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When I placed Mary in Brad’s arms, he wrapped her in his embrace and dropped to his knees, dipping his head in her neck, visibly shook. “Thank God you’re okay.”
Mason followed me to the front of the house, where I waved at the officer guarding the barricade. “Is there no one inside? What happened to the woman, Becky Summers—the one who was kidnapped with the child?”
He teetered back on his heels. “You’ll have to talk to the detective.”
“Then, call the detective down here. Now,” I snapped out.
Maybe Mary had misconstrued things. Maybe Becky was inside, but they were interviewing her. I took a step past the barricade, but Mason pulled me back, tugging at my shirt.
I broke free from his grasp.
“Charles …”
“Who is in charge?” I ground out.
I needed self-control, and for the most part, I had a limitless amount. But not today.
Not in this instant.
Not when I didn’t know if Becky was with her psycho mother.
I was one second from going to jail when a tall, broad male with a beard approached. “John, it’s fine. Let him pass.” He extended his hand, and I reluctantly took it. “I’m Detective Timson.”
I tried to keep the panic out of my voice and spoke rationally, “Where is Becky Summers, the woman who was with my daughter?”
He peered back behind him, toward the house swarmed by authorities. “That’s what we are trying to find out. There is no one in the house.”
“Her phone.” My tone was harder than I’d expected it to be. “We tracked her phone here.”
I was already getting out my phone to track hers when he told us, “We found the phone, but there was no one but the child inside.”
A pang so hard hit me in the chest, causing me to shiver. Momentarily, I was frozen, and every muscle tightened. “She’s gone?”
I felt impaled by his steady gaze. “Yes, sir. She’s gone.”
The relief I’d felt moments ago with Mary in my arms disappeared and was replaced with a feeling I had become used to more recently—fear.
Chapter 42
Becky
I stood by the ATM, purposely looking at the camera as I slipped the card in. Kate was steady by my side, her hand in her pocket, heavy on the trigger. I should know; she had cocked the gun in the car and ushered me right to the machine.
I was about to withdraw three thousand dollars. It wasn’t the total she needed, but she’d said she had a secondary plan on where to go, how to bridge the gap.
I felt nauseous as I slid the card into the slot.
It’s okay.
It’s fine.
Mary is safe.
I just couldn’t get past all this. I’d caused problems and tragedy for this family, and now, I was going to essentially steal from them too. I could possibly deny Kate, refuse to give in to her demands, end the cycle here, but then the survival part of me wanted this done, so I could call the authorities, tip them off on her plates, and run as far away from this woman and state as possible. I needed to keep her close before then.
I would no longer have a tie to the Briskens. She could no longer use them as leverage against me to get whatever she wanted because this was going to be the last time I would be used as a walking ATM.
After this, I’d disappear somewhere, a place where I couldn’t hurt the people I loved any longer.
