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I love you.Stay safe. - Message from Liam to Kennedy, earlier today
We were crammedinto the engine on our way back to the fire station after assisting at a workplace accident at a vineyard out of town when my phone rang. I glanced at Parks, who gestured for me to take it.
“Hello?” I said, raising the phone to my ear.
“Where are you?” It was Nate’s voice. His abrupt tone made me sit up straight.
“Driving back from a callout. What is it?”
“Kennedy is missing.”
“What the fuck?” I exclaimed. “How? Blair was with her. He’d have stuck to her like glue.”
“He was drugged.”
“What?” I shook my head, trying to make sense of his words. How could Blair have been drugged if he and Kennedy were together? And where was Kennedy?
I should never have left her alone this morning, but I’d thought we’d done as much as we could to ensure her safety.
Beside me, Zane glanced over, concern in his eyes. “You okay?” he mouthed.
I looked away.
“As far as I can tell, Blair needed to use the bathroom. As soon as he was out of Kennedy’s sight, the perp drugged him and tied his wrists and ankles. He doesn’t seem to have been injured other than that, but he’s on the way to hospital for a full tox screen.”
“He agreed to leave while Kennedy was missing?” I couldn’t imagine Blair willingly going anywhere.
“It was either that or I’d be forced to lock him up until he stopped threatening to commit homicide.” Nate made a weary sound. “Not much of a choice. Anyway, when he came to, Kennedy was gone. There was a knife in the room, and he managed to use it to free himself so he could find help.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Fifteen minutes. I called as soon as I could. We’re assembling an operation. I’ve brought in reinforcements, and Connor is planning to gather a group of park rangers to search the forest surrounding town.”
“Fuck.” My mind whirled. Just like that, Kennedy was gone with no warning. It was like history repeating itself except this time, she hadn’t had a choice in the matter. God only knew what the sick bastard might be doing to her. “How did they get into the cottage?”
“He knew the code. The security feed shows an average size man dressed all in black letting himself in the front door. He must have seen someone else enter the code. Perhaps even watched as Kennedy disarmed the alarms when they arrived this morning.”
My stomach dropped to my shoes. Whoever this guy was, he was prepared. If he’d been so well organized in getting into the cottage, I could only imagine he’d had his exit strategy as meticulously planned. By now, he could be out of town with Kennedy in the back of his car. Or he might have relocated her somewhere we’d never think to look.
“Did you see what condition Kennedy was in when they left?” I asked.
“She appeared unconscious. We’re operating under the assumption that he gave her the same drug he did Blair, which makes it all the more important we find out what that was.”
“Where are you now?” I asked.
“At the police station.”
“I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
* * *
As soon aswe were back in Destiny Falls, I borrowed Asher’s car and raced to the police station. When I arrived, the receptionist escorted me to the open-plan area behind the interview rooms. It buzzed with intense conversation and activity from at least twelve occupants—many of whom were uniformed police officers.
“Liam,” Nate said, hastening to my side. In his grip was a sheet of paper wrapped in a clear bag. He held it out for me to see. “This was left at the scene. Does it mean anything to you?”
I skimmed the text, my insides lurching when I recognized Kennedy’s handwriting, but it wasn’t as tidy as usual. I had to squint and tilt my head to make sense of it.
Liam,
