19. Ghost

It had beenthree days since Allison was taken, and I found myself unable to sleep, I hadn't eaten, and was utterly at a loss for what else to do. Marcus pulled into the driveway, and I watched as he stepped out of the car.

"You look like hell," he remarked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Thanks. What's happened?" I asked, sensing there was news from the grave expression on Marcus"s face.

"Thomas Kapper isn't his real name; it's Robert Knight. He was incredibly wealthy, and now he's dead. His plane went down in the Atlantic. They found his body, but they didn't know if there was another person with him," Marcus said.

I let out a roar of frustration, turning my head until I could rein in my emotions. When I faced Marcus again, Viper stood beside him. I hadn"t even noticed him joining us. I knew Allison wasn"t with him; I felt it deep in my soul that she was still somewhere nearby.

"If she"s around here, he must have her hidden away," I stated firmly.

"I agree," Viper said. "The bastard must have locked her up somewhere. She'd have found her way out if she could. My brothers and I decided we needed to check every house within a two-hundred-mile radius."

"Let's do it. We'll enlist everyone we know to help us look into every vacant home around these mountains," I declared.

"Have you seen yourself? You look like you're about to keel over. You should have slept or at least eaten something. Eat this damn sandwich, and at least you'll have a bit of energy," Benni said, walking up and handing me a sandwich and a glass of milk.

"Thanks," I mumbled, accepting the food. I took a bite as she stood there with her arms crossed. She nodded as I finished the sandwich and milk. Then she took the empty glass. "Benni, thank you, it really did help."

We sent the message to everyone we knew, and I could see people as we drove to the vacant homes. There weren't really that many empty homes in our area, so I went from neighborhood to neighborhood.

When the sun started going down, Brian pulled into the driveway as I sat on the porch. "I'm going to look at a home I heard about. It's about seventy-five miles from here."

"Hell, yes, I want to go with you; how did you hear about it?" I asked.

A neighbor called and asked me if I leased the Watson home. I didn't, but she mentioned someone was there, and knowing we were all looking for a missing woman, she thought it worth mentioning. She"s driven past this place, and it"s now empty," Brian explained as we backed out of the driveway.

"I've got a good feeling about this. I pray she's there. I just know she's close, I can almost feel her. I know that makes me sound like an idiot, and I don't give a fuck. We have to leave on our honeymoon, and I promised her we would go when I returned," I declared, feeling a surge of determination.

"I'm sure you will have lots of fun on your honeymoon. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to surprise Allison. When we were in high school, we said when we got married, we would go on a safari in Africa. It'll be a blast. After all she's been through, I just want her to be happy. I love her so damn much," I said as I rubbed my eyes.

"That sounds amazing. Jenny and I went to Hawaii for our honeymoon. Now we have two toddlers, and Grandma's coming along to lend a hand on our next vacation," Brian shared as he slowed down and made a turn. "The house is about a mile from here."

"That's nice. I bet your mom is thrilled to have two babies she can hug and kiss," I said.

"She loves it. She wants us to have more babies," Brian said.

I started praying and didn't stop until we pulled into the long drive. I looked around and knew she had to be here. We approached the front door, and Brian punched some buttons on the fancy lock that was there. The door opened, and I hurried inside.

"I'll take the upstairs," Brian said.

"Allison," I shouted, going into every room. Thirty minutes later, we met in the foyer. "Let"s check the garage," Brian suggested.

"I already did. She wasn't there. I just knew she would be here. I feel her here," I said.

"I thought for sure she would be here too. We'll find her," Brian said.