Page 31 of All He Sees
"Anytime, ma'am," said Rob. "I can't have people going missin' from my dock. I hope you catch the bastard."
"That's what we do," Ken said.
"We'll get these people," Nicky said. "I promise."
And she would--no matter what it took.
Nicky and Ken left the shack and headed back to the main dock. Surrounded by the sound of waves, Nicky looked up at the stars in the sky. She hoped Mira was out there, alive. Watching her be taken on that video was beyond disturbing.
"We have to find her," she muttered absently as she and Ken made their way down the dock, back to the parking lot.
"We will, Lyons," Ken said. "What should we do about the boat?"
Ideally, Nicky would track it down right now, but it was late, and if the FBI sniffed around too aggressively, she was afraid it would tip off the kidnappers and they'd run for it. "Let's wait until it comes back," she said. "If we try at night, we'll never find it against the water. We'll have to wait until morning."
"Good idea," Ken said. "Glad you had Rob look into the dock area. That was smart."
Nicky smiled. Ken was genuinely impressed with her, and it was a good feeling. "Thanks," she said, and allowed the moment to linger.
With their plan decided, they went back to the car. But Nicky took one last glance at the sea before going in. The rippling water in the moonlight... it reminded her of one place.
The lake house where she and Rosie had been taken.
Maybe Mira Phillips was in a place like that, too.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
The trees of the forest walled Mira in, like a menacing jungle in the night. She stood there, alone, terrified, listening to the sound of animals making noise, and the trill of crickets.
It was quiet. Calm... too calm. Her heartbeat pounded in her eardrums. She could pass out and faint from the fear, but she had to stay strong. She had to.
Keep going, she coaxed herself. Keep going.
She took a step into the woods.
It was pitch dark. Mira walked slowly. Leaves fanned over her head, blocking out her view of the stars. It was a warm night, but Mira was cold. She was afraid that if her bare feet made too much noise, walking across the floor of the jungle, that they would find her.
Then, in the distance, a loud bang erupted over the forest.
Birds flocked from a tree, squawking.
Mira's blood turned to ice.
It was a gunshot.
She didn't think--she just ran.
She ran, but the forest was too dense, too full of trees and bushes, and as she ran, they caught at her clothes like a thousand hands.
But she kept running.
Then, another sound.
A deep, loud sound.
She ran harder, but the more she ran, the more tangled she became in the undergrowth. Her feet splashed through puddles. It started to drizzle. Mira ran through mud puddles, jumping into holes, swimming through the wet earth. Up ahead, she heard the sound of water pounding the earth.
A waterfall.
