Chapter 55
CHAPTER 55
ELIJAH
T he phone rings next to the bed, and I roll over with a groan.
Pen and I sealed our love all over the apartment last night, finally falling into bed in the early hours.
“Elijah,” I say, answering.
“Where the fuck is my daughter, you bastard?” Darra screams down the phone.
I sit up, running a hand down my face, forcing my eyes to open.
When I finally do, I realise it’s midday.
“Has her plane been delayed?”
Pen rolls over next to me and opens her eyes. She’s now awake. She shoots me a questioning glance and I shrug.
“I’m not a fucking imbecile, Elijah. The plane landed. Lottie and her friend were no-where to be seen.”
My temperature drops and an uncontrollable shudder sweeps through my body.
“What do you mean, they weren’t on the plane? That’s not possible. She stayed at Dani’s house last night. Her dad was dropping them at the airport.”
What the hell? Has there been an accident? Fuck!
I pull my phone away from my ear to see if there are any missed messages.
Nothing.
I run a hand through my hair. Pen sits up next to me. Her face shows the same concern raging through my body. She can hear Darra without her being on speaker.
Pen picks up her phone and shows me as she dials Lottie’s number.
It goes straight to voicemail.
When she tries again, the same thing happens.
Pen jumps out of bed, grabbing the dressing gown I bought her when she first stayed over, wrapping it around herself. There’s no time to appreciate the beauty of her naked body this morning.
She grabs my laptop and logs in, pulling up the location software I placed on everyone’s phone years ago.
Lottie’s phone last pinged at the airport five hours ago. Then it goes dead.
Fuck, did someone kidnap her?
I squeeze my eyes shut, my breath coming in quick, shallow bursts.
Pen looks up, coming towards me. She takes my phone and puts it on mute, placing it on the bed next to us. Pen’s hand lands on my arm and she squeezes, trying to offer me comfort, but for the first time, I want to shake it off. This is my daughter, and she’s missing.
Instead, Pen ignores me, taking my face in her hands as she forces my gaze to hers.
“You need to breathe,” she says. “We’re going to find her, but you need to focus. Think Elijah. You’re Lottie’s best chance.”
Her words snap me out of my haze. I draw in several shuddering breaths, listening to Pen’s voice as she talks me through some controlled breathing.
She’s right, panic won’t help Lottie. I need to use logic, reasoning.
“Elijah, you bastard.” Darra’s voice comes over the line again. “Are you still there?”
“When was the last time you spoke to Lottie?” I ask, putting the phone on speaker so Pen can hear what is being said while she’s busy tapping away on my computer.
“Her tracker’s been disabled,” Pen whispers, her wide eyes meeting mine.
“Disabled? Impossible. They give off a signal even when the phone is switched off.”
Pen spins her laptop around so I can see DISABLED in bold letters, next to Lottie’s tracker number.
Fuck!
Darra, unaware I’m talking to Pen, hisses down the phone.
“No shit Sherlock. I thought you were the security expert. Even I could tell you that.”
“Don’t be such a bitch, Darra. You think I’m not concerned? I’m trying to work out what’s going on.”
“I’m boarding a plane and will be at Heathrow in two and a half hours. You better have Mason or someone there to pick me up.”
Before I can say anything, she hangs up.
I throw back the covers and get up.
Pen remains quiet. All I hear is her fingers tapping on the keys.
I head into the bathroom and splash water on my face. I avoid looking in the mirror, not sure I want to see the person staring back at me.
Why the hell did I listen to Lottie? I should have taken her to the airport, seen her on the plane myself.
Lottie assured me Dani’s dad was going to do it. That she’s fifteen, I need to let her be a grownup. After the company espionage, I should have realised Lottie could be a target. What if whoever was in charge of the operation to sabotage my company has come back for revenge? It’s not like we ever caught them. Peter Levon is still refusing to give up the person who hired him.
Fuck, I should have had a security detail added to her.
Dani.
She was supposed to go to Italy with Lottie. Darra just said neither girl arrived.
I grab a towel and head back into the bedroom, scooping up my phone and searching for Dani’s father’s number. The girls have been friends for years. I’ve even played golf with her dad.
“Elijah,” he says, answering within a couple of rings, music playing in the background.
“Sorry to bother you, Huw, but is Lottie with you?” I say, choking down the rising panic that’s threatening.
“No,” he says, chuckling. “We’re in Mexico. A family holiday.”
What, Mexico? Did I misunderstand Lottie?
My stomach sinks. “Dani is with you?”
“Yes,” his voice sounds confused. “Elijah, is everything all right? Is Lottie okay?”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know. Lottie is missing.” I exhale loudly, my voice catching as I say the words aloud. “She said she was with you, and now?—”
“She’s what?” I can almost picture the man sitting upright. “What do you mean? When? How?”
“She was due to go to Italy for her birthday. She told me Dani was going with her, that she was staying with you last night, that you were taking them to the airport.”
“Hold on,” he says. His voice gets quieter. “Dani. Can you come here?”
I hear him talk to his daughter.
“Dani, if you know something. This is important.”
I hold my breath, hoping she can shed some light. If Lottie’s confided in anyone, it’ll be her. My muscles twitch and my heart pounds drowning out everything else.
What is going on? Surely Lottie knew Dani was going to Mexico with her parents.
My heart beats rapidly in my chest as I struggle to draw air into my lungs.
Pen appears behind me, her hands running up and down my back, soothing.
“Breathe,” she says quietly. “We’ll find her.”
I turn my head and stare at the woman offering me her support.
How can she know?
I can hear Huw talking to his daughter, but struggle to make out Dani’s words.
“Elijah?” Huw’s voice comes back over the phone.
“Here,” I say.
“Dani said something about Lottie looking for her birth father. I’m sorry, man, I thought you were Lottie’s dad. I don’t know whether that helps or sheds any more light on the situation.”
I swallow hard, bile burning the back of my throat.
“Thanks Huw. If you can keep that information quiet. I’ll explain everything when you get back. Does Dani know any more?”
The line goes quiet again, and I can hear Huw and Dani talking in the background.
“Sorry Elijah, apparently, we left before the DNA test results came back.”
DNA tests? What the hell are you up to, Lottie?
I turn to Pen, who’s gone as white as a sheet next to me.
“Thank you,” I say. “Can I call again if I need to speak to Dani?”
“Of course. Good luck. If I find out any more, I’ll call. Let me know when you find her.”
I turn to Pen, who’s dropped onto the side of the bed, her head in her hands.
“What do you know?” I say, my voice cold, my chest pounding, hoping she’s going to say nothing, but I know she isn’t.
Pen looks up, her eyes pained.
“Lottie came to me a few weeks ago and asked me if I knew who her biological father was.”
I suck in a breath, a vice like grip taking hold of my chest.
“And you didn’t think to tell me? What the hell, Pen? You didn’t think I should know my daughter was questioning who her biological father is?”
Pen sits up, her face a mask. “Don’t turn this around on me. She spoke to me, we talked. I told her she needed to speak to you or Darra.”
“But you just had to be the cool godmother and keep her confidence.”
“That’s not fair, and you know it. She tried talking to Darra over the summer and she shut her down. If you want to blame anyone, blame the woman you married.”
She gets up and slams into the bathroom, the door banging loudly behind her.
She opens the door again and looks out.
“I’ve called the police. They’ll be arriving shortly. I wasn’t taking any chances.”
Then she closes the door once more.
I drop onto the bed, my elbows resting on my legs as I try to get enough oxygen into my lungs. I look at the closed door, unable to speak past the lump in my throat. Running my hands through my hair, I tug hard at the roots.
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Bloody Darra.
I’m so stupid. I should have expected this!
Pen slams back out of the bathroom five minutes later, showered and changed.
“Before you point the finger, I told Lottie she needed to speak to her mother again, or to you. She told me she didn’t want to upset you. That you might think you weren’t enough. She’s a young woman, of course she’s going to have questions. Maybe I should have said something. I now wish I had, but hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Pen says, her arms folded over her chest, but I can hear the desperation and panic in her voice.
“Why did she come to you?”
My heart sinks as I read her expression.
“As I said, she asked Darra over the summer and she wouldn’t answer her. Told her you were her dad now and she should forget about it. Lottie also knows I had an absent father. She asked if I’d ever been tempted to meet him,” she says, dropping herself onto the bed next to me.
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her the truth. I met him and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. That just because you carry someone’s DNA doesn’t mean they’re someone you want in your life.”
I turn to face Pen.
“You met your dad? I didn’t know,” I say slowly.
We talked about it at uni. Pen was always blasé about her dad, but I felt there was more to it. Had to be.
She shrugs, and I suddenly feel the chasm the years between us has formed.
“Why would you? Even Mum doesn’t know.” She pauses. “Look, I was hoping Lottie was going to do the grown-up thing and speak to you.”
“She’s fifteen,” I say.
“Exactly. She’s fifteen. She’d be classed as a woman in some cultures. She’s not a little girl anymore.”
“From the woman with so much experience in raising children.”
I know I’ve said too much by the look on her face. Taking out my frustration on Pen is not something I should do, but Lottie’s my daughter. Not Pen’s. She should have told me!
Pen looks at me, her voice quiet, monotone.
“I may not be a mother, no. I haven’t been that blessed. But I was once a fifteen-year-old girl, one who didn’t have a conventional upbringing, spent a lot of the time on the outside looking in. Lottie may have had a mother and a father, but her life has been far from conventional, and what she found out… before you sling mud and your frustration in my direction, maybe you need to take a good hard look in the mirror. Both you and Darra.”
“Pen—”
“Don’t. I’m going to make us both something to eat before the police arrive.”
She walks to the bedroom door without looking back.
Fuck!
But I can’t worry about Pen’s hurt feelings. I have to think about my daughter, about finding Lottie.
I pick up my phone and begin calling around.
Everyone agrees to meet at my apartment within the hour.
I get dressed.