Page 50 of Captive Wilderness
“Brooke, honey. Good to hear from you. Of course I’m okay, better than ever!” She gave a whoop and the music kept pumping behind her. It sounded like a rave.
My jaw clenched. Sabrina could be dead and our mother was partying. “Where are you?” I raised my voice so she would hear me over the noise.
“Mexico! A seat sale came up, an all-inclusive package, and Luke and I thought, why not? It’s fantastic. It’s beach front and there are two pools, and it’s so beautiful. I want to bring both you girls next time.”
“Mexico,” I repeated, my voice flat. I pressed my forehead against the wall. I didn’t know who the hell Luke was, but that didn’t surprise me. Natalie Covin burned through guys as fast as I did.
Or…as fast as I used to.
“I need help.” On so many levels. I needed my mom, the strong parts. I needed to find Sabrina. I needed to figure out this mating thing. Ineededmy mom.
“It’s going to have to wait until we get back, sweetie. Our flight isn’t for another five days. You’ll have to figure out whatever it is on your own for now. You’re resourceful.” There was a pause as a group of people cheered close to her. “Ask Sabrina to help. I think she was taking some time off.”
My heart squeezed tight. “She’s missing.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line, but I could hear the music and other voices. Then my mother said, “I’m sure she’ll turn up. You know how she likes to go on those week-long hikes of hers.”
This was one moment when I wished my mom wasn’t such a flake.And I’m just like her.“She’s not on a hike.”
More cheering and music. “You’re worrying me here.” At last, my mother’s voice had left the carefree tone behind.
I squeezed my eyes shut, keeping the tears at bay. My mother was in Mexico. She couldn’t help find Sabrina. When she returned home, she might end up in danger like me. Maybe taking a last-minute flight to Mexico had saved her from our fate. Maybe she partied in the safest place for her to be.
And if I told her the truth about the kidnapping, she would rush back and willfully put herself in danger to protect us. She was far away right now, safe, and needed to stay that way.
Opening my eyes, I forced my voice to brighten. “It’s all good. I’ll handle it. Don’t worry about a thing.”
“Are you sure, honey? You sound different.” The music behind her stopped altogether, like she’d gone into a building.
“Positive. Just happy to hear your voice.” Another understatement. Knowing my mom was safe took a burden off my shoulders. “What about,” I said, closing my eyes. “What about seeing if you could stay longer?”
There was a slight pause. “You know, Luke and I were just talking about that and—”
“You should do it,” I said, cutting her off. “You deserve a big vacation.” My mom had worked as a receptionist at a doctor’s office for longer than I’d been alive.
“Brooke. What’s going on?”
I exhaled slowly and focused on the wood paneling of the wall. “I’ve just had a stressful couple of weeks is all.” I almost groaned at the words and how true they were. “Everything’s fine. I’ll see you when you get back, okay?”
“Okay.” Her voice remained hesitant.
“Have fun, Mom. I’ll talk to you later. Love you.” I hung up before I started to cry.
This time I set the phone in the cradle gently. I took one deep breath, then looked over my shoulder without meeting the woman’s gaze. “Can I make one more call?”
“Go for it.”
I dialed the number for my voice mail. The automated system prompted me for my cell number and when I got in, it announced that my mailbox was full.Great.
The first one was from Corey asking where I was. We were supposed to go partying the day after I’d been abducted. The next several were from my boss. Or, former boss. First the messages started out brusque, telling me to phone him or I was going to lose my job. Then there was the last two, both firing me. I didn’t know why he felt the need to fire me twice, but the second one told me to come and clean out my locker or he was going to throw out my stuff.
The last one was from Corey again. It was a week later from her first, asking if she should file a missing person’s report. I rubbed my temples. Corey wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but I would have assumed she wouldn’t call the person who is missing to ask if she should report them missing.
Taking a deep breath, I made sure all the messages were erased in case Sabrina tried to call, then glanced at the shop owner again. “Sorry. Just one more.” I called Corey’s number. She didn’t answer, but her voice mail picked up.
“Hey, Corey, it’s Brooke. I’m okay, but I’ll be out of town for a while. Not sure when I’ll be back but if you haven’t filled out that missing person’s report with Detroit PD, you can leave it for now. Thanks. Talk to you soon.”
I stared at my hand on the receiver. Should I fill out a missing person’s report for Sabrina? Report our kidnapping? Should I do it here? Should I do it in Detroit? Could I do it over the phone? Would it help anything anyway? We were going to talk to Kane’s cousin. Maybe that was still the best strategy.
