Page 166 of One More Heartbeat
I sniff back the tears and release a steadying breath, inhale her sweet smell. “Who’s your friend?” I pet the toy dog on its head.
“Doggy!”
Athena holds out her hands for me to give her Peony. But unless Peony wants to go to Athena, I’m not letting go of my daughter just yet.
Athena loves her, has been there for her during their darkest days, but that’s not enough for me right now. She’ll have to be content for a few more minutes knowing Peony is safe and those men won’t kidnap my daughter again. They’ve been arrested and face countless charges.Athena will have to be content knowingsheis safe; she can finally start her life over.
And I’ll do whatever I can to help her. I owe her that much…and so much more.
I thank the agent for bringing my daughter home to me.
“You’re welcome. She’s a sweet little girl. And brave too.” The agent looks down at Peony, and a gentle smile touches her mouth.
A small, shy smile bends on Peony’s mouth, and she buries her face into the side of her stuffed dog.
“Is Zara okay?” I haven’t heard anything about her since she and Peony were rescued. All I was told was Peony would be arriving home within the next few hours.
The agent’s brow creases. “Zara?”
“My friend who was kidnapped with Peony.”
“I was asked to escort Peony to Maple Ridge. No one mentioned anyone else.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.Why do I have a feeling I’ve been kept out of the loop? That something has happened to Zara?
I tell myself she’s on another flight, but I have a hard time believing that. Peony trusts Zara. Why would FBI agents separate them?
The agent talks to me for several minutes, letting me know that victim support will be in contact, and then she and the police officer who drove her here leave.
Peony yawns.
“Do you want me to get you ready for bed?” Athena asks Peony, holding her hands out to Peony again.
Peony shakes her head, exhaustion slowing the movement. “Daddy.”
Hurt flashes on Athena’s face. The kind of hurt where her heart has been ripped out and stomped on. But she quickly hides it from Peony, from me, with a smile that ghosts her mouth.
“You can help me get her ready,” I tell Athena, wanting to lessen the sting of rejection.
Once Peony is asleep, I return to my office and dial Zara’s number. I’m sent to voicemail. I don’t leave a message. What I want to say needs to be said to her face.
I phone Samuel. He answers right away, and I leap straight in with my most pressing question. “Do you know when Zara’s coming back? The FBI agent who flew with Peony told me Zara wasn’t with her.”
“No one told you?”
Anxiety grabs my stomach in a vise and twists. “Told me what?”
“She’s in the hospital in New Orleans. Her spondyloarthritis symptoms have worsened, and she wasn’t in any condition to fly yet.”
Christ. Between the kidnapping and witnessing Emily being murdered, I can’t imagine how bad the symptoms got. Or how she would have been there for my daughter, even though Zara’s body felt like it was a nuclear plant on meltdown. “When is she coming home?”
“Not for a few days. Maybe a week. My parents are making arrangements to fly out. And I’ll be joining them.”
I’m relieved Zara won’t be alone, but at the same time, I want to be the one with her. The one sitting by her side. Holding her hand.
After we end the call, I open my inbox on my laptop. Because Peony was kidnapped, my publisher and the movie production company extended the deadline, which had originally been a week today. I send them an update on the situation and let them know I am on track with making the deadline—give or take another week or two. I CC my agent.
For now, that weight has been knocked off my shoulders.
