Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91467 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
There’s no telling what whoever was behind this would do now that she’d escaped. Would they harm my children? Why had they taken them in the first place? That question still plagued my mind more than any other.
As the pieces fell into place bit by bit, the story only grew more confusing. She’d been taken before anyone presumably knew that she was pregnant, but the place she’d been held had already been set up with stuff needed for a pregnant woman.
Then she’d been kept alive until the children were weaned to be executed now that they were no longer in need of their mother’s milk. None of it made any sense. Why the elaborate setup? And who could’ve known that she was pregnant that soon after she learned the news herself?
The cops were supposed to look into the people at the doctor’s office and Mac was working that angle as well, but I couldn’t imagine anyone there having such a grudge against us to pull something like this.
Thinking about it only made my mind go around in circles, but there was one thing I was certain of. No woman who just wanted to snatch a kid would go through all that trouble I’m sure, so there had to be something else going on here. Something that we were all missing, but what?
After Mac left we got into the Ranger and headed out. She sat close to me with my hand clasped tightly in hers as if she was afraid to be outside. “It’s okay baby, the windows are tinted and I’m here. No one can get to you.”
I kissed her temple and she settled some but that grip on my hand didn’t ease up. My phone rang and I got a jolt when I saw that it was Mindy calling.
I must’ve given something away in my expression because she looked at me almost suspiciously when I let the call go to voicemail without answering.
“Aren’t you going to get that?”
“It’s not important, I’ll call back later.” I cleared my throat and tried to dispel the bad taste from my mouth. Why did it feel like I was lying to her?
I was tempted to tell her the truth, but thought better of it. Now is not the right time. She was already full of doubts, if I tell her that I almost married someone else, what the hell would that do to her head?
But the way she looked at me now, the way she pulled away and sat back in her seat reminded me that she knew me all too well. How could I have forgotten?
“Give me back your hand.” She didn’t comply so I grabbed her hand from her lap and held on. “Stop imagining bullshit in your head Zandi.” I’d forgotten that jealous suspicious streak of hers as well.
Her stubborn ass didn’t say a word to me all the way on the ride to the next town and her hand stayed stiff for the half an hour it took us to get there. We only stopped at the gas station for a few minutes after she pointed out the place where she’d hidden herself that day.
“Are you ready?” She nodded her head in answer and I drove on to the spot where she’d flagged down a ride that day. Though it was a good forty minutes or so by car, it wasn’t that far from our home.
I started to get out of the Ranger and she freaked. “Okay-okay, it’s okay.” I had to pull her over the center console onto my lap and hold her until she calmed down.
I was afraid of this, afraid that coming back here would only bring back all the fear and torment. I should’ve come alone, but how could I leave her?
“I won’t get out, you don’t have to be afraid. Mac and the cops are already searching the area anyway.” That was true but I couldn’t just sit and twiddle my thumbs waiting, not when I wanted to be out there searching myself.
Still, she wasn’t ready to go back in there and I wasn’t ready to leave her side. At least I knew where she’d left the forest for the roadway so that was a start.
The area was thick with overgrowth and there were a million different directions to go in. Even with helicopters flying overhead, who knows how long it would take before they found anything?
Although it had only been a few days it felt like a lifetime had passed and my worry for our children only grew. I couldn’t let her see that though, so I have to keep the shit bottled up inside.
Cade
For the next few days, things were pretty much more of the same. The search was still going strong with three teams working on finding the cabin she’d described. The cops, Mac and the men Mike had hired.