Page 298 of Second Sets Omnibus
“Probably. Ly was eager for her cake.” Shit. We fucked inside a fun house while a whole ass party happened outside these walls. I guess that’s the perk of having four guys in my life. They pick up the slack with the kiddo while I get boned within an inch of my life.
Well, when I put it that way…
I’m a terrible fucking mother. Guilt slams into me. This was supposed to be a quick, fun family adventure. And I let myself get caught up…
“You’re doing something funny with your face, Pretty Girl. The one you do when you’re feeling guilty about something,” Rad says, bending down to grab my jeans from the floor. When he looks up, his entire face softens. “You’re thinking something, aren’t you?”
I wrinkle my nose, stepping into my jeans. “I…guess I feel guilty sometimes when I leave her to—” Do things like this. Drink wine with the girls. Go out with Rocco and leave her with Maggie. If it weren’t for my brother’s insistence I have a social life, I’d be a hermit.
“Pretty Girl,” he murmurs, buttoning my jeans and straightening my bra and shirt. “You’re an amazing mother. Even if you snuck off to have a one-on-one session with yourboyfriend. She’s probably having the time of her life. Cal has got her. We’ve got her. Ly will never wonder if she was loved and cared for. Sometimes moms have to take care of themselves. Or, let their boyfriend take care of them.” He winks at me, kissing me one last time. “Now, let’s put poor Kieran out of his misery.”
I grin, grabbing his hand as he pulls open the door to the mirrored room. Kieran stands beside it with a frown, shaking his head.
“Walls are thin,” he grumbles, adjusting himself. “And Liv is looking for you.”
“Okay. Let’s go cut some cake,” I say, leading them out of the fun house.
“Oh, thank fucking God!” Olivia shouts with tears in her eyes, throwing her arms in the air.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, searching her concerned face.
She pales. “We can’t find Lyric.”
“What?”I breathe, looking around the park, frantically trying to spot Lyric in the people milling around with their kids. “What the hell does that mean?”
Panic doesn’t even begin to describe the feelings bubbling to the surface. My fingers tremble, unable to stay still. Possibility after possibility runs through my mind. All ending in the worst-case scenario.
“Deep breaths. We think Lyric just went to play some hide and seek,” Olivia says, putting her hands up.
“Whoa. Wait. She was with Cal,” Rad says, pulling me into his side and rubbing a hand up and down my upper arm in support. “Don’t freak out yet, Pretty Girl. Kids do this all the time.”
Freak out? I’m beyond freaking out. My breaths come in short pants. Adrenaline pours through my damn veins until I’m a trembling mess. My daughter is missing, and everyone thinks it’s normal. It’s not. This party is about her. Making her the center of attention. Something she can’t pass up. If Olivia isfrantic and pale-faced, then something is truly wrong. You can’t convince me otherwise.
“Look at me, Riv. We’re at a huge amusement park. She probably wandered off with one of the other kids, and they were playing. Cal turned his back for five seconds to grab a drink for them, and when he turned around, she had taken off. We’ll find her.” Olivia gives me that Veritas look she loves to give me when she knows she’s right. Or wants to prove a damn point. She’s awful fucking bossy sometimes.
“I’m so sorry, Little Star,” Callum says with tears, looking on the verge of a freakout. “I didn’t… I would never…” His gaze falls to the ground. Hiccups fall from his lips as he tries to take deep breaths.
“It’s okay. She’s probably trying to find her favorite ice cream,” I say, squeezing his hand with reassurance. “You didn’t do anything wrong. She could have done this with anyone. Even me. She’s five. They’re slippery at this age.” I try to give him my best reassuring smile so he doesn’t continue to beat himself up. But it doesn’t work. His face falls, and tears slip down his cheeks.
Olivia claps a hand on his shoulder, taking control of the situation before we all start slipping into hysterics.
Ly is probably having fun somewhere with one of her cousins. That’s it. She hasn’t been kidnapped or abducted by aliens. There’s a perfectly rational explanation for this.
“Believe me, that child wanders when she wants to. Something probably caught her eye. Maybe a balloon or a unicorn. We’ll all split up and look for her,” Olivia demands, looking each of us in the eye. “Calmly and collectively. The partygoers are helping, too. There’s no need to freak out yet, okay? Last we saw her, she had come out of the fun house with Cal. They went to the hut, fifty feet away, to grab a drink. No one saw her slip away when Cal put in the order. Remember, she’s wearing her unicorn dress. Riv, you’ve got a picture?” WhenI nod, she nods back. “Good, send it to all of us. We’ll start canvassing the area and trying to find her. Since it’s just us in the park, maybe call her name or call out her outfit.”
My heart races in my chest when I bring the photo up on my phone and send it to everyone I can think of at the party. Someone will see her. Or find her. They have to. She can’t be too far away. It’s her damn birthday party.
Right?
“You two, start over there,” she says, pointing to me and Asher, who stands rigidly beside Callum with worry in his eyes. “And you two over there, you two over there. Okay? You all have your phones?” Everyone nods in silence as the situation sits heavy on our shoulders. “Good. Please message me. I put my number in each of your phones when I had them on your trip to Central City. And I’ll meet you wherever. I will check over by the entrance and canvas, making sure she didn’t make a break for it.”
My eyes follow her finger, pointing to the right where the unicorn carousel stands still, and the tall roller coasters stand beyond that.
“Okay,” I breathe, sucking in air, trying to clear my muddled brain.
“We’ll find her, Little Brat. It’ll be okay,” Asher whispers in my ear, gently taking my hand in his.
Together we walk as a unit, splitting off from the rest of the group as Olivia directs them to different areas to search.
