“Anna?” came a voice from behind her.
She brushed dirty knuckles underneath her eyes and turned. Yes, it really was Sean. She hadn’t conjured him out of her imagination. She cleared her throat. “Hey.”
He didn’t speak, but tilted his head to one side, studying her.
“I’m almost done with the plants for the playground.” She rose to her feet and pulled the wheelbarrow back so he could see. “Is that okay?” Her voice sounded almost calm. Thank heavens he couldn’t hear how rapidly her heart pounded.
“I just wanted to check on you.” His voice sounded oddly formal.
“On my work, or...” She trailed off. What else would he want to check on? He’d made it clear he had no interest whatsoever in her as a person.
“Where are the girls? At Ma’s?”
“No, they’re at the library program. It’s all day this week.”
“That’s probably...good.” He stood there, looking off into the surrounding trees, looking at the plants. Anywhere but at her.
What on earth was going on?
She replayed what he’d said in her mind, and her heart started a dull, heavy thudding. “You said you wanted to check on me.” She stepped closer, to where she was right in front of him. “Why are you checking on me and the girls? Why did Liam, earlier?”
He met her eyes for the briefest second and then looked away. “It’s just a precaution.”
The pounding in her heart sped up, making it hard to breathe. “You didn’t ever check on us before, so what gives?”
“I... Liam didn’t think we should worry you.”
Her jaw about dropped. “Sean, if you don’t think I’ve been worried every minute since I’ve arrived here, you’d be dead wrong.” With the possible exception of when you were holding me. She drew in a breath, held it a second, let it out. “Tell me what’s going on. If it concerns me and my girls, I need to know.”
He pressed his lips together, still looking indecisive.
He was trying to gauge how much to tell her, and it made her want to punch him. “Would you stop being all sexist protective male and just let me know what’s happening?”
He looked at her then, directly. “A truck with Montana plates is a rare thing to see in Safe Haven.”
Her whole body went cold. “What did it look like?”
“Newish, red, Chevy.”
She sighed with relief. “That’s not Beau’s. Besides, his would never make it this far.”
“Good.” He still studied her. “Do you think he’d have borrowed one?”
Tension rushed back in. Beau had a number of low-life friends, and trucks were the obsession of a couple of them. “Maybe,” she said slowly. “I’ve felt like someone was watching us a couple of times, but I just attributed it to me being paranoid.”
“When?” Sean was instantly alert. “Where?”
“Here, a couple of times,” she said. “And out at Ma’s.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were barely speaking to me?” She couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of her voice, but she couldn’t focus on those feelings, either. “I’ll check on the girls.” She slid her phone out of her pocket and found the library’s number. The familiar voice at the other end reassured her. “Miss Vi? It’s Anna. Are my girls there and okay?”
Miss Vi laughed, deep and cackly. “Oh my, yes. They’ve been outside having a scavenger hunt all over the library grounds, finding clues from a story. They seem to be having a wonderful time.”
Relief surged through her. “Thanks. I guess you’re right. I’m overprotective.”
“They’re lovely girls,” Miss Vi said. “You’re welcome to call anytime.”
She clicked off her phone, the tension leaving her body to the point where she had to sink down beside the plants. “False alarm. They’re fine.”
“That’s a relief.” He stood there, not moving to go away.
“Was there...something else?”
“Look, Anna.” He knelt to her level, reached over to scratch Blackie’s head. “About the other night...the way I’ve been acting...” He trailed off.
Her heart almost flew out of her chest but she made herself keep looking into his eyes. “Yeah?”
“Look, I’m sorry if I—” He broke off and turned toward the thick vegetation that separated the play area from the cabin next door. “What was that?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “I didn’t hear anything.”
Blackie looked in the same direction Sean had been. He let out a low, rumbling growl.
Sean got up and walked to the edge of the trees, looking into the dark interior of the narrow forest. Blackie followed.
Uneasy, Anna stood and tiptoed over to where he and the dog were standing. If Sean had heard something, then maybe she wasn’t imagining things after all.
Her phone buzzed, making her jump.
Sean looked once more into the trees, then shrugged and turned back to her.
She clicked to silence the phone, then glanced down at the lock screen. “It’s the library,” she whispered as she clicked it on and walked away from Sean, back toward the cabin.
“Anna?” It was Miss Vi’s voice, worried this time. “I went to double-check on the girls. They’re actually not here.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
MINUTES LATER SEAN was driving toward town, Anna beside him, taking the curves at the highest possible speed.
To Sean, it didn’t seem fast enough.
Anna had buckled in at his orders, but she gripped the edge of the seat and leaned forward as if she could make the car go faster.
Ahead, a guinea hen and her chicks meandered across the road, and reflexively Sean slammed on his brakes.
“Hang on!” he yelled, and cut the wheel sharply, veering into the swampy ditch and then back out on the other side of the little procession. Mothers and kids, you didn’t interfere with them. But they had human kids to save. He gunned it and they went on.
He dug for words of comfort. “The girls might be hiding...or maybe they took a walk off the property,” he said around the sick feeling in his gut.
Anna made some kind of a sound, a wounded animal sound that broke his heart.
He reached for her, then pulled his hand back, accelerating on a straight stretch. “What are you thinking?”
“They don’t do that. They don’t walk away from places. They’re...” She stopped, drew in a shuddering breath. “They’re too afraid.”
She pressed a fist to her mouth.
He swallowed a giant lump in his throat, because he knew what she was thinking. They had to be afraid now.
She’d called Liam, explaining the situation in terse, anxious phrases. Now Sean nudged his phone toward her. “My brother Cash. Call him. And anyone else in my contacts with an 843 area code.”
“Why?”
“Because they’ll help.” How had she lived in Safe Haven for even a few weeks without realizing that?
He gunned it down a straight stretch. “If your ex...if their father...” He trailed off because he didn’t want to say it, but when he glanced over he knew that nothing he could say would be as bad as what she was thinking. “If their father took them, abducted them, what would be his purpose? What would he do with them? Where would he go?”
She cleared her throat. “He’d want to get back at me.”
Oh.
He squealed into town and toward the library. When he saw Miss Vi and Yasmin hoofing it toward the Southern Comfort Café, he turned sharply into a diagonal parking place. “Any word?” he called through the open window.
“We’ve searched the library from top to bottom,” Miss Vi said, distress and anxiety in her normally calm voice. “No sign of them. We’ve called parents and they’re coming to get their kids. Some will stay to help search.”
It hadn’t helped her.
But he couldn’t go there. “Let’s set up at the café,” he said, because it was hot and they couldn’t stand here on the street, and the police station was small and cramped.
He clicked Liam’s number and suggested it. “Good idea,” his little brother said promptly. “Be there in five.”
“I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do!” Anna’s voice was edging toward hysterical.
Miss Vi put a firm arm around her. “Come on. We’ll gather together and make a plan. We will find those little girls, Anna.”
Sean led the way, pretending to know what he was doing when in fact he was berating himself. He should have protected the twins. He cared about them, all of them, and it was his job to make sure they stayed safe.
He jogged ahead, looking into alleys and behind cars, desperate to do something, to find Hope and Hayley. He hated that he’d been harsh to them the last times they’d been together. If he did find them, they’d probably be afraid of him.
They hurried into the café just as Liam arrived. There were Rita and Jimmy, Claire and a few others he vaguely recognized as local parents of young children.
Everyone was talking at once. Cash—praise God, he was still in town—was talking to another uniformed cop.
Liam was on the phone, giving information in a low voice, but when he saw Anna, he gestured her over. “I need to talk to you. We may be able to file an Amber Alert, but we need to establish whether they’re in imminent danger of bodily injury or death. If it’s their father who has them, we probably can’t file.”
He ushered Anna toward a back table and they sat down, talking fast.
Sean looked around the room. Aside from his brothers, the group was mostly women and older people. It was a ragtag, inexperienced crew. All were sympathetic, but nobody seemed to know what to do.
What hope did they have of finding two little girls?
Think. He’d organized teams in the military and on the construction site. He was the one who knew how, and he had to take charge.
He put fingers to his mouth and whistled. “Listen, everyone. We need to divide up and find Hope and Hayley. Let’s take the town in quadrants. Biggest focus is the area close to the library.”
“I’ll do the neighborhoods from here to the shelter,” Yasmin offered.
“Teams,” Liam called, looking up from his phone.
Sean instantly understood that his brother meant no one should go out alone. “Claire, can you go with her?”
“Yes, sir.” The normally cheery cashier looked serious and determined.
“Miss Vi,” Sean continued, “I’m going to send you back to the library. You and the parents know all the areas inside and outside. I’m talking the woods and playgrounds surrounding the library, as well.”
“Will do.” Miss Vi straightened, but not before Sean saw that her chin was quivering. No doubt she felt responsible.
Jimmy lifted a hand. “Rita and I will do the shops up and down Main Street. Lots of appeal for little kids there.”
Sean knew that all too well. His brothers had begged their mom to go into the souvenir shop on that long-ago day, the last time any of them had seen her.
He looked at Rita and saw her go pale, then nod. He cocked his head to one side, feeling an odd connection to the woman. She stared into his eyes for a long moment, too.
Sean blew out a breath and looked away. No time to figure that out now.
Ma Dixie and Pudge came through the front door, both breathing hard, faces creased with worry.
What to do with them? Sean didn’t want to put them at risk. “We need someone Hope and Hayley know well, staying put in this central area,” he said. “Ma and Pudge, that’s you.”
Pudge started to protest.
Sean bowled past it. “Everyone, get Ma and Pudge’s phone numbers so you can keep them posted on anything you see. Anything suspicious or dangerous, you call the police.”
Liam clicked out of his phone call. “We’ve got people watching all the roads out of town, and a description of the girls statewide, but...” He trailed off, looked at Anna and didn’t say what he was undoubtedly thinking.
If their father or someone else had taken the girls, they might be too late.
Liam pushed on, calm, speaking with authority. “Before we start searching, let’s get photos of the girls and also of their father, since we believe he could be behind the disappearance.” Liam looked at Anna. “If you could send pictures to my phone, I’ll get some printed up, but meanwhile, I’d like everyone to take a look.”
Anna pulled up pictures of the girls on her phone and everyone looked quickly; they were already familiar with the girls, but Anna had taken a picture of them that morning, one that showed the outfits they were wearing. Just seeing those two innocent faces gave Sean even more determination to find them, get them to safety.
Next, Anna pulled up a picture of Beau, her ex.
Sean hadn’t really thought about the fact that she’d have a picture of her girls’ father at the ready. And he definitely hadn’t expected James Dean–style good looks. “He’s always armed, and a good shot,” Anna was saying. “And he’s volatile. Please—” she choked up, then got ahold of herself “—please be careful, everyone.”
“Anything else we should know about him?” Liam asked.
Anna thought. “He grew up in Montana, so he doesn’t have a lot of experience with the low country. I doubt he’d go off into the delta or anything.”
“I saw this guy,” said one of the moms. “Talking in the back of the Palmetto Pig last night. I didn’t like the way he looked at me.”
“I saw him, too,” Cash said grimly. “With the Mahoney brothers. If he’s teamed up with them, he could be anywhere.”
Concerned voices rose around the room. The Mahoney brothers were no one’s idea of good people. And they also ran a low country guide service. They knew every creek, river and inlet in the county.
“Why would the Mahoneys have connected with her husband?” Miss Vi asked.
“Those boys will do anything for a few bucks,” Pudge said, his tone disgusted, and Liam nodded agreement.
Anna’s eyes turned to Sean, looking panicked. He put a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find them. Me, Cash and Liam can find our way through the low country way better than those guys.”
He prayed he was telling the truth.
Quickly, the groups dispersed, and he automatically went with Anna, hurrying from the café through town, past the library and toward the docks. The sun slanted westward, and overhead, seabirds flew; a rich, murky, fishy smell increased as they got closer to the water.
“Are Hope and Hayley familiar with this area of town?” he asked.
Anna nodded miserably. “They fed ducks here a couple of times, with the library program. If their dad asked them about places in town, they’d show him this.”
“Do you think he’d do that? Act...fatherly?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” Anna said, her voice hopeless. “If it would get him something. All I know is that he’s strong, and fast. There’s no way we’ll find him.”
“We will. We’ll catch him.”
They reached the docks. There was a hair bow, red with white polka dots. He picked it up.
“That’s Hope’s!” Anna cried.
Sean scanned the area. “The Mahoney brothers’ fishing boat is missing. You call Liam. Meanwhile, we’ll get in the old canoe we keep here—it’s quiet—and head out into the bayou.”
* * *
ANNA HAD NEVER been in a canoe, but she climbed in with Se
an’s steadying hand to balance her. He took the back—apparently that was the steering position—and pushed off.
As soon as they got out into the little bay that led off toward the grassy channels of the bayou, she started paddling hard. She welcomed the strain to her muscles. She had to get to her girls.
What was Beau doing to them? How scared they had to be! Although he was their father, and they’d had a few warm times with him, for the most part it had been fear and yelling and dodging his anger.
“Stop paddling.” Sean’s voice behind her was quiet, but firm.
“I want to go faster!”
“You’re throwing us off. Let me do it. You text back to the café and let them know what we found.”
She lifted her paddle and turned to protest. But Sean’s face was steady and firm, and so were the strokes of his paddle. The canoe cut quickly through the dark water.
She tucked her paddle beside her and called Ma Dixie, who agreed to relay the information to Liam, Cash and the other groups.
“We’re not sure they came this way,” Anna said quickly. “Everyone should keep searching. It’s just...we found Hope’s favorite hair bow.”
“The red-and-white one?”
“Yes.”
There was a beat of silence. “You keep on going, honey, and be careful. I’ll get someone to come back you up as soon as I can.”
Moments later, Liam called, promising to come as soon as he’d followed up on a possible sighting of the girls out on the Delta highway.
Anna didn’t know what to hope for: that they were on the highway or the water. She squeezed her eyes shut and shot up a desperate prayer for the girls to be safe and comforting each other, wherever they were.
Then she turned back to Sean. “How can you guess where they might be going?”
“There’s a little island up here,” he said. “Deserted, except the Mahoney brothers have a shack and dock there. They’ve hidden out there before.” He hesitated. “Just try to sit and relax. Breathe. They’ll need you at full capacity when we find them, not hysterical.”
So she tried to focus on the black water and the Spanish moss, the play of light as Sean paddled the canoe through deep shade sprinkled with patches of sunshine.
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