Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
NOAH BARRETT
“W hat?” Kiki and I say at the same time. My blood freezes and I can’t think straight.
Kiki runs to Tobias and clutches his arm. “What do you mean, you can’t find her?”
Tobias shakes his head. “She was playing right there.” He points to a patch of grass by the fort Tobias built for Skyler. A tipped over sand pail sits there, rocks spilling out of it on the grass, as if she were playing with it and vanished into thin air.
Kiki’s eyes grow wild. “Did she go near the water?”
Tobias shakes his head. “I’ve taught her so many times not to go near the water when I’m not around. She would never do that.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” I say, trying to keep Kiki and Tobias calm. “Let’s split up and search for her.”
Everyone agrees, and we all spread out in different directions. I go around the side of the house, looking in the bushes and other places a five-year-old might think is a great place to hide. “Skyler?” I call. “Time to eat.”
I hear Tobias and Kiki calling out to her as I walk and examine the area. I keep going until I meet up with Tobias in front of the house. “No sign of her?”
He shakes his head, all the color gone from his face. “No.” He swipes a hand down his face. “What am I going to do?”
“Don’t panic. We’ll find her. Take in a deep breath, you look like you’re going to faint.”
Levi comes out of the front door. “Is Skyler missing?”
“We’re looking for her,” I call. “Can you go keep the food warm?”
Levi nods and disappears back into the house. Tobias rakes his hand through his hair. “I have to find her.” He looks wildly around the street. “Skyler!” When no answer comes, he turns to me. “Should I get in the car and scan the area? What if someone took her? It doesn’t take that long to get off the island.”
“Let’s not overreact. I’ll call it in and put the station on alert.” My hands shake as I pull my radio off my shoulder and talk to dispatch.
Kiki comes running up to us. “She’s not along the beach. Are you sure she wouldn’t go into the water?”
Tobias scans the horizon, his gaze darting in all directions. “I’m not sure anymore.”
“Come on. Let’s go down and check it out.” I start walking toward the water.
Kiki and Tobias follow after me, their desperation palpable. As we approach the beach, I notice a large sun umbrella down the beach, behind the neighbor’s house. It stands out, as I’ve never seen one like that before. It’s also lying on its side, not shielding the sun. As I stare at it, Skyler comes out from behind it and runs toward us.
“There she is,” I say, pointing, as relief pours over me like cold water.
Kiki takes off running toward her. She scoops her up into her arms, hugging her tight as Tobias and I join them. “You scared me,” Kiki says. “Why did you run off?”
“I met my mom,” Skyler says, excitement in her voice.
Tobias’s eyes grow wide, and I look at the large umbrella. Courtney stands beside it. She’s wearing a pink and white dress, a yellow sun hat on her head. She collapses the umbrella, turns, swings the umbrella up on her shoulder and walks away.
I grab my radio and call into dispatch, letting them know Skyler was found. Tobias is visibly shaking with rage.
“What did she say to you, sweetheart?” He’s doing his best to control his voice, but I hear the anger and fear lacing his words.
“She said she’s going to come back so we can be a family again. Isn’t that great, Daddy?” Skyler’s smile stretches across her face.
Tears run down Kiki’s face, but she doesn’t say anything. She just hugs Skyler close to her.
“Honey, that woman isn’t your mom,” Tobias says, his voice controlled. “She’s dangerous, and I want you to stay away from her, okay?”
Skyler’s face falls. “Why?”
“You’d better do what your father wants, honey,” Kiki coos. “We want to keep you safe.”
Skyler looks between all of us, her gaze landing on me. “She’s a bad woman?”
“Yeah,” I say, patting her head. “She is.”
“But she’s so pretty.” Skyler’s face holds confusion.
“Even pretty people can be bad,” I say.
“Can you catch her, Uncle Noah? You catch all the bad people, right?”
“Can we get a restraining order now?” Tobias tacks on. “I mean, look what she did!” He points down the beach to where Courtney disappeared.
I scrub my hand over my jaw, fearful that there’s not enough evidence that Courtney is a danger to Skyler to get a restraining order. “I can try, but I’m not sure the judge will issue one. She didn’t actually take her. Again, all she did was trespass. She didn’t harm her.”
Tobias curses and turns toward the house. He stalks off, while Kiki sets Skyler down and takes her hand. “Let’s go eat some yummy steak, okay?”
“Okay,” Skyler says, as chipper as usual.
She has no idea that anything dangerous just happened, which is both good and terrifying. I follow behind my niece, a painful dagger stabbing at my heart. I told Tobias I would keep her safe. I was right here, at the house. Courtney could have taken her, and it would have been my fault.
That same sick feeling that I had when my parents died snakes through my body. If something had happened to Sky, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive myself. I’m a cop. I’ve sworn to serve and protect.
I need to do anything and everything I can to make sure Skyler is safe, no matter what.