Evan dropped her hand and instead threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer as they maneuvered their way around the wounded and then stepped out of the building.
Free. She was finally free. She breathed in the cool night air, but her relief in being out of the school only lasted a moment. “Evan, where is Sadie? Jacob and Gretchen grabbed her and took off with her. Did somebody catch them? Is she okay?”
Evan took her by the arm and led her toward an awaiting ambulance. “I don’t need any medical care,” she protested. She stopped walking and faced him. “I just need to know if Sadie is safe.” Worry flooded her veins. Why wasn’t he telling her anything about Sadie?
“Annalise, look, we still have a situation here.” A pulse throbbed in his strong jawline. “Jacob and Gretchen managed to get away, and they have Sadie with them.”
“My God.” Annalise nearly fell to the ground in horror. How on earth had they gotten away and why had they taken Sadie with them? Despite the chaos of the scene surrounding them, her brain now whirled with all the things that had happened between Sadie and Jacob.
Before she could speak, an attractive woman with long dark hair approached them. “This is Rowan. She’ll see to it that you get the medical attention you need and get home safely,” Evan said. “Somebody will be in contact with you to arrange to take your statement at a later time.”
“I’m not going home,” Annalise protested vehemently. “I... I think he took Sadie because, despite her age, she is a computer genius. I know if she gets anywhere near a computer she’ll contact me. We...we have a secret page set up and a secret language.” She grabbed Evan’s forearm. “I know she’ll try to contact me, and she’ll help us rescue her.”
He stared at her. “What makes you think he took her for her computer skills?” he asked.
“He knew she was the smartest on the computer. I... I think he had some inside information about her.” Evan looked at her sharply as she continued. “I think they came into the school specifically to take Sadie, but the police arrived too quickly for them to get out. If I’m right about all this, then I can help. Evan, I’m not going home.”
He hesitated, frowned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Okay,” he finally relented. He then looked at Rowan once again. “Let the paramedics take a look at her wounds and then bring her to the hotel and arrange a room for her and a meal, and make sure she has a computer. I have to go.” Without another word he turned away and headed into the center of the chaos.
“Annalise, let’s go,” Rowan said gently, and she touched the teacher’s shoulder.
On the short drive to the hotel, all Annalise could think of was Sadie with her big blue eyes and happy smile. What exactly did Jacob want from her? There was little doubt in Annalise’s mind that Sadie had been taken because of her computer skills, so what did they want her to do? And if she did what was asked of her, would she be killed afterward?
“I’m sure you’re exhausted,” Rowan said minutes later as she opened the door to room 110 of a hotel close to the school.
“I just want Sadie to be found and returned safe and sound,” Annalise replied. “I... I was supposed to protect her. It was my job to protect her and I failed.” Tears blurred her vision.
To her surprise Rowan put her arms around Annalise and hugged her. “You did everything in your power, Annalise. You did an amazing job in keeping those girls safe in a dangerous situation. Don’t beat yourself up.”
Rowan finally released her and then stepped away. “I’ll be right back with a computer for you to use.”
When she left the room, Annalise stared around her. The hotel room was serviceable, with a king-size bed covered by a light blue spread, and a dresser and a television. A desk and a small round table sat in a corner.
Rowan returned with a laptop and carried it to the desk. “This should work for you,” she said, taking a moment to power it up. “I’ll go get you something to eat. I know you’ve been existing on next to nothing for the last couple of days. Is there anything special you’d like?”
“I’m not really hungry,” Annalise replied. She didn’t want to even think about food when Sadie was missing, kidnapped by a deranged man and his sadistic wife.
She sat in the desk chair and opened up the laptop. She quickly connected to the internet and went to the page she’d set up just for her and her students to use.
Tears once again blurred her vision. Sadie had been so incredibly brave throughout the entire ordeal, and she had stayed strong throughout the passing days and nights. Annalise prayed she would continue to be brave and strong wherever she was at the moment.
Was Sadie going to get a meal? Would Jacob and Gretchen make sure she had food? When the two adults fed their own faces, would they remember to feed Sadie?
She hadn’t expected to see anything from Sadie so soon on the page, and there wasn’t anything there yet. She drew in a deep breath and released it slowly.
Evan. Seeing him again, even for only a few moments, had stirred something deep inside her. But there were so many other crazy emotions racing through her right now it was difficult to sort it all out.
Had she been so happy to see him simply because he represented safety and her freedom? Or was there still something there, something that yearned for what might have been with him.
She released another deep breath. Hopefully Evan and his men would find Jacob
