36. Chapter 36 - Kaitlyn

Ihad been asleep. I didn't know why I picked up the phone or answered it, not knowing the number, but it had been Ash, screaming. And now there was nothing, no sound at all. I clicked my phone to speaker in case... anything.

Had she gotten in a car accident? I threw off my covers, clutching my phone in my hand and rushed out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Whisper-yelling, "Fraoch! Fraoch!"

Zach was sitting on a chair in the living room, a PlayStation controller in his hand. He looked up, "What…?"

"Where's Fraoch? I just got the craziest—" I put the phone to my ear and listened, nothing. I said, "Ash, you there?" I shook my head.

Zach said, "Fraoch's out on the deck."

I raced out on the deck, Fraoch was at the end of the walkway, facing out over the dunes. He turned around, as my footsteps thumped down the decking. "Thought ye went tae bed!"

"Lochie's girlfriend, Ash, just called me — she sounded scared, she…" I was out of breath by the time I reached him. "She said someone was following her… she might have been grabbed. I… don't know." I held the phone up to his ear.

He listened, then shook his head.

"She screamed, there was a struggle, I think..." I said into the phone, "Ash…?" Then said, "Nothing, she said, ‘Someone is following…' We need to go check on her. You remember where she lives?"

"Aye, let me tell security tae step up their patrols."

He and I rushed up the deck to get ready to go.

Twenty minutes later, I pulled the truck up beside Ash's house. We could see a car in the driveway, the back bumper was askew. The driver's side door was open, the headlights on.

Everything was wet and dripping. "Damn, this looks ominous."

I pulled the truck to the curb and we both climbed out. We could see inside the car now: the airbag had been deployed, the engine was still running.

I looked at Fraoch, "Oh no, what happened to her?"

"I daena ken. Ye go knock on the door. I'll look around in the car."

I strode around the house and up to the front door and knocked, a few minutes later the curtain pulled back from the window beside the door. An elderly woman's voice screeched, "What do you want? It's the middle of the night!"

I called through the window, "Um... is Ash here?"

"No! She's not home! She keeps me up all night with her coming and going!"

"You didn't hear anything odd?"

"No, there was a terrible storm. It battered the house."

"She didn't come home tonight?"

"No! Get off my porch!"

"Of course, sorry to bother you."

I left the porch and returned to the car, saying to Fraoch, who was digging around in the floorboards, "The lady there said she's not home." I looked around at the lawn. "There are tire ruts on the grass, with puddles in them — it means missing cars, a missing person, and a sudden storm."

"Great, tis clearly time travel." He passed me out a purse, full of stuff, hastily shoved in.

"What happened to it?"

"Twas all over the floor."

"Is that all of it?" There was a handgun in it, her wallet, a makeup bag.

"Aye, except..." He had his tongue out while he twisted in the seat and jammed his hand between the seats. He dug up a phone and passed it to me.

I spoke into my phone and my voice came out of Ash's phone.

Then a truck pulled up behind ours. I peered, "Who's that?"

Fraoch climbed from the car.

The bartender from the Palace, Don, stepped out of his truck. "Hey Katie, hey Fraoch, what's going on — where's Ash?"

Fraoch said, "I was goin' tae ask ye the same thing."

He strode up to the car. "Jeez, she was in an accident? Where is she?" He put both his hands on his head.

I said, "I don't know."

"Dammit, I knew I should follow her home, oh man, did you check at her house?"

I nodded, "She hasn't been home."

"Shit. She promised to call me, she didn't call. She... Did that guy kidnap her, you think?"

I said, "What guy? We don't know anything, she called me and it sounded like something terrible was happening."

"This guy came by the Palace tonight, he was looking for Ash, he asked about Lochinvar... I told her to call you, Katie, I was sure he was going to be trouble."

He dropped his hands. "We gotta call the police."

I looked at Fraoch.

Fraoch said, "We canna involve the police, Don, tis a problem for us."

"No, no, that's not good, what are you suggesting — that we just let her be kidnapped?"

Fraoch said, "Nae, we will get her back, we ken we will, but we canna hae the police involved."

Don huffed. "I knew this was all sketchy, all of it."

I said, "Did the guy say anything else?"

"He said he was Magnus's friend — are you sure we can't involve the police?"

I shook my head. "Look, we are going to get her back, Lochie won't rest until he does. Just, give us a few days, we'll find her."

"Am I going to get in trouble? If I don't call this in, is this going to come back to haunt me? What if she blames me for not calling it in?"

"She won't, I promise. Look, can I get your phone number? You can call me if anything else happens, I'll call you if we learn anything." I pulled my phone from my pocket and he gave me his number and I typed it in. Then I texted: Me, Katie.

His pocket beeped when he received the text and he nodded.

Fraoch said, "I will make certain she kens ye wanted tae call them. I will take full responsibility for decidin' not tae."

Don nodded. "Damn, this sucks. I wish I had been here."

Fraoch said, "They would hae taken ye as well. Trust me, ye daena want tae be involved."

Fraoch held out a hand and began sort of herding Don back to his truck. "We will get her back, I promise. We will all come down tae the Palace and hae a beer tae celebrate."

Don climbed in the truck. "Okay man, yeah... how many days?"

Fraoch had his hand on his door. "Give us three days, if she inna back we will go tae another plan."

"Okay, sounds good." He started his truck.

Fraoch said, "And daena tell anyone."

Don nodded, "Yeah, I get it. I do not want to be involved." He drove away.

I closed the door on Ash's car and locked it.

We took her purse and stuff and climbed into our truck to drive home.

He asked, "Dost ye think Don will be quiet?"

"Yeah, he thinks we're a crime family or something. He doesn't want to cross us."

Fraoch shrugged. "He is right in it."

"I guess he kind of is."

He exhaled, "I suppose our peace is over, there is time travel afoot."

I said, "Dammit, so what do we do?"

"We need tae move the family tae the safe house."

"I think we need to take everyone to Riaghalbane. We don't know what's going on, we need Magnus and Quentin to know."

"Aye, as soon as we are home we will pack tae go."