Marc couldn’t breathe. Almost his entire world was out there. Without him. Elliot kept by his side; Marcus didn’t know if it was to keep Marc from doing something stupid, or what.

It didn’t matter.

Isaac was asleep, clutched tightly to Rayne’s chest. His sister-in-law was agonizing over Katie; he had no doubt about that.

Pen was still answering questions about what she had seen.

She’d saved his son. She’d been there to save Isaac. He would never forget that, and he would always owe that skinny kid for his son.

Just like Ariella.

Pen told them how Ariella had shoved Isaac out the screen door and physically blocked Rick Warner from following with her own body.

Ariella had saved his son.

And now she had his daughter out there with her.

Marc forced fears of what his baby girl was going through right at that moment out of his head. He had to focus on finding her. They’d deal with any fall out after he had her and Ariella back where they belonged.

Fear for Ariella was just as strong. His heart was out there. The kids were his world, but she was his heart. And he’d never gotten the chance to tell her that.

He feared he never would.

That fear threatened to immobilize him again. Marc pushed through it. Pushed through the image of her in his arms while he promised to never let her be hurt again.

He had failed.

Marc looked at the clock again, just as the doors burst open.

Chance and his family stood there. Luc was next to them. “We just heard. We flew down from St. Louis.”

“I—” Marc appreciated his cousin’s presence, but he didn’t know what to say. Especially to Ariella’s brother.

He had promised to keep her safe.

Chance held up a hand. “Everyone stop and listen! Brynna may be able to find Ari.”

Elliot stepped closer. “How?”

“Necklace,” Brynna said, passing her baby off to Jillian when her sister reached for the infant. “I…made a locator. With Luc and Gabby. We put it in a necklace. Ari’s wearing it. She’s supposed to be wearing it. She promised to wear it for six months to collect the data.”

Elliot looked at the strawberry-blonde woman next to him. She’d been introduced as the head of the Computer Forensics division of the Finley Creek TSP. “Haldyn, bring up the photo from this morning.”

Marcus braced himself for the sight of his daughter and Ariella clinging to one another while a man he’d trusted held them at gunpoint. The image was burned into his brain; he’d never forget it. The image was grainy and from Pen’s cell video. But it was enough to tell them what they needed.

“Enhance the area around Ari’s neck. Bryn…” Elliot turned to his sister-in-law. “She’s wearing a necklace. Is that it?”

“It’s green. Green and silver. They look good on Ari.” Brynna stepped closer to the screen. “Make it bigger, Haldyn. Please.”

“How is this necklace going to help?” Jillian asked. “Explain, Bryn.”

It was Luc who answered. “It’s a prototype Brynna and Carrie and I have been working on. After everything that’s happened recently, we’re tired of not being able to find someone if they are in…trouble. Ari agreed to wear one prototype. Since she frequently travels between St. Louis and here. We were hoping she had it on today.”

“You tagged your sister?” Lacy asked. “Impressive. She didn’t mention it.”

“She’s wearing it!” Brynna said. “Look! Chance! Hurry!”

Chance handed the tablet in his hands to his wife. “Here. I’ve booted it up.”

“Thank you.”

“So what does this mean?” Marc was afraid to hope. It surely couldn’t be as simple as a damned necklace and a tablet screen. They hadn’t been waiting hours for this.

Brynna did something and it had whatever was on her screen appearing on the large monitor that dominated the conference room of the TSP. A red light blinked in the midst of the Texas state map. “There! The necklace is…right there. Near Abilene. And it’s moving!”

Elliot was already grabbing his phone. “It’s a stretch, but I’ll be able to get the Abilene and Garrity branches mobilized.”

Marc was too terrified to pray.

Just because the necklace was there didn’t mean Ariella would be.

Or his daughter.

What if Warner had separated the two of them? What if Warner had the necklace and had already killed two of the people who mattered most to him?

Was he about to lose Ariella like he’d lost Carissa? He didn’t know if he could go through it again. And Katie…he wouldn’t be able to breathe without his baby.