel’s involvement. Lucas had accompanied me to as many meetings with Mark, my attorney, as possible in the planning stages leading up to the appointment with the mediator.
He still hadn’t officially asked, and I didn’t wear a ring, but to everyone around us, especially those involved in the case, he was known as my fiancé. The only people who didn’t know about our plan, were Lily, and Lucas’ siblings. We’d sat down with my parents and told them about our not-so-fake-engagement, and they’d been incredibly supportive and understanding.
I focused on Lucas’ touch and pressed my eyes closed, taking deep, deliberate breaths, in an attempt to bring down my sky high heart rate.
The sound of my ring tone jerked me from whatever peace I’d gathered, and I frantically dug it from my purse. Maybe it was Mark, calling to tell me that Samuel had backed out. It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he shirked out of his responsibility.
I was surprised to find my dad’s name pop up on the screen. I answered the call, “Hey, Dad, he’s not here yet. I don’t know what game he’s—”
“Isla!” His sharp tone shocked me and I stopped pacing, my feet rooted to the floor. “Isla—” his voice softened, “—you need to get back to the house. Right now.”
A cold sweat broke out over my skin. “Daddy? What’s wrong?”
“Lily—” his voice broke and my heart slammed against my chest. I’d never heard my dad so unnerved before. “She’s missing…”
“Missing?” My mouth formed the word, but my voice was gone, barely a horrified whisper.
“We took her to the park and a man came over to ask us for directions. When we turned back. She was…gone. God, Isla, I’m so sorry.”
Before I realized what I was doing, the phone slipped from my fingertips and I followed it, crashing to the floor.
“Isla!” Lucas’ voice sounded hollow and faraway as my surroundings faded. “Isla? What’s wrong?”
“Lucas, she’s gone. He took her.”
Chapter Eighteen
Lucas
“Lucas, she’s gone. He took her.”
I knew that
as long as I lived, I would never be able to forget Isla’s words that afternoon.
“What? When?” I gripped Isla’s shoulders, forcing her eyes to mine. “Isla, what happened?”
“Is she okay? Do you need me to call 911?” A passerby asked, rushing over to where Isla had collapsed.
“No, thank you,” I replied tersely, glancing up at the stranger. A buzz distracted me and I looked down to see Isla’s phone. Her dad’s name was on the screen. “Hello? Robert? This is Lucas. What’s going on?”
“Is she okay?”
Isla collapsed against me, her body wracking with sobs. Her words incoherent. “What happened?” I repeated.
“Angie and I were at the park with Lily. The one by the house, Hillside, and she was on the playground with a little girl she met. Anyways, a man came up to us, asking for directions to some church. Angie was explaining the directions, and when we turned back, Lily was gone. We searched the park top to bottom, asked everyone if they’d seen her, but she was just…gone…”
“Did Samuel take her?”
Isla screamed into my shoulder. “He did it! I know it was him! Why else wouldn’t he be here.”
I wrapped an arm around her, drawing her up from the floor. “Come on, baby. Let’s get out of here.” I steered her towards the closest exit. “Robert, are the police there with you?”
“Yes. We called them and they came out to the park to search, and now we are back at the house, waiting to hear from them.”
I nodded. That was good.
“They have Samuel’s description…” Robert added, his tone reluctant. “It’s hard to believe he would take her.”
I resisted the urge to add that it would be better if he was the one who took her. At least that way, the odds were good that he wouldn’t hurt her.
But that wasn’t what Isla needed to hear.
“We’re on our way.” I clicked off the call and turned all of my attention to getting Isla back to her parents’ house.
The hours ticked by, each one seemingly slower than the one before, as we all clustered around the island in Robert and Angie’s kitchen, waiting on news. Police officers and detectives came and went in shifts, none of them able to offer much in the way of comfort, other than to assure us they would find Lily.
Another search of the park had been conducted and every person they could find had been questioned. One couple thought they saw Lily leaving with a tall man in a dark suit. They said it seemed like she knew him and had taken his hand. This piece only made Isla more hysterical.
I glanced over at her. She’d stopped crying, but her eyes were bloodshot and glazed over, as she stared blankly at the gleaming surface of the island. In her hands, she clutched Lily’s doll, Lexi. It had been recovered from the steps of one of Lily’s favorite slides.
“Let me call Carrie and see if she can stay with the kids tonight,” I said to Isla and her parents.
Robert and Angie nodded. Isla didn’t seem to register that I’d even said anything.
I brushed my hand along her back as I stood up and walked out of the kitchen. Once I was alone, I exhaled long and slow. In all my years with the Army, I’d gotten used to running at a high octane level. It took a lot of stress and anxiety to even faze me. But news of Lily being kidnapped topped the list of the worst things that had ever happened. My chest ached with the constant seizing of my heart over every tear Isla had cried.
I was powerless to stop her pain or ease her fears.
Night was falling, the sun was on its way down, and my stomach twisted in knots at the thought of Lily out there somewhere, in unfamiliar surroundings, without answers to the questions she would no doubt be asking. I could almost hear her sweet little voice crying out for Isla.
“Fuck,” I raked a hand through my hair, tugging on the roots violently. How could I be trained to kill, ready to fight, defend, and protect at any moment, and yet I couldn’t save Lily?
I’d never felt so helpless. I’d been dropped into the middle of the ocean with weights tied around my ankles.
I went out to the front porch and dialed Carrie’s number. Once I explained the situation to her, she promised to race over to the house and stay with the kids for the night. Technically Ben could handle it, and I trusted him to take care of his siblings, but I would feel better knowing Carrie was there too.
After we got off the phone, I sat there, staring at the blank screen. Colton and Miles didn’t know what was going on, and I thought of calling them, but it was getting late over in Georgia. I didn’t want to interrupt their nights and drop such a heavy load on them.
As I flicked through my contact list, my breath hitched at the sight of a name: Keegan Rasperson.
He was an old Army buddy, who’d gone on to work as a contractor for the FBI after getting out of the military. He was a tech guy who had a penchant for hacking and getting information that was nearly impossible for anyone else to get.
Which, was exactly why the FBI had been so interested in him.
It was a long shot, but I knew I’d regret not trying. I dialed his number.
“This is Rasperson,” he answered on the second ring and I exhaled.
“Hey Keegan, this is Lucas Sprigg.”
“Sprigg? Holy shit! Long time, man!”
“Yeah, I know. Listen, I have a favor to ask,” I said, my tone clipping off any chance of small talk.
“Sure, man. Shoot.”
I gave him the rundown of the events of the day and when I was done, he asked me a few questions. I pulled Samuel’s business card from my wallet. He’d given it to Isla the day he’d shown up at her office, and at some point, she’d given it to me to hold onto. I rattled off the information about his employer, the address, and all the contact details.
The line went quiet, except for the frantic bashing of keys on a keyboard as Keegan worked. My heart rate ratcheted up higher with the pace of his typing and it was hard to keep from bursting into his work and ask questions.
“Holy…shit…” he breathed. “Hey, Sprigg, how well does your girl know this guy?”
“Hardly at all anymore. Like I said, she hadn’t seen the guy in almost five years. What did you find?”
“Well, in those five years, he’s managed to get himself into a bit of trouble.” More typing. “Yeah. He’s on the run for sure. There’s a warrant out for his arrest in New York State.”
“What?” It was like being punched in the face.
If he was on the run, that made him even more dangerous.
“Yeah, I’m looking at the warrant right here. From the charges, looks like he was tangled up with some guys who were spearheading an embezzling scheme under this shell company, the one on the business card you have. It’s a cover.”
“Oh my God.” I raked my free hand back through my hair as my mind spun in circles, trying to keep up with the avalanche of new information Keegan was dumping onto me. “He must have known he’d never have a shot at custody. He didn’t want to go to court. Too risky. All it would take is one background check and he’d be done.”
“Exactly. Any lawyer worth his salt would have pulled one eventually to get dirt to argue their custody case. So, in this case, looks like he thought it would be easier to snatch the girl and go. I’m sorry, man.”
“Can you get me an address? He must be taking her home, right?”
“I doubt he’d be stupid enough to have a lease in his name after kidnapping his daughter. But, yeah, there’s an address here, it’s in New York.”
I got up and went inside to write down the address. “Can you track his phone number or his credit cards or anything? We have to find him before he gets too far with Lily.”
“Let me see…”
Another agonizing minute ticked by as I listened to the clicking keys.
“Nope. That number is probably a burner. You got another one?”
“The one from the business card, but it’s probably fake if the company doesn’t even exist…”
“Let me try it.”
I gave him the digits and waited again.
“Got it! Lucas, he’s at Sea-Tac.”
“Shit!” I bolted towards the kitchen, praying a cop was still on site. “Thanks man, I owe you big time!”
“Good luck man. Let me know how it goes.”
“I will.” I hung up the phone and slid into the kitchen, startling Angie, Robert, and Isla at my stampeding feet. “He’s at the airport!”
Chapter Nineteen
Isla
“The airport?” A new wave of fear washing over me. “How do you know that?”
“Long story,” Lucas replied. “Where’s Detective Ridge?”
“Outside. Let me go get him,” my dad said, hustling through the kitchen. He passed Lucas and seconds later, the front door opened and closed.
“My buddy works with the FBI. He pulled Samuel’s info and he has a warrant out for his arrest. Some kind of corporate fraud. He knew he wouldn’t get Lily if this thing went to court.”
“But, how—where?” I shook my head, struggling to process what Lucas was telling us.
Detective Ridge came in, my dad right on his heels, and Lucas slowed down long enough to explain the full story. Detective Ridge called a team to hustle to the airport and when he got off the phone, he told us to hold tight, and then left the house again.
“This is torture…” I clung to the kitchen counter with my fingertips. “I can’t just sit here and wait!”
Lucas came back to sit on the stool beside me and I climbed off my stool and into his lap. “It’s going to be okay, Isla. We know where she is now. The cops will get to her in time.”
“What if they don’t? Samuel could get her on a plane and they could head to some other country and disappear!” A sob interrupted my other thoughts and I hopped down, unable to contain all the energy coursing through me. “I’m going to the airport. Lily is probably scared out of her mind. I need to be there when they get her away from that monster.” Lucas reached for me, already starting to coo something comforting at me, and I jerked away. “No, I’m doing this and you can’t stop me. My baby needs me.”
