Page 21 of Deadly Lies

“Thank you for your time, señor.” I was barking up the wrong tree. Of course, he didn’t know anything. This was a dead lead.

I began to walk back over toward the apartments when he stopped me.

“Señorita. There is one thing.”

I turned quickly back to him. “What’s that?”

“Yesterday, she showed up with a little girl.”

A little girl? My heart literally skipped a beat. “A girl? What did she look like?”

“Short blonde hair.”

Sienna’s brown hair had been chopped off! We had found her hair in the bathroom. It could’ve easily been dyed.

I ran back over to him, thrusting my phone in his face with a picture of Sienna on it. “Señor! Is this the girl?”

The man stared at the picture for a while. “Could be.”

Oh. My. God. “Where is she? Where is this girl?”

He shook his head.

Fuck!

I ran across the street back to the apartment complex. I would tear down this place! I was about to bust open Gladys’ door when I heard a small voice ring out.

“Miss Ashley?”

I turned to see Sienna standing in the middle of the playground, tears streaming down her face.

“Sienna, baby! Oh my God. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. But I’m scared. Is my daddy with you?”

“No, baby. But he’ll race here. Did someone hurt you?”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. My grandpa took me on an adventure. Then he gave me to this nice lady, and she left me here with Miss Gladys. They told me my daddy would come find me.”

“Grandpa?”

“Yeah, he’s my mom’s friend. Super nice. He bought me new shoes.”

Sure, he did. “Let’s call your daddy.”

I picked up the phone and called Mitch, but it went straight to voicemail. So I took a picture of her and sent it to him.

Ashley: I found her.

11

Mitch

I DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO text Ashley back. I fell to my knees to thank God for bringing my baby home and then dialed Ashley’s number, my hands shaking. But Ashley didn’t pick up—Sienna did.

“Daddy?” The sound of her sweet, innocent voice broke me. The badass SEAL faded—I was only Daddy. The only title that meant anything. And hearing from my daughter was the best sound in the world.

“Baby, are you okay? I love you so much! Did they hurt you?”