Page 52 of Under Ground

Anna rubs my arm. “Gareth’s right. You should let him drive you.”

I close my eyes for a moment and steady my breathing. My car’s parked just down the road, but my hands are shaking too much to drive it. “Thank you.”

I swore the world would have to be ending before I accepted anything more from Gareth Turner. But right now, I just need to hold my baby.

“I’ll have to get her car seat out of my car.”

He nods. “Whatever you need to do. Anna, can you please call Melanie and let her know what’s happened? I’ll be late home.”

“Sure.” Her brows knit in concern, but I force a small smile.

“Thank you. Both of you. I just need to be with her.”

“Of course. Come on,” Gareth says.

I lead Gareth to my car where I take out Casey’s seat. He stands, fiddling with his tie as I set it up in the back seat of his car. While I appreciate him driving me, by the time I’ve done that, I’m not shaking quite as much. But my heart’s still pounding fast.

He’s already in the driver’s seat when I climb in the other side.

“Where are we going?” he asks.

It’s stupid. I know I shouldn’t be disappointed, but of course Gareth doesn’t know where Casey goes to day care. He pays for half of it, but he puts that money into my salary and I make all the arrangements.

I give him the address, and he nods. “I know where that is. We’ll be there really soon.”

Pulling my phone out of my bag, I dial Alex.

Please answer. Please answer. Please …

“Hey, beautiful.”

“Alex.” I breathe in, but it comes out sounding like a hiccough.

“Is everything okay?” Alex’s gentle tones calm me a little, but I clutch my phone to my ear, sucking in short breaths while the world still threatens to turn black.

“No.” I let out a sob.

“What’s going on?”

“Someone just tried to snatch Casey from day care.”

“What the fuck? Where are you?”

“Gareth is taking me to there. The police are on their way. I just want to get there and hold her.”

“Okay. Um. Give me a little time, and I’ll see if I can get out of here.”

“Thank you.” I wipe a stray tear off my cheek. “I know you’re busy working.”

“I love you. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Love you too,” I whisper.

I drop my phone back in my bag and scrub my face with my palms.

“That serious, huh?” Gareth asks.

I narrow my gaze as I turn my head to look at him. “Are you kidding right now?”

---