Page 100 of Found in Wild Sage

My stomach turns.

“We have reason to believe she may be here in Juniper View. Diego’s working on what we need to track her cell phone.”

I nod, mind jumpstarting and finally back up to speed. “Okay. Okay. Just tell me what to do.”

Grant shakes me, a brotherly gesture. “Get on the phone with Jack and give him the number. Have him pass it to the Saint team and see if they can get anything faster than we can. We’re going to find her.”

I can’t think of a time when Grant was wrong in a situation like this, and I’m praying with everything in me he’s right yet again.

He glances down at his phone when a text comes through.

“Here’s a photo Trevor just sent—have you seen this woman?” He shows me the screen.

Air rushes from my lungs because yes. I do. “Yes. Yeah, that’s—that’s Ma’s new friend she’s always talking about.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

Evie

Iam the human embodiment of rage.

I have never felt such utter fury with a person, not even Trevor.

Watching Katrina talk to Charlie like she’s a doting grandmother and not a crazy person kidnapping two people sends anger burning so hot through me, I’m surprised I haven’t lit on fire.

Following duct-taping my hands and feet in her car after marching me into the garage where she’d parked, she ended up slapping a piece over my mouth when I kept asking her what she was doing. I tried kicking out the corner of the trunk while I bounced around in the dark, but with my feet taped together and my hands behind me, I was immobilized.

I’m angry with myself for letting any of this happen, but she had a gun and she quickly shifted from pointing it at me to pointing it at Charlie. The sight of her holding my son in one arm and the weapon in her other was enough to make me comply immediately.

Who does that? What kind of person threatens a baby with a gun?

This is exactly why I’ve done as she said. She was horrible to me when I was with Trevor, but she wasn’t crazy. I think she may actually have had some kind of psychotic break if she’s willing to kidnap me and Charlie at gunpoint.

There’s also the realization that she’s seen Charlie. At one point, she said, “It’s so good to see you. I told you and that doctor I’d see you again soon, didn’t I?”

Now we’re in a tiny cabin a ways out of town. There’s a small cot in the corner and a hot plate. It’s some kind of hunting cabin, and I can’t imagine she’s been living here, though she clearly knows the space. She sets Charlie down on a small, dusty carpet, then shoves me to the ground and rips the duct tape from my mouth.

A potent sting along my cheeks and lips makes my eyes water.

“Oh, yes. Poor little Evie.” She groans. “I have no sympathy for you, you stupid bitch. You’re the worst kind of human being and this is only what you deserve.”

“What do you want?”

She turns around from the table holding a large bottle of vodka. “Me? I want you to pay for what you’ve done.”

“What is it that I’ve done?”

Her chin juts out and the sneer on her face is nothing short of terrifying. “You came into our lives, seduced my boy, and then ruined our lives. You got him sent to jail, you⁠—”

“He kidnapped me! He kidnapped a celebrity! After beating me and abusing me for months while I was pregnant. He⁠—”

She backhands me so hard and fast, I never could’ve seen it coming. My jaw and teeth instantly ache. I can’t press a hand to my cheek to feel it, but Charlie knows something’s wrong and he starts crying, moving toward me.

I can’t reach for him. It strips away all the pain and highlights the utter agony of not being able to protect my child.

“He messed up. But I’ve got a second shot with Charlie here. So you’re going to drink this vodka. And then you’re going to get in that car, and drive it off the road like a good little girl. I don’t even care if you survive it, because once the judge hears you’ve been drinking and driving, he’ll agree we’ve got to reopen the case. But this time, I’ll file, and I’ll win.”

This can’t be real. She can’t possibly think it’ll work, can she?