Page 69 of Keeping Penny

His team would get the ball rolling to find them, of that Pyro had no doubt. He trusted them way more than he did the police. He was sure the cops were competent and good at their jobs, but they didn’t have the resources the Night Stalkers did.

Namely, Tex.

Pyro had no idea how Colvin had arranged this kidnapping without Tex knowing anything about it, but the computer genius would figure this out and find him and Bowie before they could be shipped off to who knows where.

His arms tightened around Bowie, and he winced when one of her feet brushed against his broken leg. He didn’t make a sound though, swallowing and internalizing the pain. He wouldn’t do anything to make this little girl more scared than she was already.

He felt the car pull out of the parking lot, and Pyro did his best to try to figure out where they were going, but after a while he lost track of the turns and realized he’d simply have to wait until they arrived at their destination.

Blinking, and still not able to see a thing, brought it home in a very tangible way what Bowie lived with on a daily basis. The darkness was complete and scary as hell. As a Night Stalker, he and his team were very good at operating in the dark. But they had all sorts of tech to help them see. Right now, he was completely blind, just like the girl in his arms.

Respect for her grew. As did his determination. No one would hurt his Bowie-Bear. No fucking one. They’d regret putting their hands on her. Scaring her. Using her for money. He’d protect her with his life, do whatever it took to make sure she was reunited with her mom. And to make not only the men who took them pay, but take Colvin Jackson out—permanently. Because if he could arrange for a six-year-old to be kidnapped and sold, he had no soul. And had probably done this exact thing to others.

His reign of terror ended here. One way or another, the man would die.

Pyro closed his eyes and tightened his arms around Bowie.

His mission was clear. Protect her at all costs.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Penny frowned and looked at her phone for what seemed like the hundredth time. She was done working, and Pyro hadn’t texted or called. She’d contacted him and gotten no response. The phone just rang and rang before going to voicemail. And the messages she’d sent hadn’t been read.

Something was wrong. She felt it in her gut. It was only about forty-five minutes after the time he said he’d be back, but that was forty-five minutes too long for someone as reliable as Pyro.

Being alone in the apartment suddenly seemed creepy. She felt as if she was being watched. With shaky fingers, Penny pulled up Casper’s contact information on her phone. She pushed the Call button and held her breath, hoping like hell he picked up.

“Hey, Penny, what’s up?”

Relief made her feel light-headed. “Something’s wrong.”

“Talk to me,” he said, his voice completely different now. More serious, no-nonsense.

“Pyro went to pick up Bowie at school. He said he was taking her to the park, but they’re almost an hour late getting home, and he’s not answering his phone or messages.”

“Stay where you are. I’m sending Laryn to you. I mean it, Penny—stay at the apartment. I’m on this.”

She appreciated more than she could say that Casper didn’t patronize her. Didn’t tell her that she was overreacting. That Pyro had probably lost track of time. They both knew Pyro would never worry her for no reason. And he certainly wouldn’t forget to let her know if he was running late. Casper’s reaction both reassured her and stressed her out even more.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“I’ll be in touch,” Casper said, then hung up.

Fifteen minutes later—fifteen minutes that Penny spent pacing and trying to call Pyro about ten more times—she was notified that someone wanted to be buzzed up to her floor. It was Laryn.

Relief filled her. She needed to not feel so alone.

When she opened the door, she found not only Laryn, but Mandy and Zita as well. Zita had been at Obi-Wan’s place, but she left as soon as she heard what was going on and met up with Mandy and Laryn in the lobby, after they’d already asked to be buzzed up.

The three women immediately surrounded Penny and enveloped her in a group hug. No one said anything for a long moment. Out of everyone in the world, these women knew the stress Penny was feeling. Not completely, because they’d never had a child go missing, but they knew what it felt like to be in the middle of an uncertain situation.

“I had Tate call Jen,” Laryn said, after she’d pulled back. “She’s going to meet up with him and the other guys at the park with Fred. That’s where you said they were going, right?”

Penny nodded.

“Right, so Fred will pick up their scent and we’ll find out what happened. Okay?”

Penny nodded again. She couldn’t get her voice to work. She was so worried.