AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leo got out his own phone and dialed 911 while Steele stepped away to call Reed. Lawson called Ashlynn a third time, and for a third time his call was ignored.
Lawson locked eyes with her as he hung up, and Nora sneered.
“I’m gonna kill her.”
Ashlynn
Grabbing the girl had been easy enough. The distillery was crowded. The live music and the sound of so many people talking made it easy for Ashlynn to scoop the girl into her arms before disappearing into the masses.
“Don’t be scared,”she’d whispered into the girl’s ear.“I’m friends with your daddy. He wanted me to come get you,”she’d lied.
Her guise had gotten her as far as the parking lot. As soon as they arrived at Ashlynn’s car, the girl didn’t want to play along anymore. She wanted to go back inside. She wanted hermommy. In that moment, Ashlynn had convinced herself all the girl needed was a little time to get used to her. She was a CNA, after all. She could be nurturing and kind, and that’s all kids needed.
“I’ll bring you back. I promise,”she’d continued to lie.“Let’s go get some ice cream first. We’ll bring some back for your daddy, too.”
Then she returned the girl to the ground. That had been her first big mistake. When she turned to run away, Ashlynn had grabbed her arm—her second big mistake. She pulled the girl back so hard, she whimpered in pain. The girl was sobbing by the time Ashlynn had her buckled into the backseat. It wasn’t untilshe pulled out of the parking lot that she realized what she’d done.
She’d gone too far.
She’d kidnapped a child.
But it was too late.
There was no turning back.
She had to make this work in her favor.
She needed time to make Lawson see the truth.
Her intentions were good.
For now, all she could do was run.
He was never going to be able to forget it—forget the look on his songbird’s face when their phones wailed with the sound of the AMBER alert. He’d watched as she retreated into herself, her face—already pale with worry—somehow losing a little more color; her eyes the dullest green he’d ever seen. There was no storm there. No fire. Only a blackhole of loss.
After they’d been given access to the security camera footage, it took nearly forty minutes before they could find the camera that confirmed Lawson’s suspicions. Except, rather than feel relieved that they knew who had her, all Lawson could think about was the time which had passed.
Two hours. Ashlynn had a two-hour head start.
It was another two before the AMBER alert was issued.
Now it was getting dark.
There were cops stationed at Ashlynn’s apartment, and hospital security at Vanderbilt had been notified in case she showed up there—but she hadn’t.
Two hours. She’d had a two-hour head start.
They could be anywhere.
For obvious reasons, Lawson hadn’t stayed to finish his shift. After speaking with the Lynchburg Police, he and Nora followed Atticus and Mitzi to the station where Atticus worked. Justice came, too—not in any headspace to tattoo. Reed was there. He’d assured them all he was doing everything he could, but there was only so much comfort those words could bring. Afterall, they were onlywordsuntil they had Evelyn back.
Atticus had insisted Lawson and Nora return home. Justice and Mitzi went with them. It was Mitzi’s arms that held Nora where she sat on the couch, clutching one of Evelyn’s stuffed toys. Darlene and Wayde came over shortly after Lawson let them know they were home. Darlene brought food, but Lawson couldn’t taste it as it went down—and Nora refused even so much as a bite.
It was nearly seven o’clock, eight hours since Evelyn had been taken, when Keaton and Gale arrived. Their knock on the door pulled Nora out of a daze. When she turned to see it was only Lawson’s parents, she got up and closed herself in Evelyn’s room without so much as a word. Lawson watched, knowing he should go after her but afraid she wouldn’t want his company. It was his fault they were in this mess in the first place. It was his past that had come back to haunt him—to torment them both.
“Sorry for comin’ and crowdin’ the place,” said Keaton. “We just wanted to check on you. How you holdin’ up?”
Lawson didn’t know what to say, so he merely shook his head in reply.
