Page 153 of Redemption
After I filled Campbell in on what was happening, I tried calling MJ several times, but it kept going to voicemail. Campbell said he would drive to her house to let her know while I headed to Theo’s.
Now, I’m pulling into the driveway and cutting the engine before I’m fully in park.
Lily’s car is already here. I called her on the way to tell her about Tanner. She was there last night as the game administrator when Tanner took the hit, and our guilt might as well have been twin mirrors. I could see it written on her face, so I figured she would want to know he was missing. Plus, the more heads we have in figuring out where the kid could have disappeared, the faster we can find him.
Theo slings open the door as I bound up the porch steps.
He’s a disheveled mess with whiskers that are a little too long on his face and a coffee stain on his white t-shirt. Lily stands in the doorway behind him, looking out of place, like she doesn’t quite know what to do with herself.
“What happened?”
“I don’t know,” he says, pulling hard at the roots of his hair. “Last night at the hospital, I didn’t sleep at all. I stayed up all night counting his breaths. The nurses tried to urge me to get some sleep—said Tanner would be fine—but I couldn’t make myself. I was afraid if I took my eyes off of him, I’d lose him again. When we got home, I must have been more exhausted than I thought because after I got him to bed, I sat down on the couch, and I must have fallen asleep. I was out for an hour at most—and when I went to check on him, his room was empty.”
Theo’s sob is so heartbreaking that it snaps me into action. It takes a lot to make a grown man cry, and I think I’ve underestimated this man’s story.
My police training takes over, and my fear takes a backseat.
There’s a grieving parent in front of me right now, and my own hysterics won’t help the situation.
Lily steps up and places her hand on Theo’s chest, and even though the guy towers over her, he drops his head down to rest on her collarbone.
“Hey,” Lily says, awkwardly patting his back, “We’re going to find him.”
For one second, I let her offer him comfort, and then I take charge.
“Theo.” His name comes across as a demand, gaining his attention. He lifts his head, not bothering to wipe away the tears staining his face. “I know that you’re scared for your kid right now. But I need you to focus. Have you called Josephine and Eric to see if he’s there?”
He glares at me. “Of course I have. I’m not an idiot. I called them before I called you.”
I ignore the attitude and focus on the answer. “Do you know of anywhere else he might go? Anywhere else he would feel safe?”
His eyes tear up again, and he looks past me off his porch. “I don’t—I don’t know, man. I haven’t been allowed to know my own kid. Josephine’s money made sure she got custody, and she kept him from me. There was nothing I could do. It’s why I called you—you know my kid better than I do.”
The words twist his mouth, and I can see how much they hurt him to admit.
So, I don’t push.
“I might have a few ideas.”
Chapter 46
Mallorie Jade
21 years old
Hayes’s phone is ringing for the third time in the last hour. Langston’s name lights up his screen, and Hayes hits ignore once again.
I love my brother, but I don’t know how much more I can take.
Since his accident, his drinking has gotten worse. He’s not even bothering to hide it from Mom and Dad anymore—not that I’ve spoken with either of them since the day at the hospital.
I’ve ignored their calls, too. But they’ve sent a hundred texts that somehow place me at the center of all Langston’s problems.
“Do you want to answer that?” I ask, sitting on my couch beside Hayes.
“If I wanted to answer it, I would have,” Hayes says. His voice is tight as if he’s trying to control his anger, but I don’t know what he has to be angry about.
“Okay, Hayes. You don’t have to bite my head off.”
