She looks over her shoulder to look at Clover and me, and I mouth the words thank you.
"What else was I supposed to do while sitting in here by myself?"
Despite the gravity of the situation, we all chuckle a bit. All of us except Clover, who looks like she's going to throw up. I look at Iris and give her a pleading look that has herturning to face forward, giving us the only privacy she can right now.
"Hey, Clover?"
She looks up at me, tears brimming in her eyes.
"Can I ask you some questions now, or is that too overwhelming for you?" She doesn't answer, just stares. "I get why you didn't call your dad—though you definitely should have—but why did you call me?"
Her lower lip shakes. "I tried to call Raina and Winnie first, but they're out of town on a camping trip. They didn't answer."
I remember Kass mentioning that he had a close friendship with Raina and that Winnie, her daughter, was good friends with Clover. It eases my mind a bit knowing that I wasn't the first one she tried to call.
"You didn't try to call your grandparents?" I'm trying to make a mental list of people I need to get a hold of to tell them she's okay.
She shakes her head. "They would have told my dad."
"Clover...I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to tell your dad, too."
She squeezes her eyes shut, but it doesn't stop the tears from falling down her cheeks as she sobs.
"Hey, hey. Take a deep breath, okay. I'm not trying to get you in trouble here. Actually, I don't think you're in trouble with anyone at all. We all just want you safe. But I do need to tell your dad why I'm dropping you off when he thinks you're at Jade's house."
Through her sobs, she nods her head, letting me know she understands me.
I hadn't gotten this far in my head yet. I hadn't thought through the fact that I'm going to have to see Kass, let alonethe fact that I have to explain why his daughter called me to pick her up in the middle of the night.
I consider texting Kass to let him know, but we're only ten minutes from their house now, and I don't want him to panic those whole ten minutes before both Clover and I have a chance to explain everything. It'll just be easier to do it in person.
Chapter Thirty
KASS
It's nearly one in the fucking morning, why is someone trying to call me right now?
I roll over in bed and grab my phone off my nightstand. It's Jade.
Fuck! My throat tightens up, and my heart starts to race as I panic.
"Hello? Jade! Is everything okay?"
"No..."
"What the fuck do you me?—"
"Kass. Someone took her."
My ears start ringing, and a knot forms in my throat. I can't breathe. My absolute worst nightmare is coming true. I have a million questions I need to ask, but nothing is coming out. I shoot up out of bed and scramble for the light switch.
"Kass, don't panic?—"
"Don't panic! Are you fucking kidding me?" I barely recognize my voice, laced with pure rage.
"Kass, listen to me! I'm pretty sure she's fine."
"Pretty sure she's—" She cuts me off again,and I'm about ready to punch a wall, but instead I focus on finding my pants.
