On a late Saturday night, when Lucy should be welcoming him with his usual hot coffee, a tight smile on her face and a fresh buddle of complaints, Aiden Carter finds himself welcomed by a dreadful silence and the news of his wife running away with h...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
'Oh. So you're back. Quite early, don't you think?' Dave looks mad enough to kill.
My heart flutters inside at the very thought of having to deal with a ten years old girl I've damn kidnapped. Since when did I become so messed up?
'I had to stop at the farmhouse. I couldn't resist.' I say quietly. I don't think I've got much energy on me.
'And did you find anything?' He raises an eyebrow and I resist the urge to flinch.
'No. She never went there. Just dropped the horse. Jace thinks she might have caught a ride. Drove to her the village.' I sigh, feeling frustrated. 'I don't know what she might have done after. She had no damn money.'
'You never knew anything, did you?' Realization flashes through his eyes. 'You found her diary and you decided to try one last time. You weren't expecting to find any clues, or a thread leading to her. You didn't know you would find anything. Oh god, Aiden.'
And with that, he moves forward and hugs me tight.
'Listen to me. She's smart Aiden. She may not have acted smart when she ran away. But she would have found away. We'll see what we can find out right after we get this problem out of the way. Talking with the girl is important.' He meets my eyes. 'You need to ask her where her home is and figure out how to get her there. And make sure she doesn't babble about who you are. Once that gets done. We'll keep our focus on Lucy. We'll try harder. I promise.'
'She doesn't know who I am. She thought I was a friend of her Mothers.'
'She knows enough to get you in deep trouble. And Brenda, and me. Brenda wasn't supposed to inform you about a similar-looking girl when she didn't know for sure that she was Celine. She's retired. And she's not allowed to do what she did. As for me, I literally helped you kidnap a girl you knew wasn't your own.'
I let out a shaky breath. 'I wasn't in my senses. All I could think was how much I needed Celine. And she looked just like her. I didn't think, just moved.'
He pats my shoulder, concern visible in his eyes. 'Go up, and make it up to her.'
'Okay.' I nod, before walking towards the staircase, feeling my heart pounding hard.
I stop at her door, hesitating. She keeps banging on it from the other side, shouting something I can't understand. I can't help but think about how sore her hands must be. That gives me enough courage to raise a hand and knock hard.
She heard me, I'm sure she does because the banging stops.
Taking a deep breath, I place a hand on the doorknob and turn it around. The door opens. Giving it a little push, I drag my feet into the room, bracing myself.
The sight that meets my eyes steals my breath away.
She stands by the bed, her hair is more tangled than ever, shadows visible under her bloodshot eyes. The hunger in her gaze is almost savage. I want to peel my eyes away from her, but I can't. She looks too heartbreaking.
