Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81076 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Bile churns in my stomach at the sight of his hands on her, but thankfully, he doesn’t get rough. Eventually, Nora concedes to entering the vehicle, but not before casually dropping something on the ground that Rex doesn’t seem to notice.
My heart jerks in my chest, but I resist the urge to run to the door in question and see what she left behind. I wait until Kate freezes the video as the van turns, giving us a clear shot at the license plate. I text it to Al, along with a quick description of the van and a heads-up that Kate is going to be alerting the authorities.
“Thank you so much,” I say, backing toward the door.
She turns in her chair. “Aren’t you going to stay while I call the police? Help me explain what happened and who that man is? Is that her brother? The one you said had threatened her before?”
“I have to go find her,” I say, reaching for the door handle. “But thank you. Again. I’m so grateful.”
I escape into the hall, ignoring her calls for me come back, and sprint toward the place where Nora was last seen. I race down the stairs to the first floor, nearly running into a man carrying an ice bucket on my way out into the hall. But I only spare a second to shout a quick, “Sorry,” before picking up speed again.
I crash through the exterior door and scan the ground, spotting Nora’s breadcrumb instantly. The bright yellow of her earring stands out like a beacon against the gray concrete.
I pick it up and reach for my buzzing cell at the same time, answering Al on the first ring as he begins to shout for me to get my ass to Bad Dog.
“I can’t,” I say, my voice rough with emotion. “I have to help find her, Al. I have to. If she’s hurt, I’ll never forgive myself. Or you. Forget the extra days at the hotel, this is all I want for my retirement gift. Help me. Help me find that van and help me help her.”
He exhales an irate sigh. “Christ, you’ve become high maintenance in your old age. Five years ago, you would never have been this much of a pain in my ass.”
“Guess it’s a good thing I’m retiring,” I say, before adding in a softer voice, “Please, Al. Please. I love her. But I haven’t had the chance to tell her yet and—”
“Fine, fine,” he cuts in brusquely. “You don’t have to give me the full sob story. Just get in your car and head south. I’ll get you more details as I have them.”
“Thank you, Al. Thank you so much.” I end the call without waiting for his response and sprint toward my SUV.
Chapter Twenty-Six
NORA
We pull up to the warehouse complex just as it starts pouring again, making it almost impossible to see out the front windshield. I can’t tell if there are any other people around or not, but I doubt it. Aside from the poor retail workers forced into work for Black Friday, most people have the entire Thanksgiving weekend off.
“Which bay?” Rex demands, leaning forward to squint through the rain-smeared glass.
“That’s right, you did great, Mama,” Bear murmurs to Clyde, who answers with a meow and a series of belches. “Yeah, you did. And we’ll get you some medicine soon, I promise.”
“Which bay?” Rex repeats, turning to shoot Bear a frustrated look. “The faster you cooperate, the faster you and your cat family can get out of here, man. I’m trying to make this as painless as possible, but you gotta pay attention.”
Bear looks up from the kitten box, where our champion of childbirth has managed to deliver five perfect kittens during the drive. Three of the sweet babies are white with gray accents like their mama, one is gray all over like a tiny storm cloud, and one is a mix of orange and white like its daddy.
In my mind, I have already claimed the gray and the orange babies, who I desperately want to name Sunshine and Rainn—after Rainn Wilson who played Dwight on The Office, one of my favorite comedians of all time—but I haven’t said that out loud. This isn’t the time or place, and I don’t want to distract the babies as they’re trying to find their way to Clyde’s nipples to nurse.
I’m also not one hundred percent sure Bear will still want me to be a kitten adoptive parent after all this. He might want to put today, and everything that reminds him of the time he was kidnapped and forced to sign over thousands of dollars’ worth of product to a criminal organization, behind him.
“I’m not sure,” Bear says. “I always find it by sight, and I can’t see shit. Can you? Shouldn’t we pull over and wait until the rain slows down enough for the windshield wipers to actually work?”