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“They’re dead?” I sank to the floor, my knees suddenly not wanting to hold my weight anymore. How could they be dead?I just saw them. Focus.I had to get a hold of myself.
“They took Tim.” The nanny sniffed.
My body went cold as I asked, “How did this happen?Whathappened?”
She sniffed. “Tim’s okay. I think. He didn’t die. The people who killed the others have them. There are pictures. They’re online.”Fuck.I really had to get back into things and start paying attention again.How did I miss all of this?“Muffy and Tim liked you so much. I wanted to make sure you had heard.”
The nanny hung up the phone, and I shivered on the ground where I had sunk. Muffy was dead. Killed. And Tim was alone in that country, taken by men who would do who knew what with him. All of this was my fault. I’d raised money for her, but I hadn’t questioned her about any of it. I never did. Rich people used me, they got publicity and big checks that they didn’t need because they were already rich. Who knew if they actually used those checks to do what they said they were going to do with them? I never followed up at all.
Muffy booked herself an airplane to go on an adventure so she could be photographed doing good. She died. Her kid was taken. Maybe if I had asked…
Did Muffy even know where she had been flying?
I put my head between my knees.
My phone dinged.Eric’s surgery went great.
I swallowed. Max had thought to text me.
I answered him with,Such good news.
I didn’t text him about Muffy. He had enough on his plate, and he just got great news. I couldn’t bring him down, not after he’d worried so much about the surgery. Besides, he hardly knew these people. I had to think. There had to be something I could do.
I texted my cousin.I knew them.
He’d know who I meant. He answered fast.Yes. Such a tragedy.
I stared at his words before I quickly typed back.What are you going to do to get the kid back?Surely they would. They were the State Department. They didn’t just leave American citizens to rot in countries until they were killed. Wasn’t rescuing them something they did?
Nothing. Would love to, but we are not in contact with them. No real central government to deal with, and any communication with them would elevate the warlord to levels that we are not prepared for at this time.
Would they feed him pasta? That was the stupidest thought ever. Of course they weren’t going to feed him pasta, if they fed him at all. I rushed to the bathroom and puked. For ten straight minutes, I puked. Then, when I lifted my head, I grabbed my phone again.
If a private citizen with no business getting involved wanted to do something, what could that person do?
My phone rang, and I picked it up despite the unknown number. My cousin spoke without perfunctory greetings. “You’re going to do it anyway, aren’t you, whether I answer you or not.”
He didn’t phrase it as a question, which was good, because it wasn’t one. I might be nuts, but I did the right thing as much as I could. I wouldn’t leave that little boy there. I even had Muffy’s own money to get things done.
If there were a way that I could get Tim back, I would get him.
“Call Michael Li, that man Zeke has taking care of all of you. He isn’t just a man paid to hire bodyguards. If anyone could get in and out of there with that kid, it is Michael Li and the people he’s employed. If he doesn’t help you, I’ll give you other names.”
My hands shook as I got off the phone.This is insane. I needed to call my therapist. I needed to breathe. I needed to be more like Layla and go for a run. I could shower. Call Bridget in Hong Kong. Have a drink.
I didn’t do any of those things.
Instead, I called Michael Li.
“Hope?” He sounded like he was in the middle of something. There was a lot of noise in the background. “Are you okay?”
“No.” I spoke low, hoping he could hear me. “I need your help. If you won’t help me, I can find someone who will.” I needed him to understand I was serious. “I’ve heard you’re actually the person to get this done.”
I didn’t hear background noise anymore. “What the fuck is going on, kid?”
He probably never called Bridget ‘kid.’ I was pretty sure he was in love with her. I also thought she had all those feelings right back for him, even though she’d never admit it. Those two were not going to confess to each other how they felt. But Layla and me? Yeah…he called us ‘kid.’
We weren’t children anymore.
