Page 85 of Dare to Dance
“Hello,” she answered. “When? How?” The fright in her voice matched the fear on her face. “Did you call the police? I see. Yes. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She lowered her phone, inhaled all the coffee-laden air, then blew it out as her eyes darted between Kross and me several times. “Does the urgency of your request have anything to do with the fact that Raven is missing?”
“Fuck,” Kross muttered.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. The noise in the shop dulled. The room and the people in it shuddered in and out of my vision. I blinked and blinked and blinked until Ms. Waters’s cold, soft hand landed on mine.
“Ruby.” Her voice was far away.
Kross flew out of his chair and rounded the table to my side. “Baby, breathe.” His lips were on my ear, warm and soothing. “We need to go.”
“I want you two to come with me. I’m meeting Mr. and Mrs. Santos, Raven’s foster family, at their home. They’ve already called the police.”
“Give me the address,” Kross said in a harsh tone. “I’ll meet you there.”
I rose like a zombie, every limb locked, while Ms. Waters jotted the address on a napkin. When I was on two feet, I faltered into Kross.
He grabbed the napkin from Ms. Waters with one hand and wrapped the other around my waist. The minute his hand was on my hip, something in me snapped. I bolted out of the coffee shop, pushing people out of the way. Once outside, I hunched over and lost the contents of my stomach.
A little boy passed by with his dad. “She’s sick, Daddy. We should help her.”
I wiped my mouth as I dropped down onto the curb next to a parking meter. No amount of help would erase the bile, acid, panic, and fury, as well as the need to kill the person who took Raven. Trent Baker’s threats were on repeat in my head. Maybe he didn’t take Raven. Maybe something else had happened.
“She’ll be okay,” Kross said behind me before his hand was on my back. “Ruby, we need to go.” His voice had an edge to it.
“Go straight to the address I gave you,” Ms. Waters said in a tone that permitted no argument.
I got the feeling that she thought we were responsible. She would be right. I was the one at fault. I was the one who had put Raven’s life in jeopardy. I deserved the worst punishment.
Kross helped me up then ushered me to his truck across the street. Once we were both strapped in, I busted out crying. “This is all my fault.”
Kross wheeled out of the parking space before he took my hand. “Don’t go there. You were doing your best to survive and get Raven back.”
I appreciated his words, but it didn’t help take away the panic or fear. “Do you think Trent took her?”
“One hundred percent. Once we’re done with Ms. Waters and the foster family, we’re going hunting.”
26
Kross
Rubyand I were a block from Firefly. After hours of confessing to Ms. Waters and answering the cops’ questions, I was a bomb waiting to explode. The Santos’s home was more than suffocating with Mrs. Santos crying, Ms. Waters scolding Ruby for putting Raven in harm’s way, and the cops interrogating us as if we were the ones who had kidnapped Raven. We answered all their questions and explained what we knew, and we told them that we suspected Trent Baker.
Waiting for the light to turn green, my mind jetted through ways to kill Trent. The fucker had had the nerve to kidnap Raven in broad daylight at the Boston Public Garden. Okay, I was getting ahead of myself. Maybe someone else had taken Raven. It just seemed coincidental given Trent’s threats.
According to Mrs. Santos, she’d gotten a phone call while she and Raven were at the Boston Public Garden, waiting to get on the swan boat ride. She turned away for a split second. When she hung up the phone, Raven was gone. She didn’t see anyone in line that stood out to her, but she said Raven had waved to someone. Before she could see who that person was or ask Raven who she had been waving to, Mrs. Santos’s phone had rung.
The light changed. I gunned the gas. Ruby jerked forward then back as she snacked on her fingers. On the drive from the coffee shop to the Santos’s, Ruby had been a complete mess, crying and saying how she was at fault for Raven going missing. But since we left the Santos’s house, she had been super quiet.
With one hand on the wheel, I reached over and plucked her hand from her mouth. “We’ll find Raven.” I couldn’t have said if I believed my own words. But I had to. I had to hang onto the notion that my little girl would be okay.
Ruby tucked her hands in between her legs. “The cops said she could be lost in the gardens. What if she wandered into the water?”
“Hey, didn’t you tell me she knows how to swim?” The thought of her going into the water had crossed my mind since Raven loved the ducks and swans. But with tourists and the swan boats traveling the lagoon, I was confident someone would’ve seen her in the water. “The cops are searching the entire area in and around the Boston Public Garden. We’ll head over there after we confront Tommy.” We would’ve gone there first, but my gut was telling me that Trent took Raven. Since the cops were on their way to question him, I wanted to question Tommy. He might be able to shed some light on the situation. Besides, I doubted that Trent would answer the cops’ questions truthfully.
I wheeled into a spot across from Firefly. The neighborhood seemed eerily quiet for midafternoon. Then again, except for the bakery and diner, most of the other buildings around Firefly were empty, with For Rent or For Sale signs on them.
I hopped out of the truck with my adrenaline in overdrive. The steam coming out of my nose, the fire burning in my chest, and the need to strangle someone drove me into Firefly.
“Wait, Kross,” Ruby shouted as she hurried to my side. “Don’t knock Tommy out until we get answers.”
