Page 70 of Keeping Penny

“Come on, let’s go sit,” Mandy suggested, linking her arm with Penny’s. “Chaos is coming over as soon as he sees what’s what at the park. He didn’t think it was a good idea for us to be alone over here, so he’s going to come and keep watch over us, and be our point of contact.”

Penny felt as if she was living in a nightmare. How could this happen? How could Bowie and Pyro simply disappear? Something had happened. She felt it in her bones.

She sat on the couch. But what felt like two seconds later, she sprang back up, unable to sit and do nothing while her baby was missing. She paced back and forth, ignoring the worried looks her friends were giving her.

“Penny, honey. Come sit down,” Zita cajoled.

She shook her head. “I can’t stop wondering where they are. What happened. Are they hurt? Scared? Pyro is super-protective of Bowie. If someone tried to take her, he would’ve done anything necessary to prevent that, then he would’ve gone straight to the police station, or the base, or back here. He wouldn’t go radio silent. Not unless he had no choice. Not unless…” She let her voice trail off, unwilling to say the awful words.

“Don’t make any assumptions,” Laryn warned gently. “I’ve known Pyro a long time, and you’re right. He is protective. He’ll do anything he can to protect Bowie. But let’s not jump the gun. We don’t know what happened. It’s possible—not likely, but possible—they just lost track of time. Don’t think the worst, Penny. It’ll drive you crazy.”

She stopped in her tracks, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. Laryn was right. She needed to stay positive. If something happened, if her baby was in trouble, there was no better man to be with her than Pyro.

One night, after Bowie was in bed, they’d had a long conversation about his training. She’d expressed worry about him and the missions he went on, even though she didn’t know exactly what they entailed. Pyro spent a long time reassuring her, telling her all about the long hours he and his fellow Night Stalkers had endured training in hand-to-hand combat, how to evade enemies. Even the psychological training they’d received on manipulating captors. Not to mention, she was very familiar with how physically fit her man was.

Of course, none of that would matter against a bullet.

No.

She wasn’t going there.

Opening her eyes, she looked at her watch. Shit, it had only been two minutes since the last time she’d checked. What was going on at the park? What were Casper and the others finding? She needed information! Not knowing anything was driving her nuts. She heard a whimper…and realized with mortification that it had come from her.

Once again, her friends rallied, surrounding her, supporting her, making her feel not quite so alone.

“Hang on, Penny,” Mandy whispered as she tightened her hold. “We’ve got you.”

And they did. If there was anything good about this situation, it was the three women doing their best to hold her together. They’d clicked immediately, and Penny had no idea what she’d do without them right now.

She trembled, trying like hell to remain strong. But all she could think about was how scared Bowie had to be.

Maybe she was overreacting…but she didn’t think so. Whatever happened to Pyro and her daughter was bad. Really bad. Like, soul-crushing bad.

It was extremely difficult not to fall into despair. She had to have faith. In Pyro. In Bowie. In the Night Stalkers. In Jen and Fred. Wasn’t she always telling her daughter that it was better to be a positive Polly than a negative Nelly?

Easier said than done. Especially when the two people she loved most in the world, the only two people who’d ever loved her unconditionally, were missing. But if anyone could bring Bowie home, it was Pyro. He’d keep her safe or die trying.

And that was what scared Penny the most.

* * *

“Everyone stay back,” Jen ordered, as she prepped Fred to begin his search.

Casper had brought a pair of gloves Pyro recently wore so the dog would have his scent. He figured that wherever Pyro was, Bowie would also be, so they’d start with his scent and, if necessary, he’d get something of Bowie’s from Penny. But the woman was already stressed out beyond belief. He’d heard it in her tone when she’d called. And asking her for something of Bowie’s for the dog to scent would freak her out even more.

Jen stood at the edge of the playground and watched as Fred raced around, running from a bench on the other side of the area, to the swing set, back to the bench, to the slide, and back to the swings. Then he abruptly turned and headed toward the school—but he hadn’t gone more than twenty yards before he changed course again, coming back to the playground before dashing toward the sidewalk on the other side.

“Fred, sit,” Jen ordered. The dog immediately obeyed, but his entire body was shaking.

“He’s on scent,” Jen said, as she went up to the dog and clipped a long lead to his harness. “Stay behind me,” she told Casper and the rest of the team.

“Not happening,” Edge retorted. “We aren’t in the woods, and that’s a damn long lead. Fred’s not getting hit by a car on my watch.”

“If you walk in front of us, you could dilute the scent,” she argued in exasperation.

“Then I’ll walk next to you, so I can stop traffic if I have to.”

“Fine.”