Chapter 25

Iwas exhausted and miles away from sleep. Hank and I had spent the whole night at the police department, trying to strategize with Jim, the older sheriff who, though he'd given me a good amount of side-eye when I walked in, immediately jumped into action.

Hank had driven me back home at dawn and come inside, immediately jumping into making coffee.

"Are you sure you don't want to try to sleep, son?" he asked, looking at me worriedly.

"There's no way I'd be able to fall asleep even if I tried," I said, sitting on the couch with my hands hooked around my neck. "She's out there, Hank. And I don't know what he's fucking doing to her."

"Hey." I felt his hand on our shoulder, squeezing it tightly. "We're gonna find her."

I couldn't sit there with his hand on me, trying to reassure me. I got up from under his hand and went straight for my desk, pulling out the phone I'd lent Macy in order to call her mom. I turned it on and went outside to the porch. I briefly thought of the fact that it was six in the morning, but I knew that she would never forgive me once Macy was found if she didn't find out right away.

Because we would find her, and we would find her okay. There was no other option.

It was easy for me to find the phone number, since it was the last number I'd used on this phone.

"Macy?" Her voice was exhausted, and I was thrown for a second. "It's three in the morning. Are you okay?"

Shit. The time difference. Well, she'd know for sure that something was wrong as soon as I started talking.

"Mrs. Wallace? This is Dillon Ford."

The change in her voice came immediately. "Dillon?" Her voice was suddenly far more awake. "Where's my daughter?"

I shut my eyes against the guilt. "She—Alex found us. I don't know how, but he found us, and he took her."

"Oh my God. Oh my God, Dillon."

I couldn't help the choking tears that crawled into my voice as I covered my eyes with my hands. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. She was too far for me to grab, and—"

"Stop apologizing and tell me what you're doing to find her."

I swallowed thickly and thought briefly how lucky Macy was to have her as a mother. "We're making a plan right now, and we're working with the sheriff's department. I went to talk to them as soon as he broke in."

I told her about how we'd been talking—though not about how we'd been having an argument over her leaving the cabin without telling me—and how Alex had burst in with a gun. My words stumbled over my description of how I'd almost been shot and how he'd taken her with him before I could catch him.

"Mrs. Wallace—"

"Please call me Eliza."

"Eliza." The name was soft and fluid. It seemed like it suited her. "Do you by any chance still have Alex's phone number? I know this is painful for you, but it would be very helpful."

She didn't hesitate to read off the phone number, and I scribbled it down. "Thank you so much. I highly doubt that he still has his same cell phone, but any little bit helps."

"Would you like his license plate number too, then?"

I froze. "Do you have it?"

She rattled it off for me. "I don't know if that's the car that he's driving, but I just thought that you should have it."

"It's extremely helpful, Eliza. Thank you."

She was quiet for so long that I wondered whether or not she'd hung up the phone, and I decided to take a chance. "We will find her, Eliza. I swear on my life that I will find her."

She gave a watery little laugh. "You know, Dillon, I actually believe that."

"I'll call you with any and all updates I find, okay? I promise."

"Will you tell me which airport to fly into? I'd like to be there when you find her."

My heart cracked all over again, and I wondered briefly what it must've been like to grow up knowing that you were that loved and cared for.

"I'll text you all the details, but it won't be from this number. Also, if you need to contact me again, you should call me on that number. I think that I'm gonna go check in with the sheriff and see what he has to say about our progress."

"Okay. Thank you for calling me, Dillon. Let's stay in touch."

There was something about the way she'd said it that made me think that she meant it beyond just today and finding her daughter. I was hoping to prove her right.

When I hung up, I pulled out my regular phone and entered her number into my contacts, hoping I'd have another reason to stay in touch with her. She was a nice woman, and even though I wouldn't just be finding her daughter for her, I wanted to help assuage her worry.

I got up and went back inside, where Hank was sitting on one of the barstools and drinking coffee from one of my mugs. I held up my phone to show him. "Macy's mom gave me some pretty good information, so I'm gonna call Jim."

I pulled out my phone again and dialed the backline of the sheriff's office, using the number he'd given me when I'd just been down there. "Jim?"

"Hey, Dillon. We're working on it, but—"

"No, no. I just talked to her mom, and she gave me some new information that we might be able to use. I have his cell number and a license plate number for his car out in California. Do you have a pen?"

"Yes, I do," he said without missing a beat. "Ready when you are."

I rattled off the information.

"Perfect," he said. "I'll put out an APB on the car and start running a trace on the phone number, and I'll call you when I find anything. Try to get some rest, okay?"

"No chance, man."

He was quiet for a second. "Look, Dillon. I know we've had our differences, but I know what a good cop you were, and I know you know that this is the worst time."

"Yeah, and I also know that the next couple of hours are critical, Jim," I said, my voice strained. "We have to find her now."

"He's not going to kill her, Dillon. He's been looking for her for too long to do that. I know everything is awful right now, but you're not gonna do yourself or her any good by panicking."

I knew he was right, but I couldn't stop pacing around my house as I thought of what might be happening to her at Alex's hands right then.

"I know that I'm a civilian now, but don't treat me with kid gloves, okay? I have experience, and I know how to handle myself with shit like this."

"Yeah, but it's never been your girl that's been the one who was kidnapped before, has it?"

I couldn't argue with that, even if I had been the one to find my mom's body as a kid. "Fine. Just call me when you have an update, okay?"

"Will do. We were just getting ready to put out an alert for—"

"No, don't do that."

He was quiet, and I had to wonder whether he might be getting ready to lecture me on telling him how to do his job, but he didn't. He just waited for me to explain my reasoning.

"He's too reliant on the fact that he's book smart, but he's a dumb criminal. He probably took her back to his hole that he's been staying in, and if we put out the alert, then it could tip him off, and he'll end up moving her. I want him to be comfortable and complacent."

He was quiet for a second. "You know, if you ever wanna come out of retirement, I think we could find a place for you at the PD."

I snorted. "I'll be waiting for your call." I hung up without another word before turning back to Hank.

"Good updates?" he asked.

I shrugged. "Time will tell." I walked over to the bedroom and called for Bucky who we'd picked up from Hank's on the way back to the cabin. He came to me immediately. "I'm gonna take him for a walk, but will you pick up the phone if it rings?"

He nodded, looking at me worriedly.

I took my dog out, doing my best not to think of the fact that with every minute that passed, Alex had another opportunity to hurt Macy.

* * *

Afew hours later, after I hadn't been able to settle enough to do anything but pace and fill Bucky's food bowls, I heard my phone ring and dove for it.

"Jim?"

"We got a ping on the cell phone number. He's made a few calls out of the Smokey Inn heading west out of town, on the way to Nashville."

"Okay. I'm heading out there right now. Wanna meet me there with your guys?"

"Yep. On it. I'm sharing my location with you now. But Dillon, don't even think about going in on your own."

I grunted a noise in response, both of us knowing there was no way in hell I'd actually agree to that.

I turned to Hank, who was sitting at the island where he'd been for hours and looking at me with concern.

"You don't have to come, you know. Just give me a ride back to my truck before you go?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course I'm coming with you. I'm in this just as much as you are."

I felt the gratitude rush through me, coupled with shame, as we walked out to his own truck. I put in the information for the inn, and we headed out toward it.

Initially, we sat in silence, because I didn't know how to say everything I was feeling for him. But, then again, if being with Macy had taught me anything, it had been not to overthink what I needed to say, just in case.

"Listen," I said, turning to him, "I know I haven't been that good a friend since I came back from Nashville. I know I've been distant, even though you and Nadine haven't been anything but good to me, and I'm sorry for that. But after Neil—"

"You don't have to apologize, Dillon," Hank said, keeping his eye on the road as he headed down the hill. "Nadine and I knew that something had happened, but we just didn't know what it was. All we ever wanted you to know was that you had us if you needed us."

"That's the problem," I said, my throat closing up. "Just when I allowed myself one more person, she got swiped from me. What am I supposed to do with that?"

"Find her," he said. "Find her and tell her everything that you've been holding back."

The words sunk like a stone into my belly as I thought of everything I'd been holding back from her. We passed the rest of the drive in silence, and when we got to the inn, I was relieved to see that Jim and his guys were already there, ready and waiting for us. I nodded at them as I went into the lobby and rented a room for us to use during the day.

Once Hank, Jim, and Jim's guys were all gathered in our hotel room, I turned to look at each of them in turn.

"Okay, guys. What's the plan?"