Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
The airport was packed. We were surrounded by frazzled travelers, irritated businessmen, and exhausted families, all in a hurry, some rather lost. We stood in the center of the open terminal, watching as the room began to fill.
Outside, the police were waiting. At the first sign of Ben, Kat, or Gray, they were going to jump out of their unmarked cars and stop them.
We were the last line of defense. The ones going to stop them if they somehow made it past the police outside.
To my far right, another plainclothes officer stood, just in case things got out of hand, but Officer Kessler assured me she didn’t think that would be the case.
I wasn’t sure if she was lying or if she just wanted to keep me calm.
Truth be told, they didn’t want us there in the first place.
They wanted to handle it. But they would’ve had to arrest me to keep me away.
They knew who they were looking for based on pictures, but I knew them.
I knew the tiny idiosyncrasies of Ben’s face and the way he moved.
I knew the way Gray smelled. I knew the evil in Kat’s eyes.
I knew them better than any of the officers, and if there was any chance they were going to sneak past and get on the plane, I couldn’t let that happen.
If I lost Gray again today, I was sure I wouldn’t survive it.
I spun around in circles, my eyes searching and watching the doors, the windows, traveling up to the high ceiling then back down. He had to be there.
Every time someone with strawberry-blonde hair entered, my stomach lurched, only to be let down. The flight was boarding now, the first call for it, and still I hadn’t seen them. A few people had come in carrying babies, but Gray wasn’t one of them.
I looked at Dannika across the crowded room, her expression painfully hopeful. I knew she saw the weight in my eyes. She knew what this meant. She knew I might not survive not finding him. She was holding me up by a thread, though she looked to be barely holding on herself.
The officer in the corner looked serious.
His eyes scanned the crowd with intense precision.
He checked every face, examined every piece of luggage.
He was doing his job, emotionless, and I knew it was what was needed.
I couldn’t keep myself in check; it was what they’d said when they warned me to stay away.
I’d sworn I could. I’d argued. Fought. And as long as I felt filled with such intense, palpable hope, I’d been able to do it.
Now, though, as time was winding down, the air was deflating from my chest, and we still hadn’t found them.
I found myself beginning to lose it again.
Every second that passed, I felt an ounce of hope dissipating.
I’d been so close to him, I could practically feel him in my arms again, but I’d been wrong.
I could tell it by the look on the officer’s face.
By the look on Dani’s. By the sinking feeling in my gut.
When the final boarding call came and I spied Kessler walking inside, I knew. The lump in my throat was so big, I couldn’t swallow. My chest was tight as I watched her approach me, an apology in her eyes.
She shook her head slightly as she grew nearer. “I’m sorry, Palmer.”
“No,” I argued. “He has to be here. He has to. Someone booked the flight with Ben’s card… Why would they do that?”
She hesitated, watching as the officer from the far side of the room grew closer. “We don’t know. It’s…well, it’s possible it was a diversion.”
“You think they wanted me to see the charge?”
She nodded stiffly. “I think it’s likely.”
“But why? Why would they do that?”
“Wanting to distract us would be the most obvious reason. But we can try to get a subpoena to get the airline to release the IP address where the purchase was made. If we can get that—”
“We don’t have that kind of time,” I cried. “What if they’re getting on a plane right now? What if they’re taking my son?”
“I know this is scary,” Kessler said. “I do. I promise you we’re doing everything in our power. We’re working on getting the flight manifest to see if they got on the plane, but it’s very unlikely they did. If they managed to, we’ll have officers waiting in LA to pick them up when they land.”
“So, what do we do now?”
“You go home. Let us do our jobs, Palmer. I appreciate all the help you’ve given, and it’s possible you’ve set us on the right track, but all the time we’re spending talking is time I can’t spend looking for your son.
Okay? It’s hard enough because he was believed to be on the boat with your husband, and right now I’m having a hard time convincing anyone he wasn’t.
I’m trusting your gut as a mother, but there’s little else I can do if you don’t, at some point, let me do my job. ”
I nodded, fighting back tears of rage. I knew she was right, somewhere deep, deep down, but the truth was none of them cared about Gray as much as I did. None of them were as emotionally invested as I was. None of them were sure they would quit breathing if this case went cold.
“I’m sorry,” she said again, her tone softer. “I promise I’ll call you the second we have any news.”
“Thank y—” A sob interrupted my words, and I forced myself to walk away, away from the place where my hope died once again, away from the officer whose eyes said she believed this was a lost cause.
All around me, people bustled, in a hurry to start their vacation or make it to a wedding. Their next chapters were starting, but I had the strangest sensation my last chapter was ending.