Page 83 of Nothing to This
Whipping around in his direction, JD had a serious look on his face as he spoke to Greg, Jim, and the security man who was supposed to have kept them safe.That wasn’t enough.Nothing was enough.
Eliminating space between them, she came up behind him.“JD,” she said, her voice hard despite the tremor of adrenaline in it.His focus was hers.“I want the best.”Anger, fear, and desperation drove her, but determination had never been more resolute.She blinked at the security guy for only a second, then matched her eyes to JD’s.“Empty your goddamn bank account and get your family the best.”
He looked only for another second before turning to Greg.“Call S.I.S.,” he said.
“He doesn’t—”
“He’s a father.Tell him what’s going on.He’ll be in a chopper and on the ground inside thirty minutes… and he owes me one.”The security guy was next in his sights.“Contain these people, brief the cops.You will be paid, but you’ll defer to the new team.”
Kye sniffled and whimpered, his sobs had lost some of their power.Though he was angled away from her, she picked up JD’s hand and guided it to their son’s hair.He turned slowly, but she buried her face in their boy, her fingers intertwined between JD’s on Kye’s head.
“Daddy’s here,” she whispered to her baby.“Daddy’s with us.”
“Ry,” JD murmured, full of his own pain.
Maybe it was the need in his voice or how it emanated from within him.Whatever it was, she stepped in close, sliding an arm around him, pulling him to her and welcoming his arms when they came around her to hold her close, squeezing Kye between them.
Neither she nor JD could break right now.Sky needed them to be strong.Kye couldn’t see their fear.The adults needed these few seconds to reassure each other that they weren’t alone, that they were united.
The sirens wailed in, forcing them to break apart, though they only went far enough to find each other’s eyes.
If Sky had been injured, she would be somewhere nearby, and would’ve been seen or heard.Her daughter’s healthy lungs would’ve assured that.What were the other options?That her little girl had wandered off or someone had taken her.Someone who could intend harm.
“I have to talk to the police,” JD said, bowing to kiss Kye’s head.
With his eyes closed, he pressed for longer than usual, then forced himself to turn away.
A sudden thought made her grab for him.“Baxter was here,” she said, with a flourish of hope.“He was mad, maybe…”
JD’s jaw ticked and he nodded once.He came back to tunnel his fingers in her hair and yanked her close to kiss her hairline.
“I’ll kill the bastard, you know I will,” he growled against her and pulled back like he sought approval.
“Only if you find him before I do,” she said.If she found the person responsible for hurting their family, she’d relish every second of pain she’d cause them.“If they want money—”
“I’ll pay every cent.To hell with negotiation.”
“I know,” she said.Their staring out wasn’t about winning anymore, it was a manifestation of their bond and the strength of their certainty.“Bring back our baby girl, Daddy.”
“I promise you, Momma,” he said, touching the edge of her jaw.“I promise.”
She kissed the heel of his hand just a fraction of a second before he spun around and started toward the cops spreading through the field.
Sky was in trouble.Her knees buckled and she collapsed with her son safe in her arms.She barely felt Brenna and Marjorie close in around her.All she could focus on as she sang into Kye’s hair was the column of JD’s formidable form in the middle of the fray.
If anyone could bring her baby back to her, it would be him.She’d be there at his side if it wasn’t for Kye’s need.Their boy would feel his sister’s absence, probably more than anyone else; the pair had never been parted, never.
She’d settle Kye for as long as she could, but if Sky wasn’t back in her arms soon, she’d start taking the city apart, brick by brick if necessary.
TWENTY-NINE
Less than half an hour after Sky went missing—she wouldn’t say “losing” her—JD was in front of a bank of cameras declaring war on whoever had done this to them.To their little girl.
She couldn’t sit still.In the apartment, she was up, down, pacing, worrying her thumbnail.Her little girl was gone and what was she doing?Nothing.
After that news conference, an hour had gone by in a flash.Another dwindled away and another.
The team working in her kitchen, spread out on the dining table, kept busy, talking to each other, doing things with paper and on computers.Some went out, some came back.Activity buzzed and voices echoed.
