Page 56 of Property of Max
“I didn’t let her walk away. Her father came and signed her out. She seemed happy to see him.”
“Then show me the cameras,” I demand, gripping the counter so hard my knuckles ache. “You’ve got security footage, right? Pull it up. Let me see who you let my daughter leave with.”
The receptionist pales and shakes her head. “I…I’m not authorized to release security footage without the principal’s or district's approval.”
“Are you kidding me?” My voice breaks, raw with rage and terror. “My child is missing, and you’re worried aboutpolicy?”
She opens her mouth, but I don’t hear a word. My hands are already shaking as I fumble for my phone. I hit Cody’s number, my last desperate hope.
He answers on the first ring. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Please, please tell me you have Bree with you,” I beg, my chest heaving. “Tell me she’s with you right now.”
There’s a pause. “What? No, Lila. I don’t. Why? What’s going on?”
The room spins. My knees nearly buckle, and I clutch the counter to keep from collapsing.
“Oh, God.”
“Lila?” Cody’s voice sharpens with alarm. “Talk to me. Where’s Bree?”
I can’t answer. I can’t breathe. All I can do is stumble back, out the doors, across the lot. My car door is still hanging open from when I left it.
I fall into the seat, slam it shut, and spin out of the parking lot. There’s only one place left to go.
The police station.
***Max***
“Do you ever plan to move back into the compound?” Spike asks as I work the wrench on his bike.
“Not sure,” I admit. “My new place is close to the park. Lila takes the kids there a lot.”
“She moving in with you?” he presses.
“Yep.” I grin without looking up. “She just doesn’t know it yet. I’m letting her get used to the idea that she’s mine. That they all are. Don’t want to push her.”
“Sometimes a little push is what we need,” Riley calls from her front porch.
“Maybe,” I grunt, wiping grease from my hands as I stand. “You’re good to go, Spike. She’ll need an oil change in about a week, but she’ll purr for you till then.”
“Thanks, brother,” Spike says, pulling his phone from his pocket as it starts to ring. He answers with a frown. “Yeah. Slow down, Cody… What? … When? … No, we’re on our way.”
The way he lowers the phone and looks in my direction makes my stomach sour in a way I’ve never felt before.
“What is it?” Riley asks.
“Bree’s missing,” he says. “Lila went to pick her up from school, but she was already signed out by her dad. Cody says Lila talked to him, and he swears it wasn’t him.”
“Where’s Lila now?” I demand, my keys already in hand.
“Police station,” Spike says. “Go. We’ll meet you there.”
***Lila***
The station smells like burnt coffee and old paper. My hands won’t stop shaking as I grip the counter, begging the officer behind the desk.
“My daughter is missing,” I say again, my voice cracking. “She was signed out of school, and it wasn’t her father. He swears he didn’t do it. Please, you have to help me.”
