I share a worried glance with Noah. We have a possible location as to where Zara and Peonymighthave been taken…but just how hard will it be to find them in the city?
Assuming that’s where the kidnappers were headed.
Assuming Zara’s and Peony’s disappearance is linked to Athena’s past life.
56
ZARA
I stand in the ultra-tacky,straight-out-of-Criminal-Mindsmotel room and rock Peony in my arms. She fell asleep a few minutes ago, clearly worn out from her endless tears. I don’t dare put her down on the bed, afraid if I do, someone will pop out of nowhere and snatch her away.
We’re alone in the room, but that doesn’t ease the quivering fear in my belly.
“It’s gonna be okay,” I murmur against Peony’s temple, hot tears clogging my throat. “We’ll be okay.”
My body is captured in its own hell, every joint feeling like someone’s taken a sledgehammer to it. My feet are sore. The small cuts from walking outside barefoot are a constant reminder that I’m without shoes. And my brain…my brain is foggy, my thoughts rolling in slow and distorted.
There’s no phone I can use to call the local police or my family. That much I can figure out through the fog.
I don’t know where we are, other than somewhere in Colorado or Kansas or Oklahoma. The two men who abducted us took turns driving, after they pushed my car into a ravine.
We stopped a handful of times so they could grab food, get gas, or goto the washroom. Those were the times when I could change Peony’s diapers, the conditions to do that often less than ideal.
Each time we stopped, they popped baseball caps on Peony’s and my heads and big sunglasses on our faces. And I was reminded what the cost would be if Peony and I tried to escape or drew attention to ourselves.
Somehow, I kept her from having meltdowns at the worst possible times. But maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe a toddler having a meltdown would have caused people to look away, disgusted I couldn’t control my child. Disgusted I walked around without shoes.
We’d finally pulled into a motel thirty minutes ago, after we’d been driving for over twenty hours or twenty years. The early afternoon sun is hiding behind clouds, a thin strip of light peeking between the curtains.
My eyes are blurry and exhaustion is dulling my senses. I’m surprised I’m still standing upright. I sway on my feet, rocking Peony, gritting my teeth against the hammering pain in my shoulders. “It’s gonna be okay,” I whisper. “Auntie Zara will figure out a way to escape from these mean men.”
Memories of Emily lying unconscious on Garrett’s driveway destroy the dam holding back my tears. Someone must have heard the gunshot and called the police. Maybe someone spotted us. Maybe we’ll be rescued.
Maybe the police will link our disappearance to Athena.
What if she has no clue who these men are? Has no clue what they want? Doesn’t know where they’re taking us?
But she must know. That would explain why she prefers being a shadow, why she hasn’t attempted to get to know anyone in Maple Ridge.
She didn’t want to be noticed.
She didn’t want to be found.
I move closer to the window and peer between the curtains. The motel parking lot is empty, other than the cursed black SUV. No guests out there I can signal to for help. No one to call the cops. No sign of life other than the man who shot Emily.
Beyond that is a road and open fields of nothingness. No place to run to. No place to hide. Not a single vehicle drives past the run-down motel.We’re at least five miles from the gas station. Five miles from Burger Barn, where one of the men picked up food.
With each passing second, hope of being rescued is dragged into the pit of despair, weighed down by my sinking stomach.
Anger flickers and burns inside me, fueled by the helplessness that trembles through my veins. I move away from the window, the intense ache in my arms and shoulders causing them to shake. I’ll drop Peony if I don’t put her down soon.
But once I do that, I can look for paper and a pen and hide a note in the bed. Maybe whoever cleans the room will find the message and pass it on to the police.
I lower Peony onto the mattress. She whimpers, and her eyes flutter open.
I climb onto the bed, the mattress dipping under my weight, and lie next to her. I hold her close, giving her the illusion she’s safe. She doesn’t have Poppy for comfort. She left her panda on the floor while we were searching for Daisy and forgot about her until after it was too late to get her.
“Go back to sleep, Princess Peony,” I whisper. “I’ll protect you from the scary dragons.”
