Page 7 of Heart Strings & Hotlines
He grunts again, and it sounds as though he’s running. “I called them before I called you. They’re on their way to my penthouse.”
“Then you need to go home and speak to them.”
“She’s thirteen, Charlotte.”
My heart cracks wide open.
Thirteen is too young to be on the streets of New York alone, especially at night.
“You’ll find her, Thane. But you need to go home, speak to the police, and make a list of everyone she’s been hanging out with, anywhere you know she likes to go. They’ll need a starting point.”
“A list.” He’s panting, nearly out of breath. “What if she’s all alone? What if someone…”
“Thane.” Anxiety has my voice cracking. “She hasn’t been gone that long, right?”
“Almost an hour. A fucking hour, and I don’t know where to find her. If something happens to her…”
“Don’t go there. Focus on what you can do to find her. You have resources and pull, Thane. Use it. Use everything at your disposal. I’m sure she’s probably with a friend. She’s been through a lot, and kids act out.”
I don’t even know what I’m saying at this point, but his fear bleeds through the phone as images of Kara flash through my mind.
There are so many horrible things that can happen to a young girl in a city like New York. It’s all I can do to keep those fears from choking me. I don’t know why Thane called me, but I’d be a monster not to help.
And if I’m honest, I’m already more than a little invested in this tiny family fighting to find their way.
“I can’t lose her, Charlotte. I don’t fail. Ever. My baby sister cannot be my first failure. She deserves more than that, more than me.”
“You’ll find her, Thane.” Please, please God, let him find her.
There’s a ding in the background, and then the city noise is silenced. “How do you know?”
“You just told me that you don’t fail. You’re one of the smartest men in America, and you’re running around New York City with no shoes on because you’re terrified of what will happen if you don’t, and that tells me how much you love your sister. You need to regroup and don’t allow fear to control you. You need a plan. You need to check her phone records. You need to talk to the police.”
“A plan. Phone records. Police.” He repeats it, a new mantra as unfamiliar sounds filter into the background.
“When I get my hands on her, I’m going to handcuff her to myself for eternity.”
I don’t think he means it, but it does sound like he’s getting a handle on his fear, and that’s a start.
“What do you need me to do, Thane?” There must be a reason he called me, and if I can do something, I want to.
“She wants you, Charlotte. It’s all I’ve heard for the last three days. She connected to you in a way I can’t. Can—Can you try to call her?”
“Of course. I have her number on the application you filled out. I’ll call you right back. Is this the number I should call?”
“Yes.”
Then the line goes dead.
She connected to you in a way I can’t.Thane’s words, and the pain in them, repeat in my heart and mind as I scroll through the file I have on them.
I don’t know why he thinks I’ll be the one to reach her, but she’s the reason why I started the Single Dad Hotline. Little girls like her—little girls like me—need adults in their lives who care. And right now, I care more about these near-strangers than I’ve cared about anyone in a very long time.
CHAPTERTHREE
THANE
How it’s going…
