Page 113 of Save Her from Me

What if that had been the last time?

“Come on, nothing’s going to happen for hours. Let’s get some breakfast into you,” Daisy said, curling an arm through mine.

She led me to the hangar’s busy rec room, pressing a cup of tea into my hands while she buttered toast.

But fear had curdled my stomach, and I couldn’t eat a thing.

A couple of hours passed with the only updates expected ones.

Isobel had left the car at the cabin and skied safely to meet her husband.

The bodyguard crew were in position and waiting.

There was nothing, literally nothing, for me to do but sit and stare at my phone.

It buzzed, and I leapt to answer it.

But it was only my brother.

Raphael: I had a cryptic message from Willow last night. She sounded fake-worried about you and mentioned our mother. Any clue what that was about?

I’d forgotten all about that plan.

I sighted Lochinvar lurking outside the door of the rec room. At my gesture, he came in.

“Can I use your ops centre to make a phone call?” I asked.

It was too noisy here.

The man scratched his thick black beard, then nodded. “There’s a line of enquiry I need to follow up, but if ye stay in there, I’ll take the bodyguard office.”

“A line of enquiry?”

His frown deepened, and his gaze leapt to Daisy. “When the two of ye lasses were terrorised out of the cottage, we had the whole crew out on the hunt. This morning, one of the new members let slip that they’d seen a woman walking a wee dog. They hadn’t thought to mention it, because obviously she wasn’t the person stealing through your house. But I’m pissed off that any assumption was made at all, and also, it’s an avenue we didn’t explore.” He gestured to the room. “Go ahead and do your task while I do mine.”

He left us alone, stomping into the room opposite.

With Daisy at my side, I settled at the big table in the ops centre, the door closed.

Before I could chicken out, I sent a quick text identifying myself then dialled the number my stepmother had given me.

It rang. I set it to loudspeaker, my chest tight.

Daisy turned her big eyes on me.

“My mother,” I whispered.

The woman who’d walked out on me. Left me to a father who saw me as nothing more than baggage at best or merchandise at worst.

Daisy took my hand in hers, the solid support I relied on.

The longer the phone rang, the more my anxiety rose.

The line clicked. I jerked forward.

But it was the call timing out, no answerphone.

Deflated, I sank back in the seat.

---