“What exactly is it that you’re doing, messing with Rachel like that?” Demands Jess.
“I don’t see how my relationship with Rachel, or lack thereof, has anything to do with the three of you,” I say calmly, sitting back down. Effectively dismissing them, I add, “Now if you’ll excuse me.”
“No,” Jess says. She looks at me and I notice a sheen of tears in her eyes. “Rachel is the nicest, most loving person I’ve ever met. She bends over backwards every damn day to take care of us and make sure we all have a place to go where we can feel safe.”
“You have no right to hurt her the way you have,” adds Abbie, placing one hand on Jess’s shoulder.
“We love her, and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to make sure she knows how much we appreciate her.” Cody eyes me, gauging my reaction.
I eye them all speculatively, before letting my shoulders sag, and the weight of my actions come down on me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt her. Rachel has been nothing short of amazing these last two weeks. She didn’t deserve the way I treated her.
I’m devastated by the pain that I’ve caused her, but before I can say any of this, my phone beeps with an incoming image. I glance down at the screen and my heart shatters in my chest. My breath hitches in my throat and a strangled sob burst from my lips.
“What the hell?” Asks one of the girls.
The number the text came from is unknown. The image is of Rachel and Ana. They look terrified. Rachel has her arms wrapped protectively around my baby girl and a pleading look in her eyes. Ana’s eyes are glistening with tears and her cheeks are read and streaked.
I can tell from the photo that they’re still at home. The kidnapper is there with them. He must have broken in somehow. How did he even know where we live?
My mind is a swirl of panic and questions as I dash from my office yelling for Jordan to call the police. The startled expression on his face barely registers as I charge past him. There’s no time to stop and explain.
The stampede of feet echoes behind me, but I don’t slow down. I race form the building slamming into my car as I struggle to get the door open and get in the seat. I barely get my seatbelt fastened before I’m careening from the parking lot like a crazed maniac.
My heart races in my chest as the street passes in a blur outside the windows. What if I’m too late? What if he hurts them before I get there? How will I ever survive losing Ana?
I don’t want to believe that’s a possibility. How could someone deliberately hurt a small child? My heart breaks at the thought. People do it all the time. Every day you read about that kind of thing in the news.
Even after losing Annabelle, the possibility of losing Anastasia never once occurred to me. Now, that’s the only thing I can focus on.
Seventeen
Rachel
I’m startled by the sudden crash, but tell myself not to be so silly. A racoon has probably gotten into the dumpster on the sidewalk outside the house.
I kiss Ana on her soft hair and tell her to stay put while I go to see what’s happening. I just reach the kitchen door when it’s suddenly flung open. The door handle hits my stomach and I’m pushed backwards into the wall, slumping down onto the floor.
Through my surprise I dimly register that Ana is screaming. I struggle back to my feet and come face to face with the guy from the bookstore. Fuck.
I make to charge at him but he’s clearly learned his lesson from my earlier attack, and I stop short as he waves a long sharp kitchen knife slowly in front of my face. It catches the light, glinting dangerously.
He walks slowly towards me, pushing me backwards. I hear Ana whimpering behind me, and past the guy’s shoulder I see a smashed window where he must have broken in.
I hit the back wall hard and reach down grab Ana’s hand, trying not to look away from the man in front of us. She’s sniffing and whimpering and I see his eye twitch in annoyance. I’m suddenly terrified that he might hurt her to get her to be quiet.
No. Nothing is going to happen to this little girl on my watch.
I crouch down beside her and pull her into my side, covering her face with my arm. I rock her gently, trying to calm her down.
“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay, I promise,” I whisper to her.
“You should relax, girlie. I’m not gonna hurt you… yet.” He winks at me and my stomach churns.
“Please don’t hurt her,” I whisper, but it only makes him laugh.
“Sit there and keep quiet. You’ll both be fine as long as you do as I say.”
He spots my cell phone on the coffee table and grabs it. He takes some photos of me and Ana huddled together in the corner, humming as he fiddles with the phone.