“Luke,” he heard his mother call out and he turned her way.
“Where the hell is Dani?”
“They took her back there. Who could have done this?” Joan asked staying the newest set of tears. “I got to the house, and she wasn’t inside. I went out the back to look for her and…I thought she was dead when I first saw her…and the girls…our sweet girls…”
“Luke, Joan,” Wren called out as he, Angela and Tyler hit the lobby.
“What the hell is going on?” Tyler demanded. “Who would take the girls?”
“Felix Gaston,” Luke said as the police officer headed towards them.
“Who?” Angela asked.
“Sir, a few moments…we’ve put out an Amber Alert with their pictures. Is there anything distinguishing about them, birthmarks, anything?”
“They both have a tiny birthmark right on their right hip. It’s like a star, just like Dani’s,” Luke answered. “I promised her I’d keep them safe.”
“From who?” the officer inquired but another cut him off.
“Detective Shepherds,” the new man said. “You believe you know who’s responsible for this?”
“Felix Gaston, he’s the person who sent Chance after her in the first place,” Luke said moving the group away from the main waiting area.
“Chance…the man who broke into your home four years ago?”
“Yes, Dani found out he was working for Felix and ran. We met, I fell for her, and she told me the truth. She’d taken some money from Chance’s place to get away, the bag had drugs in it, and they wanted her to pay them back for it. Felix sent Chance to collect it only Chance wanted more.”
“Luke, why didn’t you say anything to anyone?” Wren questioned.
“Because I wanted Dani to be safe, she wouldn’t be if everyone knew. Chance wanted her back and she refused to go; he put her in the trunk of the car because he knew she was claustrophobic.”
“Okay but why would he come after her now and take the girls?” Tyler asked.
“Dani caught Chance admitting who sent him to her, it was her safety ticket. Anything happens to her, and it comes out; it’s why she didn’t want to have a baby, but it happened and then we were thrilled. If anything happens to her, I’ll kill the bastard myself,” Luke stated balling his hands into fists.
“They couldn’t have gotten far though, could they?” Angela inquired. “Mom said the blood was still fresh on Dani’s clothes.”
“I don’t know,” the detective answered. “If Gaston’s behind it there’s no telling what he would do.”
“Oh god,” Joan cried into Wren’s shoulder.
“They have to be okay,” Luke said holding onto the wall. “Dani will never recover if they’re not.”
“We’ll contact the local field office for the FBI; see if they can help us. In the meantime, we’ll keep you posted.”
“Mr. Nolan?” the doctor said reaching them.
“Dani?” he asked with fear.
“We’re moving her upstairs; she’s still unconscious but there’s no swelling of the brain. We’ll monitor her closely. She has several broken and bruised ribs, cuts, scrapes, but amazingly nothing life threatening.”
“She’ll be okay?” Joan asked in disbelief.
“She’s lucky, whoever attacked her either hesitated enough or wasn’t trying to kill her.”
“Just torture her,” Luke said as his heart dropped. She’d never forgive him for letting the girls get hurt. He was going to lose her no matter what.
***