Page 116 of Better Together

Colt and Ben raced toward the warehouse, and Remi rolled her eyes. What was the protocol when she needed to chastise her kidandhusband for running in a store?

Abby held onto Remi’s hand as they turned down the aisle with hoses and attachments. There were six options at the end of the row, and Remi scanned the tags and information on each. She narrowed it down to two, holding one in each hand and comparing.

“Abby, white or gray?” The color seemed to be the only difference between the two.

When Abby didn’t answer, Remi looked up. “Abby?” The aisle was empty.

“Abby!” She knew better than to get out of Remi’s sight. Shoving the spout covers back onto the shelf, Remi rounded the end of the shelving and looked up the next aisle. “Abby!”

Remi’s breaths came in shallow draws as she checked the aisle on the other side. “Abby!” The call had turned into a full-on yell as she ran along the end of the aisles. No sign of Abby, and her heart rate grew with each empty aisle.

Running out of the garden section toward the front of the store, Remi kept shouting for Abby. She scanned the store, looking left and right fast enough to check the aisles on both sides.

“Ben!”

Colt’s shout drew her attention, and she ran toward his voice. She met him at the entrance to the warehouse, and the look on his face told her all she needed to know.

“Have you seen Ben?”

She sucked in a breath that did nothing to ease the panic building inside her. “Have you seen Abby?”

All color drained out of Colt’s face. “Abby too?”

“She was right beside me. I let go of her hand to… What do we do?”

“Colt!”

They both turned at Colt’s name. Grady jogged toward them holding Abby against his chest and over his shoulder. The older man wasn’t used to any physical exertion, and his face was turning red.

“Abby!” Remi ran to meet him. She pushed Abby’s dark hair from her face. She clung to Grady as tears streamed down her face. As soon as she spotted Remi, she reached out her arms. Remi hugged the little girl to her, clinging tight. “What happened?”

“A woman was carrying her toward the door,” Grady said. “I saw that it was Abby, and I confronted her. She dropped Abby and ran. I caught her just before she hit the ground.”

Tasha. It had to be Tasha. If Remi ever got her hands on that woman…

“The woman. Did anyone catch her?” Colt asked quickly.

“No. Cathy ran after her, but she got away.”

“Did she have Ben too?” Remi asked, praying the answer was the one she wanted–needed–to hear.

Grady’s eyes widened. “No. Is he here too?”

Colt grabbed Remi’s shoulder. “I’ll check the warehouse exit. You check the other door.” He pointed toward the exit on the far side of the garden section.

“I’ll keep Abby,” Grady said, reaching out his arms.

The last thing she wanted to do was let go of Abby, but Ben needed her more. “Stay with Mister Grady, sweetie. I’ll be back soon.”

Abby transferred her intense grip back to Grady, who wrapped his plump arms around her. He tipped his chin toward the exit. “Go.”

Remi ran her fingers over Abby’s hair. “I’ll be back.” She turned and ran for the exit before she had time to debate. Ben needed her, and the thought of losing him was like a giant claw digging out her chest.

Tasha. Remi was going to burn the world to the ground to get to that evil woman. Nothing would stop her from destroying Tasha if she hurt one of the kids. She was a full-on lunatic. There was no telling what she would do if given the chance.

Remi pulled out her phone as she ran and quickly dialed 911. A feminine voice greeted her.

“What is your emergency?”

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