Chapter Forty-One
“I better wake Kat up,” Tyson said as he poured the remainder of his drink down the drain.
“Yeah,” Jeremy agreed. “I better go check on Jade. I think she’s mad at me for being rude to Lithe. She went upstairs to check on Mia.”
Music played throughout the empty house, repeating the songs that had started the evening. The night had come full circle. Glasses, discarded cocktail napkins, and dirty plates littered every surface.
Ty turned into the living room to wake Kat as Jeremy took the steps. His bedroom door was closed, as was Mia’s. Peeking in on his daughter, he pulled the covers to her chin and kissed her forehead.
As he approached the door to his bedroom he took a deep breath. Hopefully, his wife wasn’t too upset with him. He didn’t see Nathan being much of an issue anymore, now that had no reason to see him again—he hoped. Steadying himself for the oncoming lecture, he turned the knob and opened the door.
“Jade?’ The room was dim and empty.
The bathroom door silently opened as he pressed against the wood. Empty. Confused, he left the bedroom and checked the hall bathroom. Also empty.
A heavy ache took shape in his stomach as he moved downstairs, where Tyson was helping a groggy Kat into her coat.
“She’s not up there.” He walked to the cellar door. The basement had been closed off for the night. The stairs leading to his office were dark. “Jade?”
The uncomfortable feeling in his gut tightened. “Where the hell is she?”
With clipped movements, he walked out the backdoor of the kitchen. “Jade!” he yelled, but the yard was pitch black and there was no answer.
He cursed and turned back to Tyson. They frowned at each other.
“Could she have walked someone to their car?” Ty asked.
“I saw her maybe ten minutes ago. She walked Nathan out and then went upstairs. I didn’t see her go back out.”
“I’ll go check if she’s out front,” Ty offered, turning toward the front door.
Kat followed Jeremy into the kitchen. “Try calling her cell.”
Jeremy pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed a button. Soft buzzing on the counter filled the eerily quiet house. Kat walked over and picked up Jade’s phone.
The front door opened and Tyson returned, his brow tight. “Everyone’s gone.”
They stared at each other, sheer panic reflected in each other’s eyes. Jeremy bolted out of the kitchen and ran up the stairs, taking them four at a time. Tyson and Kat searched through the downstairs, calling Jade’s name over and over.
He went into his daughter’s room and gently shook Mia’s shoulder. “Mia. Princess, wake up.”
She grumbled and squeezed her eyes tight shutting out his insistent voice.
“Mia, sweetie, open your eyes.”
Slowly she opened her eyes and balled her fists, rubbing her knuckles in her sleepy sockets.
“Mia, have you seen Kiki?”
“She’s downstairs,” his daughter whined, shutting her eyes again.
“Mia, when was the last time you saw her?” he asked, trying to keep her awake. He needed to know who was still at the party before Jade went missing.
She let out an annoyed whine. “I got a boo-boo and the man with Kiki helped me get a Band-Aid.”
“What man? What did he look like?”
She tilted her head and thought, seeming a little more coherent now. “He had black hair and a picture like Kiki?”
“A picture? What do you mean a picture?”
“Know how Kiki has a picture right here?” She pointed to her shoulder.
Jeremy swallowed, dread seeping into his blood. “Yes,” he rasped.
“After he put my Band-Aid on, he washed his hands, and I saw the picture on his arm, right here.” She pointed to her forearm. “He was a nice man, Daddy. He kissed my boo-boo and made it all better. See?”
Jeremy stood. Had Nathan come back into the house? He’d seen him walk off but didn’t see him drive away. “Go back to sleep, baby.” He shakily kissed his daughter’s head and rushed out of the room.
Tyson and Kat waited for him at the bottom of the steps, both looking apprehensive. “Mia said before she fell asleep a man with black hair and a mark on his arm matching Jade’s scar helped her clean up a scrape she got.”
Tyson cursed and Jeremy looked at them with sheer panic. “He’s got her.”
The phone in Kat’s hand started buzzing and everyone stilled. Kat looked at the display screen then at Jeremy. “It’s Nathan.”
Time stood still. The fucker had somehow done it. He never should have let him near her. Snatching the phone out of Kat’s hand he brought it to his ear. “Where is she, you fuck?”
“Whoa!” Nathan yelled, his car noisily downshifting and accelerating in the background.
“I swear to God, if you harm one hair on her body, I’ll fucking slaughter you, you piece of shit!”
“She isn’t with me, asshole!”
Jeremy froze.
“When I got to my car, the door was iced up. It took me a while to jimmy it open. Then I had to let it warm up. That’s when Jade came out with some guy and a girl who looked wasted.”
“What guy?”
“I don’t know who he was. I saw him at the party, though. You seemed to be chummy with him. The girl was tall and thin with dark hair and olive skin. She looked exotic, maybe European or something. They put the girl in a black SUV. Jade looked like she was about to return to the house, but something scared her. She turned and tried to run but he grabbed her.”
“Why didn’t you fucking do something?” Jeremy raged.
“I tried! I was over a block away. I jumped out of the car and rushed toward them. She screamed and there was a scuffle. Before I reached them he threw her in the back of his car and sped off. I’m following them. It looks like he’s heading toward Ben Franklin Highway.”
“What’s the plate number?” Jeremy yanked a pen and paper out of a drawer.
“Looks like SUPDOC. Is this guy a doctor?”
“Oh, my God. You said he was with a tall brunette?” His wide eyed gaze drifted to Kat. “That’s Lily. It’s fucking Philips! He fucking works with her!”
Nathan cursed. “I think he knows I’m behind him. I don’t think he has any weapons, but Jeremy,” he paused. “He roughed her up a bit. I don’t know if she’s conscious.”
He dropped into a chair. Fear, worse than anything he ever experienced in combat took hold.
“You have to call the cops,” Nathan continued and Jeremy worried he’d missed something the guy said.
Shaking away his dread, focusing on getting her home safe, he went into survival mode. “Keep your phone in your hand and don’t lose them. I’ll call you right back.”
“You got it. And for the record, I never—”
“I know.” God, he’d been so fucking wrong. “Just … don’t lose her.” Ending the call, he looked at Ty. “Philips has her. Call 911 and tell them it’s a black SUV plate S-U-P-D-O-C.”
“On it.” Tyson’s phone was already at his ear.
Jeremy dialed Trent. He answered on the first ring.
“It’s not Lithe. It’s Philips, the doctor she works with! He’s got her. They’re heading toward Ben Franklin and Lithe’s following them. He’s got her friend Lily in the car with them, too.”
“Is Lithe on our side or his?” Trent asked, catching up with no additional explanation like the security guy he was.
“Ours.” And wasn’t that a kick in the nuts to admit.
“You call the cops?”
“Ty’s on the phone with them now.”
“Okay. I’m on 422. I’ll pull over and wait until I hear anything. What’s the vehicle ID?”
“Plate, SUPDOC.” He spelled it out. “It’s a black SUV.”
“We’ll get her, Jer. We’ll get her.”