Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
“I don’t want to hurt some teenaged girl.” John moved down the aisle. “Come on, kid. Try to remember I’m the one who took you down.”
“Only because you had backup.” Kala forced herself to move, taking in every ache. Wondering how she got them.
Wondering if they would always be there, simmering under her surface. A nightmare she could feel, sense like a shadow always at the edge of her conscious. But one she couldn’t catch and kill.
“I still have backup.” John held out a hand, offering her the stairs. “If we get back soon, I can make us pancakes.”
“Like I would eat poison pancakes.” Despite the rolling in her gut, she had a reputation to uphold.
“They’re not poison.” John managed to sound aggrieved.
Kala walked on, head held high. But her soul…her soul was so low. And she’d done it to herself.
* * * *
Cooper was miserable. For days it seemed he’d been locked in utter and complete hell, not knowing what was going on.
He knew it had only been a day or two, but she still wasn’t home and no one wanted to talk to him. No one could talk to him since he was grounded and had barely been out of his room. And he’d lost his cell.
His parents were pissed, though they seemed more sympathetic today than they’d been the night it had happened.
That night. If he could, he would take it all back. He would do whatever she wanted. If he’d thought he wasn’t ready to be Kala Taggart’s boyfriend, he absolutely wasn’t ready to live in a world where she wasn’t.
He had to go back to school tomorrow. They’d let him stay home Monday because he’d woken up, realized she was still gone, and promptly thrown up and wouldn’t eat anything. It had convinced his parents he needed at least a day. But tomorrow he would have to go, and all those friends would ask where she was. Not because they wanted to know but because they wanted to avoid her.
What was Kenzie saying when people asked? Did they call Kala in sick or had they gotten the authorities involved? He was pretty sure they wouldn’t call in the police. The Taggarts were an authority in and of themselves.
Would anyone ask? Not caring seemed like the worst outcome of all. That she could be gone and no one outside her family would be concerned.
He had no idea what she was going through, and she probably thought he didn’t care.
There was a knock on his door and his mom came in.
“Hey.” She was dressed for the office, though he knew she hadn’t gone in. She looked tired, like he felt. His dad had been at the MT building nonstop since Kala and Kyle were taken. He was working with Uncle Adam and Aunt Chelsea on logistics. Whatever that meant.
His father hadn’t even bothered to tell him their weekly flight lessons were canceled. His dad had been taking him for lessons since he was fourteen. Next year he could get his license, and he’d always meant to take Kala up, to show her the world he loved so much.
He might never get the chance.
“Hey.” He put down the math text he hadn’t been focused on at all. Words didn’t make sense to him right now. Numbers definitely didn’t.
“They think they know where she’s being held,” his mom said, sitting at the edge of his bed.
“They do?” For the first time in days, he felt a surge of hope. “Where? Do they know if she’s still alive? What are they doing?”
His mom reached out, putting a hand on his arm. “MaeBe thinks she’s tracked her down because of a pizza order.”
She had the worst taste in pizza. Another thing he’d made fun of her for. “Anchovies. No sauce. It’s gross. How does her pizza habits… Someone was monitoring the orders for the area. Wow. That was smart.”
“I believe Mae figured it out,” his mom replied. “I wanted you to know. I’ll keep you updated. Charlotte is in close contact with your dad.”
“Does Kenz know? Someone should tell Lou.” He didn’t want anyone left out.
“Kenz and the others are at their Uncle Sean’s for now. He’ll let them know what’s going on, and I imagine Tash and Lou are texting constantly.” She sighed and reached into her pocket. “And I can’t leave you alone in this. I can’t. I know your father is still mad, but I think you’ve been through enough without having to deal with this alone.”
She passed him his cell phone.
He took it. He wanted to call… He wanted to call her. He wanted to talk to her, but no one was going to answer that line.
“You’re still grounded, but you need your friends right now more than you need a lesson,” his mom was saying.
“Where is she?” He needed to know.