Page 64 of Drive To Survive

“Mrs. Lawson. Thank goodness,” Principal Higgins said the second she answered the phone. “We’ve been trying to get hold of you. Is Rhett with you?”

I broke out in a sweat, ice filling my veins. The pain in my head forgotten, I sucked in little sips of air. “No,” I croaked. “Where is he? Where’s my baby?”

“He was on the playground at lunchtime. One minute he was there, and the next he wasn’t.”

Paul. There was no other logical answer. Paul had him.

“Call the police,” I rasped. “Call them right now. I’m on my way.”

NICO

“Well done, Joe,” I said, patting one of my star pupils on the back. He had promise. He didn’t have as much natural ability as Rhett, but enough that he could make a good career out of racing cars if he chose to. “Good job today.”

“Thanks, Nico,” Joe said, a broad grin edging across his face. “See you soon.”

He disappeared into the changing area. I called over one of the mechanics to deal with the car, then set off back to the office. Halfway there, Adele came running toward me, hair flying behind her, a cell phone clutched in her hand.

“Nico!” she yelled. “You need to take this. It’s Everly.”

I broke into a half run, half hobble and snatched the phone out of her hand. “Everly. I’m here.”

“It’s Rhett,” she gasped. “Paul’s taken him.”

My blood ran cold. “Where are you?”

“On my way to the school.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

My ankles screamed on the dash to my car, definitely not equipped for a full-on sprint. By the time I screeched out of the car park, the pain had left me light-headed. I reached into the glove box and hunted around for a bottle of painkillers. I swallowed two, praying they’d do the trick.

I pulled onto the freeway. Dammit. Backed-up traffic. I dove into the carpool lane. If a cop tried to stop me, good luck. I might not race for a living anymore, but I bet my Aston could outrun a cop car. As I weaved in and out between the traffic, several drivers leaned on their horns and made rude gestures.

I put in a call to Everly, but it went to voicemail. I took several breaths, trying to calm myself down. If that bastard Lawson had harmed one hair on Rhett’s head, I’d kill him.

By the time I reached the school, the pain in my bones had faded to a dull ache. I limped up to the entrance doors and made my way through the hallways, past the rows and rows of lockers, searching for the principal’s office. I found it and burst inside. Two uniformed cops, a woman in her forties I assumed to be the school principal, and Everly all turned their heads.

“Oh, Nico.”

Everly leaped to her feet and threw herself at me. My arms automatically came around her, rage thickening my chest as I spotted the gash on the side of her head. That’s two crimes I’m gonna kill him for.

“What did he do, Everly?” I said, easing her back to get a good look at the cut. “What the fuck did he do to you? Jesus, that needs stitches.”

She shook her head, her fingertips going to her temple. “No time. We need to find Rhett.”

I urged her to retake her seat before she fell down. “What’s the plan?” I barked at the cops.

“Mrs. Lawson has given us a detailed description of Rhett as well as provided recent photographs. She’s also given us information on the man she thinks might be responsible, but for now we need to keep an open mind. We’ll get his details entered into NCIC. Rest assured, we’ll do everything we can to bring Rhett home safely and quickly.”

“It’s him, Nico,” Everly said, reaching for my hand. “I know it’s Paul. We argued. I told him I knew everything, and I was going to get a lawyer.” She let me go and buried her face in her hands. “I don’t even know how he got in. I locked up everywhere, like you said.” A sob broke from her throat, and her shoulders violently shook. “Oh God, what if he hurts him? He was so mad. He hit me and I fell.”

Blind rage sparked to life, but I tamped it down. Getting angry wouldn’t help Everly, nor would it bring Rhett back. I needed to keep a cool head for both of us.

I put my arm around her. “We’ll find him. I promise you. We’ll find him.”

The police urged us to return to Everly’s place in case Rhett had simply wandered off, and promised to keep in regular contact. The principal watched them leave, a wretched expression on her face. Having a child go missing under her watch was probably the worst thing that had happened in her professional career. I couldn’t help feeling a crumb of sympathy for her. Working with kids brought with it a constant state of worry. I should know.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Lawson,” she said. “If there is anything I can do?—”

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