Mountain Man's Accidental Surprise - K.C. Crowne Page 0,41

a picture. Emmy’s picture.

My jaw tightened, but I tried to keep my face as blank as possible. Just as I thought, they were looking for Emmy.

“Have you seen this woman?”

“Can’t say that I have,” I said, passing the photo back to the man. Except he didn’t take it. His eyes were on me, and he studied my face.

“Are you sure? Can you take another look, just to be sure?”

I glanced down at the photo, pretending to study it for a moment. “Nope. I think I’d remember a pretty face like that.”

The man took the photo back, and before he could ask me any more questions, I climbed into my truck and shut the door. He remained on the street, too close for me to pull out of my spot.

I rolled down my window even though the rain was starting again. “Do you mind?”

“Oh yes, I’m sorry.” His voice was flat. He watched me as I pulled out of the spot, and when I glanced in my mirror, he was still in the street. He watched as I pulled away, then turned to a woman walking out of the diner, showing the photo to her.

At least he’s not following me, I thought. But dammit. They were in Liberty already. I knew they would get here eventually, but I had hoped the flooding and the rain might slow them down. Obviously Antonio was persistent.

As soon as I was outside of city limits, I pressed down on the gas. I sped as fast as I safely could toward home.

He was still looking for her, which was good. She was safe. But I wasn’t satisfied with that. I quickly dialed Sam’s number.

He answered on the first ring. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“How is she?” I asked. “Tell me she’s still there.”

“She’s in your room, man. She tossed me some laundry, and I’m throwing it in the washer now, but I saw her two minutes ago.”

I let out a sigh of relief. Thank God. She was fine.

“What’s going on?”

“They’re in town. They’re passing around her picture and asking if anyone has seen her,” I said.

“Damn, they’re fast,” he commented. “But yeah, she’s fine. Is Eli with you?”

“He was working on the other side of town. Could you give him a call? I didn’t have a chance to yet. I just wanted to get home as fast as I could.”

“Yeah, I’ll call him. I think it’s best if we get everyone back here. We need to be on high alert.”

“I couldn’t agree more, brother. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”

“Drive safe,” he said before hanging up.

Ooo000ooo

I pulled into the driveway and stopped short of my usual parking space. I shut off the engine of the truck and hurried toward the front door. Everything was quiet as far as I could tell, which should have been a relief. But I wouldn’t feel right until I saw Emmy myself.

Until I could hold her in my arms again.

I busted through the front door and called out for her. “Emmy?” No answer, but that didn’t mean anything. She might not have heard me. I rushed up the steps and saw Sam perched outside my bedroom door. He was sitting in a chair playing on his phone.

“Where is she?”

“She’s in there,” he said, hooking a thumb at the door. “I think she’s asleep, so I didn’t want to bother her.”

“Thanks, man,” I said, reaching for the doorknob. I turned it slowly, trying to be as quiet as possible. If she were asleep, I wanted her to remain that way. She needed her rest.

My eyes fell on the bed as soon as the door opened. It was empty. My heart raced, but I told myself it didn’t mean anything. Where would she have gone?

“Emmy?” I called, walking into the room and heading for the bathroom.

The door was open, light was off. I stepped inside the small bathroom and she wasn’t in there. I scanned the room again; no sign of her.

My closet door was ajar, and I walked over to it, opening it in case she was hiding in there for some reason. But she wasn’t. The only thing I noticed was that someone had gone through my clothes.

Dammit. Where is she?

“What the hell?” Sam’s voice spoke from behind me.

A wind blew through the room, rustling the blinds and curtains. We both looked toward the window. It was wide open.

“Where is she?”

“That’s what I’m about to ask you,” I growled. I grabbed my brother by the shirt and slammed him against the