Courage (Partners in Crime Book 2)

Chapter 13

Hunter tossed and turned all night. Something in his gut told him that things were out of place. Way out of place. Eventually, at four forty-five, he rolled out of bed. Getting dressed, he pulled on his shoes and made his way to his car. Grace was most likely awake anyways. This way, they could get a head start on everything.

When he arrived at her house, everything seemed eerily quiet. Not to mention the fact that Grace's alarm system was turned off. "Grace?" Nothing. "Grace, stop hiding. It's Hunter."

He searched through her rooms. Grace was gone. "Grace!" He pulled out his phone and called Damon.

"Hey, do you know how early it is?" Damon's groggy voice said it all. He had been sleeping.

"Grace is gone."

Bed covers rustled. "Say no more. I'm on my way. Call her siblings."

Click.

"Cole!"

Cole's voice came through the line, "Hunter, it's really early."

"I know, but Grace is missing."

"What?!" His anger seeped through the line and made Hunter flinch.

"She's gone. When I came to her place this morning, the alarm system was off, there was a huge hole in her window, and she was nowhere in sight."

"Fine. Okay, don't blame yourself. I'll call Dom, Liv, and Nicole. You call Jack."

Click.

Okay, one more call to make. "Hey Jack."

"Man, you do realize if I want to get Olivia's attention, I need my beauty sleep?"

Hunter sighed, "Yes, I do. But this is important. And if you want to get Olivia's attention, come help me find her sister."

"Wait, Grace is missing?" Jack asked.

"Yes, so get your behind over here and help! Cole's talking to his siblings about it, so save yourself a call to Olivia."

Jack groaned, "I'm coming."

Click.

~~~~~

Why did the trip to Marie's place have to take so long? It was already past five. At this rate, no one was going to find her. She pulled into the driveway to see no car in the garage. "Great, so now we are breaking and entering?"

Her captor growled, "Just get inside."

She did as she was ordered. And then was pushed into a closet. She heard the click of the lock and footsteps stalking off. She jammed her shoulder into the door. Nothing. "So that won't work."

Voice's could be heard down the hall, "Mommy! Good morning!" Daniel.

"Mowning Mama." That must be Tracy.

"Hi Mom." Definitely Lucy. The girl was so mature for her age.

Oh no. She had to stop whoever it was. They were gonna hurt Marie. And her kids. She flipped her cop mode switch on. Looking around, she spotted a cabinet full of office supplies. Grabbing a paper clip, she unfolded it and started picking the lock. Whoever decided to kidnap her stunk at prison cells. Eventually the lock gave way and she crept out. She snuck down the hall to see Marie sitting at the couch with her three kids. Okay, they're distracted. Now she needed to find her captor.

She snuck around the house, looking for whoever it was. The last room she looked at was the master. She peered in the closet. Upon finding nothing, she turned around.

And came face to face with Marie Sills.

~~~~~

Hunter paced the floor in front of everyone. "Any updates?"

Dominic shook his head, "No. Her phone was in her room, so we can't trace it."

"This hole in the window is very well cut." Paige commented.

Cole looked at it, "Yeah. They must have used a tool or something."

Olivia was tapping away at her computer, glasses on the brink of her nose. "The tools that are used to cut windows are found at very few stores. Only one in town sells them. And this is a decent sized city."

Damon peered over her shoulder, "Could you look at that store and see the recent purchases? We could see if any of those names ring a bell."

Olivia nodded, "Sure."

"What doesn't make sense to me is how Andy Sills can disappear and then reappear and take Grace with him." Jack thought aloud.

Hunter shuddered at the thought of Grace in the hands of a lunatic. Cole set a hand on his shoulder, "Me too."

Nicole crossed her arms and furrowed her brow, "What if it wasn't Andy?"

"Then who was it?" Jack asked.

"Marie Sills!" Olivia cried.

All heads turned to her. "What on earth?" Paige looked bewildered.

"Marie Sills made the purchase of the window cutter." Olivia looked at them all, wide-eyed. "She set us up."

Damon's jaw dropped, "It makes sense. She played the role of a scared, poor, widow to get us all to pity her. She was just leading us astray. Marie has Grace."

"But then where is she?" Dominic wondered.

Hunter thought it was stupid that Marie paid with credit card so she could be tracked. Any smart criminal would use cash. He sucked in a breath, "Grace is at Marie's house." When they all gave him a look, he explained, "Marie said in a week her kids would be going to their grandparents. She loves them beyond anything else. She wouldn't leave them or send them away earlier. Marie is at her house. With Grace. And her three kids."

"So you're telling me that my best friend and three innocent children are in the hands of a psycho?" Paige cried.

Cole's shoulders slumped. "Yes. We need to go. Now."

Jack jumped from his spot on the couch, "I'll call reinforcements. Let's go. If we all carpool, we can get there faster."

Dominic nodded, "Yeah. Take the biggest cars. So Jack's, mine, and Damon's."

"Got it." Nicole picked up her laptop and headed for the door.

"I'll ride with Jack." Olivia offered quietly.

The room became silent.

Hunter would have laughed if the situation was different. Jack's look was priceless. He was beyond surprised. Almost, confused. Then Jack shrugged, "Fine." He then muttered something that sounded like, "About time."

The group disbanded and was soon on the road with reinforcements on the way.