Page 16 of Landon

Pamela’s gaze flickered rapidly between them. First, she locked eyes with Landon, then her attention dropped to Noel, lingering for a few seconds before finally settling on Mike. At the sight of him, her composed facade shattered.

Dropping to her knees on the cold, tiled entryway, she buried her face in her hands. Her sobs echoed around them, raw and uncontrollable, filling the air with a heavy, unsettling tension. “They’re gone!” she cried.

8

Landon watched as Noel rushed forward, kneeling in front of Pamela. She gripped Pamela’s trembling shoulders, her tone gentle yet insistent. “What do you mean they’re gone? Who’s gone? Tell me what happened.”

“T… Tad and Penny,” Pamela choked out, her voice breaking on their names.

Landon quickly joined them, his own urgency flaring. He gently moved Noel aside, his hands firmly gripping Pamela’s arms. With a steady, commanding tone, he demanded, “What happened?”

Pamela’s tear-streaked face tilted up to meet his intense gaze. “They... they went down to the beach with Horticia. They just wanted to play. I didn’t think it was dangerous.”

Landon’s mind raced. He knew Horticia was the housekeeper, a trusted Jamaican woman in her late twenties who worked at several high-end properties within the resort.

“Landon.” Noel’s soft voice tried to anchor him, her hand lightly brushing his arm in a silent plea for gentleness.

But there was no time. The situation required immediate action. He shook Pamela slightly, not enough to hurt but enough to bring her focus back. “What happened next?” he barked.

Pamela’s sobs deepened. “Horticia came back alone. She said... she said three men came out of the jungle with guns. They grabbed the kids and dragged them away. She tried to stop them, but they hit her. She came running back just before you arrived.”

“Where is she?” Landon demanded.

“Here... here, sir,” a timid voice answered.

Landon whipped around to see Horticia standing in the doorway, her eyes wide and a small cut above her brow. She was gently dabbing at the wound with a cloth.

Releasing Pamela, Landon strode toward Horticia. He pulled out his phone, already punching in a familiar number. “The kids are missing. Three men from the jungle took them about ten minutes ago,” he reported tersely to Sadie on the other end. “I need security footage and surveillance. Now.”

“On it,” Sadie responded crisply.

Turning back to Horticia, he drew in a calming breath, then let it out slowly. “Tell me everything that happened.”

Horticia nodded jerkily, her wide eyes darting around the room. “The children wanted to go to the beach?—”

“Didn’t they know we were coming?” Mike barked, his voice bouncing off the surrounding tile.

Horticia’s gaze shot over to Pamela, and her lips were pressed tightly together.

“Don’t look at her,” Landon growled. When her gaze shot back to him, he ordered, “Talk to me, and give me everything.”

“No. No, they didn’t know anyone was coming. Mrs. Fugate only told Roger and me. I was to take the children to the beach for a swim so she could deal with you?—”

“Shut up!” Pamela cried, her face morphing into rage. “My children are gone, and you’re talking about things you know nothing about!”

“If anything has happened to those kids…” Mike roared, stepping forward and jerking Pamela as his fingers wrapped around her upper arm.

Landon acted swiftly, prying Mike’s hand away from Pamela with controlled force. “Don’t you dare make this worse,” he warned, his voice dangerously low.

“What could be worse than this?” Mike spat. “You’re security! Go after them!”

“We need to know who took them, why, and where they are. Charging blindly into the jungle will only screw this up,” Landon shot back.

Landon stepped away from them and moved closer to Horticia. He pulled out his phone, hit the button for LSIMT, and said, “This is the housekeeper who was with the kids.” Then looking at her, he said, “Keep talking. Everything.”

“I don’t know. We were down on the beach. The storm is coming, and they wanted to see the waves. Tad went into the water only to his knees. Penny didn’t want to get in the water but walked along the beach for a little while, taking pictures with her phone.” She shook her head sharply. “No, that’s not right. I already had her beach towel out for her. Penny sat on the sand, and… I can’t remember!”

“Keep going. You’re doing fine. Tad was in the water. Penny was sitting on a towel. Where were you?”

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