His Hush-Hush Baby - Holly Rayner Page 0,47
five minutes later, she was gone.” He cursed sharply.
Diane closed her eyes, panic that unmatched anything she’d ever felt rising. “Okay. Where are you?”
“I’m walking around, asking people if they’ve seen her.”
“I’ll be right there.” Hanging up, she jumped from the couch. “My mom is missing.”
Brie’s eyes bugged out. “Oh my God.”
“I have to go look for her.”
Hands shaking, she pulled on a pair of sneakers that were by the front door, not caring that she was still wearing pajamas.
Right as she opened the front door, the buzzer sounded. Diane didn’t even bother answering. Someone had to have pressed the wrong number by accident.
Grabbing her keys, she pulled the door closed—completely forgetting Brie was even in the apartment.
“Hold on.” Brie hustled out of the apartment. “She can’t have gone far.”
Diane couldn’t answer. Her heart had jumped into her throat. There were so many directions Ruby could have gone in, and if she’d managed to get on the subway then they were really screwed.
She rushed down the stairs, Brie close behind, although not making as much time in her high heels.
In the lobby, Diane nearly tripped over her own feet. Ruby stood on the front stoop, peering through the glass in the door.
“Oh my God.” Rushing across the room, Diane whipped open the door. “Mom!”
“Hi, honey.” Ruby smiled at her, then looked to Brie. “Hi… Oh, I’m sorry. You look familiar, but I don’t know from where.”
“This is my friend Brie.” Diane grabbed her mother’s hands, terrified that if she let go for even a moment the older woman might float away. “How did you get here?”
“That’s a goofy question. I walked.”
“You walked.” Diane shook her head, shocked that her mom had even remembered how to get between the two apartments.
Diane’s phone rang in her hand. “Shoot. I almost forgot about Dad. He’s looking for you.”
“Oh, I remember now!” Ruby glowed at Brie. “You and Diane work together.”
“She’s here,” Diane answered the phone. “She’s at my place.”
“Oh thank God.” Trevor sighed. “Where did you find her?”
“I didn’t. She came over here.”
As was to be expected, there was a long silence. “What?”
“Right. I know.” Diane walked down the front stoop while her mom and Brie chatted about where Brie had gotten her outfit.
“Okay. I’m on my way there now. I’m a few blocks away.”
Hanging up, Diane slipped her phone into her sweatpants’ pocket. Another disaster dodged.
Except this one could have turned out really, really bad. Though it would have been difficult for Ruby to leave Brooklyn without a transit card, it wasn’t unfathomable. She could have hitched a ride from someone or snuck on a train or bus.
At that point, a Silver Alert and the police keeping an eye out for her would have done very little.
It wasn’t the first time she’d been left alone for a few minutes. Diane and her dad had done it before while she was distracted with something interesting and seemed unlikely to go anywhere.
Obviously, they could never do that again. From that moment forward, Diane would be going so far as to always leave the bathroom door open.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Diane said. “Mom, you want some coffee?”
“Ooh, that sounds nice.”
Taking Ruby by the elbow, Diane led her up the stairs and into the apartment, Brie following a bit behind.
“Here.” Diane let go of her mother at the couch and grabbed an empty pizza box and a pair of dirty socks on her way into the kitchen. Three people witnessing the mess in her apartment was just too much.
Brie followed her into the tiny kitchen. “As I was saying, I need your help with Kai.”
Diane opened the bag of coffee and stared at Brie. “I can’t talk about that right now.”
“Why not? Your mom is safe.” Her lips pursed. “This thing with Kai is a ticking time bomb.”
“So is my mom.” The coffee scoop shook in her hand.
The front buzzer went off.
“I’ll let him in on my way out.” Brie started walking away. “I’ll call you later.”
Diane nodded and started the coffee, then trudged into the living room. Her mother had picked up the remote and was aimlessly flipping through the channels. She didn’t notice Diane standing behind her.
The door blew open with the force of a hurricane, and Trevor rushed in. “Ruby!”
“Yes?” She calmly turned to look at him.
He dropped onto the cushion next to her. “What were you thinking? Where were you going?”
“Over here. To visit Diane.”
His face turned red, and his jaw flexed. Closing his eyes, he took a slow breath.
“Want some coffee, Dad?”