24. Chapter Twenty-Three #2
"Sheriff?" I ask, though my stomach is already dropping with dread. "Has anyone said anything about…" I swallow hard. "Him."
Sheriff Cooper's expression hardens. "All I know is reports of the stranger asking questions around town today. Tall, well-dressed, driving a fancy sedan which has been located at the Fox Hollow Lodge, unmoved since this morning."
Beau throws an arm around me, his body radiating tension. "Has the hotel room been checked? Is the man inside?"
I notice how he stops short of saying his brother's name. Like it's a curse he refuses to utter. Then Sheriff Cooper meets Beau's question with a long, deliberate stare that sends ice through my veins.
"It's been checked. He's not inside," the Sheriff Cooper says reluctantly, eyes dropping to the floor.
My mind races to the worst possible conclusion—Riley has Maisie. My niece. My sunshine. In the hands of a man who broke me so thoroughly I had to rebuild myself from scratch.
I can hear the snow hitting the windows, the tick of Sienna's kitchen clock, the collective breath everyone seems to be holding. The temperature in the room seems to drop ten degrees as everyone's eyes shift between me and Beau.
I can practically feel the collective realization settling over the gathered crowd.
"Riley," I whisper.
"Son of a bitch," Beau growls, his hands clenching into fists. "If he's touched one hair on her head—"
"Now, let's not jump to conclusions," Sheriff Cooper interrupts diplomatically, but there's steel in his voice that suggests he's thinking the same thing we all are.
Through the window, I can see more rescue vehicle lights sweeping through the neighborhood, their beams cutting through the snow like searchlights hunting for our missing little girl.
The front door bangs open, letting in a swirl of snow and cold air along with Charlie from the tavern, stamping his boots and shaking flakes from his jacket.
"Any word?" he asks, scanning the room.
"Nothing yet," Betty reports, automatically handing him a mug of coffee. "But Jamie's teams are being very thorough."
"Good," Charlie nods grimly. "Because I don't like the idea of that city bastard anywhere near our kids."
The protective fury in his voice echoes around the room, and I realize that Maisie isn't just Sienna's daughter anymore.
She's Stone River Mountain's daughter.
And this town doesn't take kindly to threats against their own.
My phone buzzes with a text, and I glance down to see a message from Jamie: "Still searching. No sign yet. How are you holding up?"
I'm typing a response when Sienna's voice cuts through the room like a knife.
"Did anyone check the old mill?" she asks suddenly. "She's been fascinated by that place ever since David showed her the water wheel last month."
Sheriff Cooper nods, making a note. "I'll radio the teams."
The snow outside is getting heavier, and through the window I can see how the rescue lights are starting to diffuse into halos of illumination instead of sharp beams. Time is running out for an easy search.
That's when the back door slams shut, followed by the sound of little boots stomping off snow.
"Hey Mom," Maisie calls out cheerfully, appearing at the side of the kitchen with snow still clinging to her purple winter coat and matching boots.
Her cheeks are pink from the cold, and she's casually licking a rainbow-colored lollipop like she's just returned from a perfectly normal neighborhood adventure. She stops short when she sees the room full of adults all staring at her like she's risen from the dead.
"Um, Mom. What's everybody doing here?"
Just then, the front door bangs open and Frank Barrett stumbles in, snow coating his beard, looking frantic.
"I thought I saw… coming around the back—" He stops dead when he sees Maisie standing there. "Well, I'll be damned. There she is."
Sheriff Cooper immediately reaches for his radio. "All units, this is Sheriff Cooper. Missing child located. She's home safe. Stand down, I repeat, stand down the search."
Nobody moves. Nobody breathes. Even the snow outside seems to pause mid-fall.
Then Sienna is swarming her daughter, dropping to her knees to pull Maisie into a hug so fierce I'm surprised the kid can breathe.
"Oh my God, oh my God, where have you been?" Sienna's voice is muffled against Maisie's purple hood. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Looking for me?" Maisie sounds genuinely confused, her rainbow lollipop temporarily forgotten as she looks around the room full of concerned adults. "Why? I wasn't lost, Mommy."
"Honey, you disappeared," Sheriff Cooper says gently, kneeling down to Maisie's level. "Your mom couldn't find you anywhere."
"But I told the nice man I had to be home before dark," Maisie explains with the logic of a six-year-old who clearly doesn't understand why everyone's being so dramatic. "He said it was okay, that he just needed a little help."
Every adult in the room goes statue-still, like someone just announced the café ran out of Betty's cinnamon rolls.
"What nice man, sweetie?" Sienna asks, her voice carefully controlled even as her hands shake where they're gripping Maisie's shoulders.
"The one who wanted to surprise Aunt Molly!" Maisie announces brightly, looking around the room until her eyes land on me. "Hi, Aunt Molly! Did you like your surprise?"
Every eye in the room turns to me, and I feel like I'm about to throw up.
"What surprise, honey?" I manage to ask through the vile almost launching out of my mouth.
"Well, the nice man said he was your old friend from the city, and he wanted to congratulate you on your new job and your new life here in the mountains," Maisie explains with the breathless enthusiasm of a child sharing exciting news.
"He asked me to show him all your favorite places so he could get you the perfect flowers! "
No, no, no.
"So I showed him the café where you have breakfast, and the tavern where you go on dates with Beau, and the bookshop, and told him about the lookout but said we can't go up there, and—"
Maisie continues her innocent catalog of every detail of my routine, every place I feel safe, every location that's become precious to me in this new life.
It's my entire existence in Stone River Mountain, delivered to Riley with a six-year-old's helpful enthusiasm.
"Did he ask about anything else?" Beau's voice is deadly quiet, and when I glance at him, his face has gone stone cold.
"Oh yes!" Maisie nods enthusiastically. "He wanted to know what time Aunt Molly gets home from work, and where she lives now. I didn't know how to get there, but he seemed really excited to surprise her!"
The lollipop slips from Maisie's fingers, hitting the floor with a small noise that suddenly sounds too loud in the silence of the room.
"He gave me candy and said I was very helpful," she adds quietly, finally sensing the tension in the room. She looks up to Sienna, eyes dropping into a saddened expression that breaks my heart. "Did I do something wrong, Mom?"
Just as Sienna shakes her head and hugs Maisie, Beau has apparently seen enough. He growls at my side and turns, stalking toward the door with the kind of raging fury that makes everyone else in the room get the hell out of the way.
"Beau!" I call after him, but he's already through the door.
"Where are you going?" I demand, chasing after him, completely forgetting my coat.
He pauses in the drive, snow swirling around him, and when he looks back at me, his eyes are the color of winter storms.
"I'm going to kill him," he says with absolute calm. "I'm going to kill that mother fucker for what he's done."