Our five days of bliss washed away with Sterling’s news, no even before. From the second he returned from talking to Reid, I knew something was wrong.

“I told the captain to go as fast as possible,” Sterling said, standing, still wearing his swim trunks in our suite on the yacht.

I paced back and forth, wringing my hands as I tried to comprehend his words. They were playing on repeat in my head yet I couldn’t grasp that they were true. This couldn’t be happening.

Sterling continued to speak, “We’ll be back in Chicago in close to an hour.” His tone was reassuring, though by his expression, the tenor was solely for my benefit—as if anything could reassure me. “I could have a helicopter sent out to us, but by the time it gets here and back, it wouldn’t make that much of a difference.”

My knees gave out as I sank to the edge of the large bed, and my mind filled with memories. “W-where could she be?” I looked up at Sterling. “You told me she was safe.”

“She was. Reid and Patrick are trying to find out what happened. They’ve sent others there or have them on their way. I told you there were eyes on people you care about. There were. I don’t have all the information. Louisa and her husband were last accounted for around eight o’clock last night, Boulder time.

“Reid said this morning that Winnie was awakened to a deliveryman. Inside the package was a note telling her not to contact the police—any law enforcement. The note said they knew she’d been in contact with the FBI. It also said that Louisa wouldn’t be harmed if Winnie followed the directions and to wait for further instructions.”

Who besides us knew about the FBI?

My head was shaking as my stomach twisted in revolt. Tears stung the back of my eyes. “What about Jason? What about the baby?”

“Araneae, I didn’t talk to Reid that long. After he told me, I wanted to get back to you.” He let out a long breath. “From what I understand, immediately after Winnie received the package, she tried calling Louisa and Jason. Then she thought to call Patrick.”

“I didn’t realize he’d given her his number.”

“He told her to contact him if Agent Hunter called again.”

I nodded.

“Patrick told her to stay put,” Sterling said. “She didn’t. She went to Louisa’s house. It was empty.”

“Empty? Like all their things?”

“No, empty meaning there were no people. The note didn’t mention Jason, only Louisa.”

“I could try to call him.”

“So far, all calls to either of the Toneys have gone to voicemail.”

My stomach roiled as my body quaked, trembling uncontrollably from my fingers to my toes. I held my own hand, trying to make the shaking stop, yet it was as though the temperature in the cabin had plummeted to twenty below. “God, she’s pregnant. Someone took her? Who would do this?” I found the strength to stand as the acceleration of the yacht propelled me forward, causing me to lose my footing and fall into Sterling’s arms. Immediately, I backed away with my head shaking. “Will they hurt her? Is this about me? Is this about you? Sinful Threads?” I took another step back. “This doesn’t...” I shook my head. “No...tell me this wasn’t you.”

Sterling staggered backward as if my words had physically struck him. His dark eyes sent bolts of lightning my direction as his chiseled jaw tightened. “Do you believe after everything that I would harm your best friend or have her harmed?”

I wasn’t certain what I thought.

“I-I don’t know.” Tears were now trickling from my eyes. “You threatened them.”

Sterling’s hand ran through his hair. “Fuck, Araneae, I care about who you care about. It wasn’t a threat as much as me capitalizing on your weakness. I told you that. I wouldn’t—” Like a caged lion he turned a small circle as the cords in his neck tightened.

“Sterling, you’re the one who keeps telling me you do bad things,” I said. “Whoever kidnapped my pregnant best friend is doing a bad thing.”

He nodded. “Yes. That’s why we’ll get her back.”

I started thinking about what he’d told me. “Wait. Winnie woke up to the first message?”

Sterling nodded again.

“I-it’s evening. There’s only an hour difference in time. Why are we just now finding out?”

“Patrick’s already in Boulder. Reid waited to contact us until they knew more.”

“Do they,” I asked expectantly, “know more?”

“More than this morning. It’s why he contacted us. Whoever has Louisa sent a new message: they want to talk to you—Kennedy Hawkins.”

“Me?” I stared up at the granite features as my pulse increased, my blood flowing too fast, making the room waver. “Okay. If that will help her, I’ll do it.”

“Fuck no.”

I took a step toward him. “Sterling, this isn’t a time for you to be overprotective.”

“The hell it isn’t. It’s exactly the time for me to be overprotective. Someone kidnapped Louisa. Jason is missing. Patrick is with Winnie who wants to call the police. He’s convinced her not to do that yet. Shelly, the person who was supposed to be watching everyone, is searching for Louisa.”

I shook my head. “I remember that name—Shelly. She drove me. She’s the one who helped Jeanne Powell.” I reached out, laying my hand on Sterling’s arm, remembering the cats and Jeanne’s new place to live. “I’m sorry. I know this wasn’t you, but it has to have something to do with me if they want to talk to me.” I shook my head. “Isn’t the fact that they asked for Kennedy and not Araneae a clue? I’ll do whatever they want.”

“It’s a clue or a smoke screen. When we get home, we’ll know more.”

“What about Lucy and Calvin, Louisa’s parents, and Lindsey, her sister?”

“We’ll ask. Reid didn’t mention them.”

My head fell forward on my neck as more tears came. “I’ve been such an awful friend. She’s due to have a baby soon, and I’m sailing all over Lake Michigan. I should have been at Sinful Threads. I should have been in Boulder. I don’t understand...” My words came between gulps of air as memories of Louisa and I played on a loop, from our time in high school, to college, to Sinful Threads. The last time I’d seen her was weeks ago when I left Boulder. Memories came of her wedding, her talking about naming her baby Kennedy, and times with her family. “...if Reid and Patrick have known, they should have alerted us. We could already be back in Chicago.”

Sterling’s arms came around me, holding me close to his bare chest and surrounding me. This time, I didn’t back away. I lingered, enjoying the way his protective cage around me made me feel.

“I can only assume that Reid and Patrick thought they could handle it.” His words reverberated through me—not only hearing them but feeling them. “I extend a lot of leeway when it comes to Reid and Patrick, more than with anyone else. I trust them to make the right decisions. I believe they thought delaying telling us was right.”

I tilted my chin upward and stared at his handsome features, his strained neck, tightly clenched jaw, and furrowed brow. “Sterling, there’s more that you’re not telling me.”

He nodded his chin above my head. “They were also making sure we’re safe—you were safe.”

I exhaled. “Right now, all that matters are Louisa, Jason, and baby Kennedy. I’ll do whatever Louisa needs. I’ll tell them to take me and let her go.”

His embrace tightened. “They are not all who matters. You’re first on that list. There’s always a concern that when something outrageous happens—like this—it’s a diversion to let down our guard. And as for changing places, the answer is hell no. I won’t allow you to do that. We’ll get this figured out. If it’s money they want, paying it goes without saying.”

“I can’t ask you to—”

“You didn’t.”

Laying my head against his chest, the rhythm of his heart and scent of his skin eased a bit of the tension as our yacht sped south.

I looked back up as Sterling continued his embrace. “I-I—this has to have something to do with me.”

“We don’t have answers yet.”

My brow scrunched. “I’m surprised that you’d be willing to make a deal. I guess I thought you, Reid, and Patrick were more the guns-blazing type.”

He took my hand and led me to the bed where we both sat. Exhaling, he said, “Reid believes this is a statement to get your attention.”

I let out a long breath. “Fuck, send me a text. Don’t kidnap my best friend.”

The pad of his thumb gently ran over the top of my hand. “We’ll confirm that she’s safe, and then we’ll find out what they want.”

“Do you think this is my uncle?”

“You know I do.”