Delivering His Gifts (Mountain Men of Liberty #10)- K.C. Crowne Page 0,58

insisted. Is everything alright?”

I didn’t want to drag her into our mess and had no time to explain. I was shaking all over and needed to get off the phone. “Yes, everything is fine. It was a misunderstanding. But I really need to go now.”

I tried Greg again. Still no answer. Dammit. I had to get through to him.

Tony. He said Tony would be there. I still had his number and pulled up his contact info, hitting dial without a second thought. The phone rang and rang, and I feared it would go to voicemail.

Please pickup, I pleaded with the universe.

Finally, a man’s voice said, “Hello?”

“Tony? It’s Danielle,” I said.

Before I could continue, Tony said, “Oh hi there. Is everything okay?”

“Well, I was just trying to reach Greg. He took Skyler with him, said that your family was having a huge birthday celebration for your mom and I—”

“What? No, you must be mistaken,” he said with a chuckle. “There’s no party. My mom’s birthday is in February.”

Just as I thought.

“So there’s no family get-together this weekend?” I asked, feeling like my heart had been ripped out through my throat.

“No, not at all. In fact, we’re not even in the country. Shelly and I are in Barbados with the girls right now.”

My heart stopped. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even breathe.

“Dani? Is everything okay?”

“Uhh, I must have misheard, sorry,” I stammered, eager to get off the phone. “I have to go.”

I hung up in a hurry and stumbled out of my car. I had to talk to Mason. I had to tell him what was going on, and I had to find out what Greg was up to with my daughter.

Mason

“Danielle!” I called, running into the street after her. She stumbled out of her car and to the ground, in the middle of the road.

A car screeched to a halt as I stood in its way. It honked and the driver drove around me angrily, screaming obscenities out the window. But at least Danielle was safe. I knelt to the ground to help her up.

“What happened?” I asked her.

She stammered, “G-Greg has her. He took Skyler.”

Hearing those words caused every muscle in my body to tighten up. I had to get Danielle out of the road and somewhere safe. I took her arm and led her onto the nearby sidewalk.

“Tell me everything,” I said, helping her sit down on a bench not too far away.

Her entire body was shaking, and at first, she just babbled incoherently. I could barely make out the chain of events, but I was able to piece it together.

Skyler was at her friend’s house. Her dad picked her up and said they had a family event that weekend. She realized something was off and called his brother, who confirmed there was no family gathering.

“What do you think he’s doing? Do you think he’s going to leave the country with her?” Her eyes were bloodshot and wide.

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out,” I said.

I reached for my phone and called Eli, who answered on the first ring. I told him everything.

“Get home, bring Danielle with you. Graham and Sam will be back soon, and they can stay with her while we get the girl back.”

“Thanks, Eli,” I said, still feeling like an ass for not confiding in my brothers sooner. I got off the phone and told Danielle the plan.

“No, we need to go to Greg’s,” she said.

“We need to get you safe first—”

“No, I’m going with you, and we’re going to Greg’s,” she stated, wiping the tears from her eyes. “And we can’t waste any more time. We need to go now.”

“Right. You’re right,” I said, not liking the idea of Danielle being there. “What’s Greg’s address?”

She told me. He lived outside of Liberty, in Sunville. It was a thirty-minute drive. We had to hurry.

I walked Danielle to my truck while calling Eli back. I gave him the plan and texted him the address. He promised me he would head out now and fill Sam and Graham in on everything they needed to know. They were still working the job, which meant they likely wouldn’t be checking their phones. It would just be Eli and me, but I knew we could handle it.

Danielle was mostly quiet on the ride over, staring out the window as the tears continued to flow. Her hand rested on her belly, which was protruding rather obviously from her too-small shirt and tight pants. She would need some maternity clothes