Page 51 of Caleb

"No, she's not any of those things." The guy is getting frustrated. "I'm just trying to find her."

"That's odd."

"Let me have a closer look," Mrs. Murphy says, taking hold of his phone. "Oh, she's pretty."

"Well, I'd better be on my way," the guy says, reaching for his phone, but Mrs. Murphy ignores him and holds the phone close to her face.

"Oh, I have seen her," she says.

I have to do something. I have to stop her. I glance toward the hallway where Boone has gone. It's nearly time for us to leave but I can't until I hear what Mrs. Murphy says.

"Really?" Now the guy is very interested.

"Yes, I saw her yesterday. Or was it the day before?" She pauses to think.

Janice looks over Mrs. Murphy’s shoulder at the photos. "Oh, yes, I remember her. Didn't she say she was on her way to Mexico?"

Mrs. Murphy furrows her brows. "No, I thought for sure she said she was going to Canada. But maybe it was Mexico."

"But she was here, right?" the guy asks.

Nicco and I exchange a glance, I toss some cash on the table to cover the bill and the tip and then stroll past Mrs. Murphy and her cronies and out to the parking lot. I should have known better than to doubt them. If I wasn't so worried about Alex, I might even laugh over it.

I glance through the window of the diner and see that Mrs. Murphy has a firm hold on his phone and has no intentions of giving it up. And of course he won’t go anywhere without the device.

Nicco and I walk as fast as we can without looking like we're hurrying and get to where our vehicles are parked. Boone's there and she's got a look on her face that I don't see often. Fear.

"She’s gone."

* * *

ALEX

My heart's pounding like crazy and thundering in my ears. I ran out the rear of the restaurant and planned to hide in Caleb's truck, but it was locked so I crawled into the back. I was going to just hide in the restroom for a few minutes to get myself together, but then I spied that man showing my photo around and I panicked.

"Psst," I hiss over the edge of the tailgate. "Over here." I wave my hand a small amount and then duck down.

Seconds later, Caleb's face peers over the side of the truck and a relieved smile spreads over his mouth. "Hey," he says, his voice so tender and sweet, "there you are. I was worried to death about you."

Just seeing his face and hearing his voice fills me with calm and my pulse slows a small amount. .

Nicco and Boone both look over the edge of the truck at me. "There she is," Boone says.

"I can see that," Nicco replies.

Man, the sparks are flying between those two. If I wasn't scared out of my wits, I might enjoy it.

"Let's get out of here," Caleb says, reaching his hand down to help me up, but I recoil.

"No, I don't want anyone to see me. In fact, you guys need to turn around. People are probably wondering what you're doing staring into the back of the truck."

"You can't ride back there," Caleb says. "Come on, sweetheart. I'll keep you safe."

"Me too," Nicco adds.

"I'm sure Caleb can handle it," Boone says to Nicco. "You don't have to be the boss all the time."

Nicco sighs and glares at her, but doesn't say anything.

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