Page 238 of Keep This Promise
“I should’ve . . . I should’ve hired Jackson’s company. I was going to call him today, but now it’s too fucking late.”
Emmett squeezes my shoulder. “Jackson’s companywashere, Holden. Unbeknownst to us, they’ve been watching Sophie since she arrived.”
“His team was here, and they did nothing?”
“They were incapacitated before the attack but were in the house within three minutes of Eden being taken. The guys who took her weren’t amateurs. They were well trained and executed their mission in under five minutes, start to finish.”
The two guys from Cole Security walk over. “I’m Miles Kent, and this is Makenna Dixon, both of us were here when it happened. One of our team members in San Diego is coming up with his K-9, Jackson is on the way, and so is Zach Barrett, who was previously on Sophie and Eden’s detail.” The guy looks to Sophie. “We were both knocked unconscious, so it’s clear they knew who we were. As soon as I came to, I saw Makenna already moving to the house. It was as though they were the equivalent of us.”
“Your last name is Dixon?”
“Yes, sir. My parents are Mark and Charlie, whom you’ve met, and I assure you, there will be serious repercussions for allowing this on my watch. I take full responsibility.”
Miles steps up. “I’m the lead guard, this is on me. We already have the tech teams working on things, and thanks to your cameras, we should have something soon.”
“How long have you been watching the house?” I ask him.
He looks to Sophie, and she answers. “Theo hired them to protect us. Zach, one of Jackson’s team members, brought me to Rose Canyon, and they’ve been watching out for us this whole time.”
“A lot of good it did.”
Makenna looks as though she’s going to speak, but Miles beats her to it. “It didn’t, and for that, we are sorry. After the breach on your home, we should’ve stayed a little closer than we were, but we were trying to keep eyes on you at a distance so as not to alert anyone of our location.”
Sophie wipes the tears that keep falling. God, she’s breaking, and I can’t handle it. I pull her into my arms, needing to hold her. “They’ll find her,” I whisper against the crown of her head. They have to.
“We’re doing all we can.”
“She must be so scared,” Sophie cries. “Who did this? Who took my baby?”
Emmett’s lips form a tight line. “I don’t know, Sophie, but we aren’t going to stop until we find her.”
She cries harder, and I wrap her tighter to my chest.
I feel sick, my heart is in my stomach, and I can’t think. In my life, I have been in horrific situations and have always been able to keep my composure, but right now, I can’t. Tears fall as I keep Sophie against me. I just got them both, and now I could lose them. All because of me. All because of this fucking case.
“I’m sorry, my love. God, I’m so sorry.”
Sophie shifts, looking up at me. “You didn’t do this.”
“I promised I’d protect you.”
She shakes her head. “I was here, and you need to believe me when I say, there was no protecting us from what happened. Holden, it happened so fast that it was over before I even really figured out what was happening. Before Spencer could react. The only people we should blame are the people who took her, so let’s stop trying and just . . . and just focus on getting her back. I need our little girl back.” The last few words are choked with tears that threaten to shatter my heart. I have lived the last three years without Eden, and the last few months have changed everything. My daughter, the very reason I breathe, is missing, and I have no control over getting her back.
“I do too, sweetheart.”
People move around the room, taking photos, talking to each other, and dusting knobs and other items, but in this moment, it all fades away. My world narrows to Sophie, the tears streaming down her beautiful face, and the heartbreak filling in her eyes. I feel helpless. We just had a scare with her, almost lost her because I missed the signs of diabetes, and we lost her in another way.
Sophie stiffens, pulling out of my embrace. “What about her medication?”
I’ve already run through this in my head. “We changed the insulin yesterday. She has enough for another two days—maybe. I don’t know. If she drops low, then . . . I . . . fuck!”
Spencer’s the first to speak. “Stay calm, Holden.”
“She could die. Do you understand that? The pump can help if her blood sugar goes too high, but if her sugar drops, I can’t . . . I can’t fucking do anything from here.”
Sophie breaks down, crumpling to the floor with heartbreaking sobs. I land on my knees next to her, pulling her into my arms as my own tears fall. Eden could die, and I am helpless to save her. I will never recover if I lose her too.
Please God, help us.
