Page 114 of Juniper Hill (The Edens 2)

Knox sighed and stared at his phone, like he wanted to make more calls but couldn’t find the strength to repeat the truth again.

“Is this a bad dream?” I whispered.

He set the phone on his thigh and looked to me, his own eyes full of unshed tears. “It has to be.”

“What if we don’t find him?”

“Don’t go there.” He took my hand, gripping it so fiercely that it hurt my knuckles. But I clung to the pain, clung to him, so that I stayed here, in this car, and didn’t take a step down an unthinkable road. “We’ll find him.”

“We’ll find him.” There was no confidence in my voice. Only fear.

The two of us sat together in the cold car, watching as Winn and her team rushed back and forth between the daycare center and Jill’s house. A crowd was gathering outside the daycare’s doors.

The two women from the office had come outside, both bundled in coats. They made sure to keep their heads down and not glance our direction as we sat motionless, our short breaths curling into white wisps in the car. Neither of us thought to turn on the engine, to crank the heat. We were both too stunned.

I sat and stared through the windshield, a prayer running through my mind on loop.

Find him. Find him. Please, let us find him.

“We left his stuff.” Knox’s words startled me as he burst out of the car, running to the sidewalk.

I’d grabbed Drake’s car seat and diaper bag from the nursery. When had I set them down? Before or after we’d gone to Jill’s? I couldn’t remember now. Every minute seemed fuzzy, every second like a lifetime.

A fresh wave of dizziness hit, swirling around the what-ifs that I refused to let myself think, let alone voice.

Knox picked up Drake’s things, carrying them to the backseat. Then he returned to the driver’s seat and, this time, turned the key.

“I can’t sit here,” he murmured. The heat had barely begun to flow from the vents before he was out of the car once more, this time stalking toward Winn.

She stood in Jill’s driveway, talking on the phone.

Knox walked right to her, waiting for her to end the call. The moment she put her phone away, the garage door at Jill’s opened. It was empty. Where there should have been a car, there were only shadows.

Where would she have gone? Drake didn’t have his car seat. What if she got into an accident? Had she gone into town? Maybe she’d ventured downtown for a coffee.

My hand found the door handle and I pushed it open, but before I could step outside, a blaring alarm sounded from my phone. The noise echoed through the air, not just from my phone, but from all the other people.

The AMBER Alert.

For my son.

That shrill sound slashed through my body, slicing to my heart. I clutched my chest, willing my heart to keep beating. Find him. Please, find him.

Two cars pulled into the parking lot, both at almost the exact same time. Other parents were beginning to show to pick up their own children. Their faces were clouded in confusion and sudden worry before they each rushed inside.

Except inside, they’d find their children.

While I had not.

A rush of energy lit my nerve endings into a buzz. Sitting in this car, waiting, was no longer an option. I shoved outside, wrapping my arms around my waist, and hurried to join Knox.

He saw me and swallowed hard, then held out a hand.

I took it and faced Winn. “I can’t sit here. I’m going crazy.”

“We’ve got everyone in the department looking. The alert’s out there. Let’s hope we get a call.”

“What if I just headed into town? Maybe I’ll bump into her. Maybe she went to the store or Christmas shopping. She said she’d be back before I showed up. It’s almost five.”