Page 59 of The Finder

He looked at her sympathetically. “No can do, baby girl. That’s between you and him. I’m not getting in the middle of that.” Liam stood and stretched. “I need to check on a few things. I’ll be back.”

Emma watched him leave and sighed. She would have to take on the Alpha himself if she wanted to know what was really going on. She put her head back against the seat and closed her eyes while she waited.

Chapter 33

Hearing a buzzing sound, Emma opened her eyes and looked around. She saw what she assumed was Garrett’s phone on the countertop. She stood up and walked over to it. She would take it to him in case it was important. She froze when she saw the name, though.Kevin.Why would he be calling Garrett? Unless he was trying to get ahold of her? Before Emma could overthink it, she glanced quickly down the hallway to make sure Garrett wasn’t coming before grabbing the phone and answering it.

“Hello,” she said quietly.

“Emma? I finally got you. Are you okay? I’ve been trying for days to get ahold of you,” she heard Kevin’s frantic voice.

“I’m okay,” Emma said still keeping her voice quiet so Garrett wouldn’t hear. She crept towards the hallway and heard the sound of running water, so she should be safe for a few minutes at least.

“What happened to you? You haven’t been at work, Helen won’t say anything about you, there’s a new girl working there, and your phone keeps saying it’s disconnected. I’ve been losing my sanity trying to track you down. Normally, I could just use police resources and track you through your phone, but it’s like your phone doesn’t even exist. What’s going on, Emma?” he asked in concern.

“I’m sorry you were worried. I’m okay. I had some bad stuff happen to me.” Emma chose her words carefully. She didn’t want him to think she was crazy; he didn’t need to know about her psycho family and the way she had grown up.

“Emma, where are you?” Kevin asked point-blank.

“Um, I don’t actually know,” she said softly.

“Emma, are you in trouble? Is somebody holding you against your will?” he asked in a calm voice. His concern brought tears to her eyes. She hated that her life was such a mess that one person talking kindly to her brought her to tears.

“I think I’m okay; I mean, they’re taking care of me,” she said in a shaky voice.

“Who, Emma?” he asked in a calm voice.

“Garrett and his men,” she said.

“Are they keeping you there against your will?” he asked gently.

“Well, no, I mean...” She wasn’t really sure how to answer that.

“Are you allowed to leave?” he asked.

Emma waited for almost a minute before barely whispering, “No.”

“Are they the ones who took your phone?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered again.

“Are they keeping you in the dark about what’s going on?” he asked.

“Yes,” Emma responded.

“Emma, honey, those are all the signs of abduction,” he said in such a compassionate voice. “Tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you right away. I’ll get you to safety.”

“I don’t know,” Emma said, unsure what to do. They hadn’t hurt her, but why wouldn't’ they let her go? Why had they taken her phone? And why would nobody answer any of her questions? The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. It did sound really shady.

“You don’t know about me coming to get you or you don’t know where you are?” Kevin asked gently.

“Both,” Emma whispered again.

“Well, now that I know you’re with Garrett, I can find you using this phone. I’ll take the choice out of your hands. I’ll get you to safety; then we can talk and figure out what’s going on. Okay?” Emma nodded before she realized he couldn't see that.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I don’t know if they’ll let me go.”

“Oh, you let me worry about that, honey. I’m a police officer. They’ll let you go.” Kevin sure seemed confident, but Emma wasn’t really sure. “You be ready,” he said.

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