Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128083 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
“Even so, why haven’t his foster parents reported him missing?”
“Maybe, like I said, they haven’t noticed yet. Maybe he was supposed to be somewhere overnight. We’ll keep an eye on that.”
“Or maybe, like he mentioned, they don’t give a shit.”
Rex only thinned his lips, his eyes filled with concern. “He sounds like a fighter,” he said. “He didn’t shy away from that guy. Most kids would have been cowering.”
Cami nodded shakily. “He does, doesn’t he?” Even she heard the pride in her voice. She’d tried to keep her personal connection removed. There was a chance the boy wasn’t the baby she’d given birth to, but with each word he’d spoken, his little chin raised defiantly—something that reminded her so much of Elle when she’d dug her heels in—her heart had claimed him a little more. “So now what?”
“That exchange gave us more than we had before.” He looked down at the pad of paper. “He is somewhere in the wilderness; we can see that out the window. And if that man can be believed, they’re twenty miles outside a town.” He tapped his pen on the pad for a moment as Cami took in a long, slow breath. “There’s also a sound . . .” He pulled the computer toward him again and upped the volume. “It’s loud, but it seems natural. Could it be the ocean?”
She tilted her head slightly and listened and then nodded. “Yes. Definitely. Which again, would make sense if he’s in California.”
“It narrows it down even more than that, though. He’s near the edge of the ocean in California in wilderness that’s twenty miles from a town with a restaurant that offers to-go food and a store that sells comics.”
“That still must be hundreds of possibilities.”
He tapped his pen on the pad again. “It’s more than we had before.”
She could see the wheels turning in his head, and the deep intelligence in his eyes. She’d seen the concern for the scared child in the locked room, and for a moment she felt so grateful to have him there with her, it almost made her cry. And so fearful that he’d leave. “You keep saying we,” she said, the emotion making her voice crack.
He looked over at her, appearing to weigh his response. “Listen, Cami, regardless of what happened with us in the past, or anything else, there’s a kid in a shit ton of trouble here, and I can’t walk away from that.”
“Thank you,” she breathed. Their eyes held for a moment before he looked away, back to the boy on the screen.
“I wish there was some way to communicate with him,” he said. “Or the person who contacted you.”
“I tried both numbers back and neither one worked.” She thought for a moment. “The man who came in the room said that there’s no electricity in the place. So how is there a camera?”
“Every security system offers battery-operated cameras. It might be so small the kid would never spot it. The light must be battery-operated too.”
“What do you think the point of the camera is?”
“Just a means to observe him without being in the room constantly. Which makes me think there’s just that one man there. When he goes to town for food, for instance, he uses the camera to monitor the kid.”
“So how are we seeing it?”
He tapped again for a minute, appearing troubled. “I don’t know.” He paused. “Can I see the picture you took with your phone?”
“Sure.” She picked up her phone and scrolled to the three photos she’d taken, the boy in different locations of the room in each one. He zoomed in on one, and when she leaned toward him, she saw that he was looking at an enlarged view of the window.
“What are you looking for?” It was completely dark. The only things visible were the stars that could be seen through the bars. She lifted her head. “Oh my gosh, the stars. Can we use the stars to figure out his location?”
“Maybe. Celestial navigation isn’t my expertise, but I know someone who could help. And he just happens to be available because he’s laid up.”
“Is he . . .”
“Trustworthy? Absolutely.”
“It has to be someone who doesn’t ask for more information than you give.”
“Those are the only types I know.”
She bit at her lip. The voice on the phone had only said she couldn’t contact the police. There had been no instructions about asking for help from others. Rex was most likely talking about friends in the military, but as long as he didn’t divulge the reasons for his questions . . . “Okay. Yes, okay.”
“One of us has to monitor this constantly.” They both looked at the screen. The little boy was sitting on the bed against the wall again, and though he was obviously fighting sleep, he was losing the battle. His eyes closed and his head tilted to the side before he jerked it up again, his lashes fluttering. He had to be exhausted. He’d been up all night. I’ll stay awake for you, she told him silently in her head. I’ll keep watch. It wouldn’t do much good, she knew. Even if she spotted danger, there was nothing she could do. But it felt like it mattered anyway.