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Grandma regards me curiously, and I can tell she’s judging my actions. I can’t blame her for thinking I’m an idiot; I’ve been calling myself that for years.
A sudden scream has me freezing to the spot. There are other children in the playground, and quite a few of them are squealing. But I recognize Amy’s voice. And that is not a scream of joy.
She’s in fear.
A second later, we hear shouting.
“Get your hands off her!”
Spinning around, I see a mother trying to get Amy away from a guy wearing a bulky coat, a wooly hat pulled down over his head with a ski mask covering his mouth and nose. He is on the other side of the fence, and he had a firm hold on Amy’s hood. Amy is screaming and trying to get away, and the mother is yanking the man’s arm.
“Let her go, you maniac!”
“Hey!” I start to run across the playground. “Let my daughter go!”
It’s not until the second similarly-clad guy appears next to Amy’s attacker that I realize that there is more than one person. And they’re holding something in their hand, pointing it at the mother’s face. He sprays something, and the mother lets go with a scream, falling to her knees as she clutches at her face. As other parents go to her, both attackers grab Amy and lift her over the fence. Amy is kicking and screaming her head off, but they manage to run across the grass.
“Amy!”
I vault over the fence and run after them as they disappear into the parking lot. But when I get between the cars and look around, I can’t see them anymore. It’s like they disappeared. I can’t even hear Amy screaming, either.
Where were they? What did they want with my kid?
“Elle!”
I turn around and see Ben jogging towards me. My chest is heaving as I gasp for air, but I manage to get my words out.
“Someone’s…someone’s just kidnapped Amy!”
“I heard the screaming.” Ben looks around. “Where are they?”
“I don’t know. They just vanished into thin air.”
There is a loud revving of an engine, and we turn around. A car is coming towards us, gaining speed as it gets closer. Suddenly, the world is moving very fast as Ben shoves me out of the way. I stumble and fall rolling into a parked car as I hear a cry and a loud bang. Moments later, the car engine is revving again, and the car is peeling out of the parking lot.
My head spinning and pain in my shoulder, I sit up, trying to get my senses back. Then I see Ben on the ground not far from me, face-down on the tarmac.
He isn’t moving.
Chapter 28 Luke
The minute I get the phone call from Mrs Anderson I’m in a state of panic. Someone had come into a busy park and kidnapped my daughter in front of everyone, and three people are in hospital. One of them is Elle.
This can’t be happening. This has to be some disgusting joke. But from Mrs Anderson. She’s not the type to do this, and I heard the trembling in her voice.
My heart is breaking, both for her and for Elle.
I get to the hospital and rush into the lobby. It takes a while to get past the front desk, who are reluctant to let me through when I can’t prove that I’m Elle’s boyfriend, but then I’m going into the ER. It’s not that busy, but the staff are bustling around and barely notice me as I check each of the cubicles. I almost rip a curtain off the rail as I pull it back to see if Elle is there, only to find a woman with a nosebleed and her head wrapped in a bloody bandage staring at me with a man I’ve never seen before sitting next to the bed. Embarrassed, I pull back.
Elle is in the end cubicle with her grandmother. She is on the bed, arguing with Mrs Anderson.
“I can’t stay here!”
“The doctor said you hit your head, Elle. You need to be checked for a concussion…”
“Amy’s been kidnapped, Grandma! I have to go out there and look for her!”
“Elle…”
