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Hunter pacedin front of the screens in the security office. Snow was with May for makeup and dressing, and the instant she was ready, he’d be right back by her side. His entire body thrilled over her confession. He’d known she was falling for him, but he’d resigned himself to having to watch her choose someone other than him.
That fact had been the reason Hunter had quailed as he’d watched Clayton kiss her in the gym. Hunter hadn’t been able to bring himself to watch the whole time. He’d missed the words they’d exchanged, which explained why Snow’s admission when she’d dragged him into the hall outside the gym had thrown Hunter for such a loop.
Snow was going to choosehim. Never mind the fact that he had no idea what the public’s reaction would be. While the pronouncement felt monumental, it still didn’t assuage the fact that they still had no idea what to expect from this threatener.
He’d been in other difficult situations, like when he’d protected an actress from a potential stabber or the time the President of the United States had flown in and needed additional heat to back him up. He could handle whoever this was.
But what if this person caught him unawares again? He hadn’t been with Snow when she’d gone to the pool. He couldn’t let anything like that happen to her again.
A ping sounded from his phone. His heart leaped, but the message wasn’t from Snow. It was from Kassie’s school. Momentarily derailed, Hunter swiped and listened as a computer-generated voice told him Kassie hadn’t been at school that day.
“Strange,” he muttered, scanning the cameras. Through one of the windows, he could see Snow sitting in the dressing room in front of her mirror, grinning and chatting with May while she coiled her hair up on her head. Hunter checked his watch. It was after four p.m. His little girl should have made it to his parents’ by now. Worry began to settle in. He disregarded it and tapped Kassie’s number.
The dial tone rang a few times before heading to the sound of her sweet voice stating her introductory voicemail. A separate ping came from his phone. This time it was from Snow, telling him she was stepping out.
Hunter hurried to be outside the dressing room’s door, and distracted as he was, his breath caught the moment it opened.
She looked exquisite. May had pulled Snow’s hair up, and she wore a little black dress that was both simple and striking, accentuating her figure and the line of her strong shoulders and swanlike neck. Any other time, the sight of her like this would have unraveled him, but his thoughts were too preoccupied. Where was Kassie?
Her eyes danced. “Hey, handsome. You ready for this?” She gestured to herself.
Heavens, but she was tantalizing. She looked nervous. And delicate. And beautiful. But he couldn’t dwell on that now.
She seemed to register his concern because the light in her face dimmed.
“What’s wrong?” Snow asked.
Hunter checked his phone before replying. He tapped the list of his contacts, wondering which number to call first. “The school just called and said Kassie never made it today,” he said, holding his phone to his ear.
“Didn’t your parents drop her off?”
“No, they’re not far from the school, so she usually rides her bike.”
“Would she have skipped out for some reason? Some kids do that.”
“Not Kassie,” he said. If she were older, he could see a teenage version of her cutting class or—heaven forbid—meeting a boy. But she loved school, and her best friend was in her class.
“I can’t help but wonder,” he said without finishing the thought. His phone was a brick in his hand. He stared out at the set, not seeing.
“What?”
Hunter rubbed his chin. “Her mom hasn’t been in her life for years, but—” What if Haven had something to do with this? Absentee parents had been known to abruptly interfere. He met Snow’s concerned eyes.
“You’re worried,” Snow said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You need to go find her.”
“I—” He checked his phone again. Called his parents. They hadn’t seen Kassie either. His heart constricted and pushed his blood like syrup through his veins. They had driven to the school to see if she was still there and were just about to call him now that they knew she wasn’t.
He continued staring without seeing. He couldn’t think. What had happened to his little girl? “I have to go,” he said.
“Of course you do. Go on, make sure she’s okay.”
Snow’s presence, her glance, was so steady. Hunter wanted to cling to her. To take comfort from her in whatever way he could, but now wasn’t the time. He felt trapped. He couldn’t leave Snow, not now. “But the threatener…”
She gripped his hand. “I’ll be fine. Nothing has happened since the pool incident. Eloise, Hector, and May are here. Police have the station surrounded. I’ll be fine. Go find your daughter. I’m still choosing you.”
“I wouldn’t leave you if it weren’t vital,” he said, needing to make her understand. This was tearing him apart inside. What if something happened to Snow because he was gone?
“I know.” She smiled, a stabilizing, grounding sight. “I’ll be fine. Go.”
