Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“No. No, Savannah. I just talked to his teacher. She’s distraught, and she’s been trying to figure out what happened. There was a substitute, and when they finally tracked her down, she said she released Nicky to his grandmother.”
Lydia. It couldn’t have been my mother. She would never have picked Nicky up without also getting August and Thatcher, and definitely not without letting anyone know. My heart beat so hard that the rush of it drowned out any other sound. In the back of my mind, I was hoping Nicky was playing hide and seek or had snuck off to the playground; both things had happened before when kids weren’t at the pickup line.
“She’s sure it was his grandmother? Did she give a description?” I asked. I’d been afraid to let Lydia have private visitation for just this reason, worried that once she had her hands on Nicky, she wouldn’t bring him back to me.
“The substitute said she was short. Silver and blond hair. She remembered her silk scarf and a red tailored suit.”
“That’s Lydia,” I said, letting out a breath. “Do they have cameras? Security? Can we verify that it was Lydia?”
“I don’t know. How far away are you?” Scarlett asked.
“Ten minutes. Maybe five,” I said as Finn flicked his blinker on, slid into the oncoming lane, and passed a truck going the speed limit, the Jeep’s engine straining under the increased speed.
“I should have borrowed Griffen’s Maserati,” he said under his breath.
Another day that would have been a joke. Today, it was a regret. If we’d taken Griffen’s car, we’d be there already. It didn’t matter that there was nothing we could do once we got there. Nicky was already gone. I squeezed my eyes shut, forcing that thought away. We were going to find him.
“We’re out front,” Scarlett said. “Pickup is almost finished. I think you’re going to beat Hawk and West here.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll see you soon.” Such banal words. See you soon, as if we weren’t racing as fast as we could to get to her. I hung up and watched the trees flashing by.
To Finn, I said, “A substitute let Lydia take him. She’s not on the list. They’re not supposed to let anyone who isn’t on the list pick up the kids.” My voice was a shriek by the end. I was getting hysterical. I never get hysterical, but no one had ever threatened Nicky before. Not like this.
“We’ll fix it,” Finn said, his eyes glued to the road as he passed another car, ignoring the blare of their horn as we flew by. “Once we get Nicky back, we’ll deal with it. There’s a pickup list for a reason. Fucking idiots.”
His fury soothed my terror just a little. I wasn’t alone. We were going to face this together. We were going to find Nicky safe and well. That was the only outcome I could accept. Anything else was unthinkable. I pulled up Lydia’s number and hit the call button. It rang once and went to voicemail. I tried again. It went to voicemail again.
I didn’t leave a message. I couldn’t think of what to say. After the third try, I set the phone on my lap.
“She’s not answering?” Finn asked, his voice tight, sharp, with fear.
“It’s going to voicemail. I was going to leave a message, but what if I say the wrong thing? She’s obviously unstable. Coming to Heartstone, threatening to sue for custody, and now picking Nicky up at school. I don’t know what she’s thinking. That she’s just going to take him and run? Where? Is John in on it?”
Restless, I flipped the phone over and over in my lap. “It doesn’t make sense,” I said, babbling all the thoughts running through my head. “I wanted to leave a message telling her to bring my son back, or she’d get arrested, but then I thought, what if I spook her? What if I spook her, and she does something crazy and hurts Nicky?”
Finn let out a held breath. “God, I didn’t even think of that, but you’re right. If she was willing to listen to reason, we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place. And if you scare her—”
“I don’t want her to feel threatened,” I said, my blood chilling at the idea of driving Lydia further from sanity while she had Nicky.
“I don’t think she’s going to hurt him, Savannah,” Finn said. “I really don’t.”
“I don’t think she’d mean to,” I said. “But sometimes things don’t work out the way you plan, and if she panics—” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the thought.
”I know,” Finn said, squeezing my hand again. “But look, until we have a reason to think differently, we’re going to assume that Nicky is fine. Okay? We don’t have any reason to think that he’s not. Lydia loves him. She wants to spend time with him. She did not strike me as a suicidal woman. Angry, bitter, possessive. A little unhinged. But I don’t see her hurting herself or him. Do you?”