Page 7 of Girl Lost
Boy, did he know that feeling. The gut-wrenching angst of not knowing what’d happened to Luna all these years. And he’d searched too. Used all his authority. But after she joined the Marines, it was as if she ceased to exist.
Blade left him standing there but stopped halfway and turned. “Hey, God brought her back for a purpose...”
He didn’t finish the sentence. Didn’t have to. Stryker had etched those words into his heart over a lifetime. Stryker always said God revealed his purpose in his own timing. It was up to each person to remain obedient, so he was standing right where he was supposed to be when God’s timing lined up.
Blade took the seat across the table from the women. Their worried faces brightened into small, tentative smiles. Blade was doing his thing. Working his magic. Setting them at ease with that tender heart of his.
One thing was certain, time was running out. For Carlie, for Stryker, and maybe even for his chance to make things right with Luna.
But, yeah. Okay. He’d do what he came here to do. He’d find the answers.
Even if it meant Luna might slip out of his life and disappear again forever.
3
THEMIDDAY SUN SLANTEDthrough the window,painting a swath oflight across the worn oak floorboards of Stryker’s bungalow. Luna perched on the edge of a worn leather desk chair in front of Stryker’s computer. The scent ofcoconut wafted in on a breeze that ruffled the edgesof the gauzy white curtains. It should have been peaceful here. Should have been a place for her to unpack the emotional baggage she’d hauled from Pakistan. But all she felt was a sharp jab of worry.
It had been eighteen years since Luna had last seen Corbin King. Eighteen years since she’d given him her heart on a silver platter only to have him hand it back broken into a million pieces. And yet, there he was. Standing there, all six-foot-two inches of him, in a finely tailored suit and mirrored sunglasses.
What was she thinking? Of course he’d changed. She’d changed too. People changed. They grew up. They moved on. So why, after all these years, did the mere sight of him punch her lungs and stop her heart in the same instant?
Shake it off. There isn’t time for this.“I should’ve just stayed in Peshawar,” she said with a sigh.
Stryker and his promise to help her find her daughter pulled her back.
And now he’d been kidnapped. But why?
He’d made enemies. Drug dealers, gang leaders—they didn’t appreciate his efforts to pull kids away from their influence. She knew he couldn’t save every kid. Some were too far gone, lost in the darkness. But Stryker dedicated himself to helping any within his reach. Even the ones who were still fighting their own demons, searching for a way out.
She’d been through enough training to recognize that struggle herself. It was how she chose her assets. It was in the eyes. The ones hungry for something more. The ones desperate for a different path.
None of it added up. Why would Stryker’s enemies kidnap him in broad daylight? They could have just shot him. The small-town street was quiet but notthatquiet. They had to know there’d be witnesses. Most likely the kidnappers wanted something. Information or something Stryker possessed.
Whatever it was, Luna needed to find it, and she bet clues were in his computer.
The monitor had gone dark, but she nudged the mouse. A photo of the ocean filled the screen, a sky ablaze with fiery hues of orange and crimson. A classic Florida sunset.
And a blinking cursor waiting for the password.
Trying to guess was useless, but if he was like most adults of his generation, he probably had a list of passwords tucked away somewhere.
She scanned the top of the desk. No stray notepads. She pulled the top drawer open. Pens. Pencils. Paper clips. She tried the next one. More of the same. She slammed it shut.Okay,where would he keep his—
Her gaze landed on a framed photo on the corner of the desk. A much-younger Stryker grinned back at her. He had his arm slung around a group of teenagers, all of them flashing peace signs andgoofy smiles. She was in the photo, sandwiched between Corbin and Blade.
Luna picked up the frame and wiped the thin layer of dust off the faces. They’d all been so young then. So full of hope. Except for Harlee. She’d scowled at the camera with her arms crossed over her chest, looking every bit the hardened gang member Stryker had rescued from a life of crime.
She put the frame back where she found it. Wow, she’d missed them. All these years, she’d been so busy outrunning her pain, she’d boxed up the memories of that time. Refused to look at them. She’d forgotten about her friends. Forgotten what they all went through. Forgotten what Stryker had done for them. How he’d rescued them from their aimless, lonely lives. He’d offered them a place to call home, welcomed them into a found family, and helped them find their purpose.
And she’d walked away without a goodbye.
Stryker’s dog-eared Bible with a worn leather cover lay on the corner of the desk. She flipped it open. His handwritten notes filled the margins. Highlights and underlines punctuated verses throughout. A thicker piece of paper, white and folded, peeked out.
Ah-ha. The passwords. She slid the sheet out and unfolded it. It wasn’t a list of passwords. It was a single line of type:They’re watching. Don’t trust anyone.
What had Stryker gotten into?
Gravel crunched outside. No time to ponder. She snapped a picture of the note with her phone, tucked it back into the Bible, and stood.
