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“Can I help you?”
My palms become sweaty as my pulse races, and I drag my hands over the thin T-shirt once again. She scrunches her nose, and a sneer curls her enhanced lips.
No doubt the Lancasters have given her the lowdown on what a bad mom I am, not to mention a bunch of lies thrown in for good measure.
Jace wanted her to move schools and start afresh, but I didn’t want to upset her by taking her away from her friends. She’s been through enough change. I need to accept the circumstances for what they are because, at the end of the day, the education the Lancasters were providing for Harper is incredible, moving her really isn’t an option.
Nope, I’ve got to suck it up and deal with the pumped-up assholes who think they’re better than me.
I straighten my shoulders, raise my chin, and glare back at her. “I’m Harper Matthews’s mom. I’m here to collect her.”
Her lip twitches, making her look like a weird villain from a horror movie.
“I thought you had a baby too?” Her sharp eyes drill into me, making it difficult for me to swallow, but as I replay her question, I feel something is off.
“She’s in the car sleeping.” I glance over my shoulder, then meet her glaring eyes that cause me to panic at how she must have interpreted my response. “With her dad. He’s in the car too.” She doesn’t need to know it’s Kem in the car, only that I’m not the mom she thinks I am. A reckless, careless mom who abandons her kids. I’m a good mom.
“Of course,” her voice drawls out in feigned nicety, and the hairs on my arms stand up. “Follow me.” She steps out from behind the counter and gestures toward the corridor. I follow behind her until we reach the principal’s office, and she gifts the door with a simple knock before opening it, stepping aside, and sweeping her hand to wave me in.
I step into the office, and the window opposite me is wide open, the cool air hits my face, and I break out in a chill at the coldness filling the room.
When the door clicks shut, my eyes drop to the floor where my little girl’s sneaker pokes out from behind the principal’s desk. Rushing to the side, I drop to my knees, and Harper lies motionless on the carpet.
My little girl is unconscious. Panic spreads through me, and as I touch her face, a familiar feeling of being watched sweeps over me and sickness rolls in my stomach as I turn in time to see Mrs. Lancaster push a needle into my neck.
My vision blurs, and I gasp for air, my body wobbles, and my chest tightens. Dread ripples through me at her sinister smile. “I’m about to take back what belongs to me,” she sneers.
Slowly, ever so slowly, my world tilts on its axis before everything goes black.
Chapter
Nineteen
TIA
My neck stings, my wrists burn, my mouth is dry, and a throbbing pain lances through the base of my skull, making my memory hazy as I try to recall why I feel so odd.
Like a lightning bolt, Harper’s lifeless body flashes to the forefront of my mind, and I bolt upright from the awkward position I was lying in on the floor. My vision takes a moment to focus, then fear grips my chest, constricting it tighter and tighter with each second ticking by.
I’m in a dark basement with cement walls and floor, and there’s a lone window so high I won’t be able to reach it. Plus, it has a padlock on the latch. Then my eyes dart toward the heavy-looking door, and I know, without a shadow of a doubt, there’s no escape. I’m meant to be in here, shackled by cable ties, with my wrists thrust behind my back.
Panic squeezes my chest when I don’t see Harper, and tears spill down my face. “Harps?” My voice is gruff, and I clear my throat to speak louder. “Harper!” My eyes flick around thedamp, dark room, searching each corner for her, but there’s only the echo of my voice.
Fear takes over, and I suck in a sharp breath. The violent beat of my heart fills my ears as I struggle to comprehend the terror washing over me.
It’s so strong, so overwhelmingly powerful, that I feel like someone has ripped open my chest and torn out my heart.
It’s brutal.
Jace
“I want fucking answers! You said you had a tracker on them, a tracker, Lucas. Fucking track them!” I stab my finger in my brother’s direction as I unravel.
When our clerk interrupted our meeting, we all knew it had to be because of something serious, something had happened to Thalia. Truth be told, I knew something had happened to Harper too, I could feel it in my gut.
Something was seriously wrong.
Like, right now, I can feel that my little girl is scared. I can feel her fear deep inside me; it clings to me in a form of pain so strong I suspect my legs will buckle at any second and my heart will give out, but I refuse to give in to the fear taking over me. Not when they need me.
