Page 104 of The Maxwell Brothers
She didn't answer. Then I remembered that she had a tracking app on her phone. I could use it to locate her.
Adrenaline spiked in my veins as I opened the app connected to her phone. It said she didn’t have a signal.
Damn it.
Where could she be?
I couldn't think straight. But I immediately knew I needed reinforcements. I called Declan.
"Hey, brother," I said. "Listen, I need your help."
"What's wrong?" he asked in an alarmed tone.
"I’m at Paisley's school, and she ran off."
"What? Why?"
"Long story. I'll tell you later. I need help looking for her."
"I'm on it. I'll leave the office right now. I'll take Tyler too. He’s here. And I'll call everyone else, okay?"
"Thanks." I was eternally grateful to my brother, because I didn't even have enough brainpower to think about calling the rest. But I did call Lexi's number. I needed her here with me.
She answered after the second ring. I looked up and down the street as I spoke, not wanting to lose any opportunity to spot Paisley.
"Hey," she said in a soft voice. "I just left school. Where are you?"
"At Paisley's school. She ran off."
"Oh my God. Ran off? Are you sure? That’s not like her."
"Well, I don't know. I can't find her," I snapped. "Sorry. I didn't mean… It's not your fault." I was pacing the street, feeling like I’d lost my wits completely. I couldn’t think straight. "The family's coming, and they're going to help me search for her. Can you come too?"
"Absolutely. I'm on my way."
The tension between my shoulder blades lessened a bit. Knowing Lexi was going to be here calmed me down.
"Thank you, Lexi. Thanks."
Pocketing the phone, I looked up and down the street again. There was nothing else to do except scour every street around the school.
A sheen of sweat dotted my whole body.Where is my little girl?
I walked up the street and then took a sharp right on the street at the back of the school. I was going to walk along the perimeter once. I stopped at a bakery and a butcher shop, but no one had seen Paisley.Where is she?I tried calling her phone again, walking street after street. Finally, I returned to the school, in the small hope that someone had seen her or that maybe she’d returned. Why wasn't she answering the phone?
As I approached the front gates, I noticed my family: Mom and Dad, Tyler, Declan, and Luke.
Mom was on the phone talking to my grandmother. “Beatrice, I’ll call you as soon as we have news, okay?”
Lexi was here too. She came straight to me, putting her arms around my neck. I kept her soft body against me, drinking in that peace she offered, even though it lasted only a few seconds.
"We'll find her," she promised.
I nodded but didn't say anything. I was drowning in worry.
"Tate, where did you look?" Declan asked. "Point it out on the map."
"I checked the streets surrounding the school in a square and these two adjacent ones."
