TORMENTED_ Jani Kay - Jani Kay Page 0,33

weekend.

As much as I loved going to the beach on sunshiny days, nothing could beat the excitement I felt when confronted with shelves upon shelves of books. I lazily ran my finger along the spine of the books on the groaning shelves and selected the ones that jumped out at me.

“Take your time, Eva. I’m going to get us a table and a coffee over at the café. See you there.” He planted a kiss on my cheek and I watched his sexy swagger for a few moments as he walked away before letting out a long, relaxing sigh and indulging in one of my favorite pastimes.

Twenty minutes later, I had a stack of books in my arms from which I’d make my final selection. First I wanted to read the blurbs while sipping on my coffee in the comfort of a leather armchair.

Harrison waved me over. He got to his feet and took the pile of books from my arms, setting them on the coffee table.

“Hey you.” He gave me a lopsided grin that made my knees weak.

“Wow, this is the perfect spot,” I mused. I was never this lucky to get a table by the window with the deep comfortable armchairs.

I snuggled in, one leg under my ass and a pile of books in front of me. And the best part was I could sneak glances at Harrison’s handsome face while he was fully absorbed in the pile of car and bike magazines he’d collected off the shelves. This was my idea of bliss and the perfect date.

We hadn’t been there long when an attractive blond woman came over to our table. I was used to chicks hitting on Harrison all the time, even in my company. It never failed to amuse me how brazen some people could be.

“Excuse me,” she said, clutching her throat.

Harrison glanced up from the magazine he’d been engrossed in.

“Yeah?” he drawled warily.

“My son . . . I can’t find him. Have you seen a blond boy running around by any chance? He’s only three years old. Wearing jeans and a red shirt.” Her face grew more anxious by the moment, and tears brimmed her eyes.

“No, sorry,” I said, letting my gaze run over the area, searching for a small blond head.

“What’s his name?” Harrison asked, as he pushed to his feet.

“Mitchel. We call him Mitch.”

“And your name?”

“Jessica.”

“Don’t panic, Jessica.” Harrison placed his hand on her shoulder. “I’ll help you find Mitch.”

“Oh God, thank you,” she cried, big fat tears splashing down onto her chest. “I only turned away for a second.”

“I know, kids are amazing escape artists, huh?” He smiled at her. I guessed he was trying to put her at ease and make her feel better. “Where did you see him last?”

She pointed toward the coffee counter. “I was just putting sugar in my coffee. He was there the one second and then . . . I’ve been everywhere looking for him. It’s been over ten minutes and I still can’t find him. Oh God, what if he’s been abducted? What if somebody stole my child?” The hysteria kept rising in her voice as she twisted her hands together anxiously.

“Listen, let’s not allow all those TV shows to let us get carried away, okay? If we stay calm, we have a better chance of finding him quickly.” Harrison removed his phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

“Eva, stay here with her, but keep your eyes open, okay?”

I nodded, feeling my throat thicken too.

Harrison walked toward the coffee counter, retracing the woman’s steps.

“Jessica,” I said while placing an arm around her shoulder, “if anyone can help you find Mitch, it’s Harrison. Don’t panic, okay?”

“I’m so worried about my boy. He has to be okay. We’ve got to find him.” She talked as if she was trying to convince herself. She wrung her hands together. “And as if that isn’t bad enough, his father will kill me if anything happens to him.” The anxiety in her voice made my heart ache for her.

“We will. He’s probably just hiding somewhere thinking this is all a game.” I tried to sound calm and reassuring as I rubbed her back.

“You don’t understand. We already lost one child in an accident. We can’t lose Mitch too.” She was close to hysteria, hyperventilating as she clutched her throat. My stomach dropped to my shoes.

Pushing her down gently into the chair, I said, “Jessica, Harrison is a cop. I promise you he will find Mitch. Just take a few