News Boy - Susan Hawke Page 0,28

a mewing sound and an even louder meow, I looked down. Both cats stood at my feet, staring at me as if to ask what was wrong with their boy. I bent over to run a hand along both of their backs and up their tails. "Don't worry, pretty girls. He's only having a fit. Everything will be okay, you'll see." Both ladies started purring, obviously taking me at my word, they ran over to their multilayered tower and climbed to their favorite shelves to stretch out and watch me work.

Shaking my head, I ignored the cats and got busy. As I cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, I reflected over our exchange. I knew I was correct. Neil had thrown his tantrum on purpose. When the truth behind his behavior occurred to me, my stomach clenched. He’d likely freaked out because he was afraid I would want to leave now since he didn't need me.

In that moment, I realized leaving hadn't even been on my mind because my heart was already here. If Neil would still have me, I wanted to be the Daddy he needed. And hopefully, I would also turn out to be the one he deserved.

I wiped my hands and went to Neil's room, ready to tell him how deeply he’d embedded himself in my heart and why I wanted to stay. There was no answer when I knocked, so I opened the door. The room was empty, with no sign of Neil anywhere near the timeout corner.

The window was cracked wide when I turned to check the playroom. Not only was it open, but the curtains were billowing out again because the screen I had quietly replaced myself after the first time I found it unlocked was missing. I never mentioned it to Neil, not wanting him to worry about spiders or bugs crawling in.

After I slapped Mario's hand, the panel slid aside, and I walked in, ready to get on Neil’s case for disobeying a direct order. Except the playroom was empty too. Since Neil had been too upset to play games, I knew something was wrong.

Even so, I didn’t let myself freak out until I thoroughly checked the rest of the house. The cats were still stretched out on their carpeted tree, so Neil hadn't left his room because they would run to him. Remembering the window, I yanked my phone out of my pocket as I strode back to his room.

I hit Mack's number and waited for him to pick up, hoping I was wrong but knowing I wasn't. Leaving aside the cats, Neil would've snapped out of little mode before climbing out a window and running away. And even when he was little, Jim had been right; Neil wasn't the type for such an elaborate escape attempt. No, he would've called Jim and demanded I be fired. If Mad Dog hadn't been the one to worry about, who was, and where had they taken Neil?

The thoughts rushed through my head, and I almost forgot what I was doing until I heard Mack's voice. I startled, then took a deep breath. "Get your ass over here and call the cops while you're at it. I'll get in touch with Jim. Someone managed to snatch Neil from under my nose. We have to find him—I don't want him out there alone and scared for another second."

Chapter Eight

Neil

I'd been standing in timeout like a good boy and trying not to cry while I remembered everything I said to push Da—that is, Mr. Brody, away. If he was going to leave, I wanted it to be on my terms.

Except I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to stay. Forever. To truly be my Daddy and let everything remain the way it had been for the past few weeks. I never knew I was lonely until Mr. Brody took over my life and made it better than ever.

I felt bad for saying those things. Instead of being happy the nightmare of Mad Dog was over, I’d only been able to think about Mr. Brody driving away in his super cool Jeep.

And I hadn't even talked to him since our grown-up playtime, had I? No. Instead, I let myself be afraid and hid behind my toys and juice pouches where I was comfortable. I bit my lip, trying hard not to cry. Lost in my sadness, I nearly jumped out of my skin when someone tapped on my bedroom window.

I started to dash past,