You Have My Attention

Twenty-Eight

« Winter's POV »
- Twenty Hours Ago -

We finally pull up to the campsite after an incredibly long drive, small fires dashing the sand as families and loved ones crowd around them. Nothing seems wrong with it. Nothing is as if a criminal is roaming the place with a kidnapped FBI agent in the car with him.

Kason's eyes scour the perimeter. I can tell he's worried. He's more angry than anything else, but the concern for his sister is obvious. I gently take his hand in mine as he drives the rented buggy with the other slowly near the rest of the vehicles. His eyes shift over to me, where they finally soften. His vulnerability occurs brightly against the night as he tells me a thousand words of worry without saying anything at all.

"She'll be okay, Kason. She has to be," I reassure him. He doesn't say anything, only swallows once and nods before parking the dune buggy.

We exit the car and begin walking toward the crowd of people. I wrack my brain for any clues or ideas. If I had escaped confinement, I wouldn't be staying out in the open where my face could possibly be recognized. I'd be hiding discreetly and without making a scene anywhere. So if Scott is here, then he wouldn't be staying at one of these campsites near a bunch of people.

There are many people here, all smiling and laughing amongst the unknown scenery of crime. What really makes my breath hitch are the couples with kids. These little, tiny toddlers innocently scooping sand in their hands and letting it fall while Mom and Dad watch with loving smiles. What if something happened? Everything good here could fall apart at any given moment, and it lies in Kason and I's hands.

Kason notices my uncomfortable nervousness and grabs my hand in his. I look down at our fingers intertwined and watch as his thumb does this intricate smooth dance on the back of my hand. Interlocked, I feel immediately more at ease.

"Let's look around," he suggests. "We might be able to find something in any informational pamphlets or something."

I nod.

We search for anything that could give away Scott's location. But it all seemed really hopeless. We asked people if there were any hidden campsites or if they've seen a couple around with Kassidy and Scott's description. Everyone we asked blanked and there was nothing to lead us to their spot.

For all we know, Scott could've booked it. He could've known we were here looking for him and darted. Or he wasn't here at all. That could be the case, but Ray's description seemed pretty accurate on what we were looking for. A small glimmer of hope still rests in my chest knowing another person had possibly seen him.

After three hours of walking around the campsite, searching places and researching them, Kason slumps against the base of a thick tree. His face digs into his hands out of devastation. It was the first time he let go of my hand the whole time we were here. For some reason, that action alone seemed like he was giving up.

I furrow my eyebrows in determination. "Kason, she's got to be here somewhere. We'll find her. We'll find her and Scott and—"

"If he hurt her I'll never live with myself," he whispers, interrupting me. The break in his voice breaks me.

I'll never live with myself.

That sentence ticks me off. The idea of Kason leaving me because he just can't resist the temptation of ridding of his emotional pain strikes me deeply. If he killed himself, I'd end up dead by my own hands too.