“Thanks. Didn’t know yours was a turbo,” Raph said.
Penny puffed her chest up, some of the worry falling away from her face. “It might look tiny, but that Mini Cooper is mean.”
Raph squeezed her shoulders. “I’m sure.”
“How does the security footage look?” Wyatt asked.
Penny released him, hurrying back to the laptop. “We’ve been fast-forwarding the footage from this morning. It’ll take another fifteen minutes or so.”
“We’re tracking her with an app.” Raph glanced at Wyatt’s phone. “Fifty miles from us, now.”
Wyatt’s stomach flipped. “We need to go. I don’t want to wait the fifteen.”
“Tell us when you find her,” Raph said, setting Wyatt’s key on the desk. “If it’s a false alarm and no one took Hazel, then we’ll need you to search for her around here.”
“Sure,” Sam said. Then he blinked. “Wait. I thought you guys broke up.”
Penny looked up, surprised. Wyatt smiled sheepishly. “We made up. And told Dad. Dad’s okay with us, I think. You don’t have to keep secrets from them anymore, Penny.”
Penny smiled in relief. “That’s good to hear.”
She turned back to the screen, and Raph caught Wyatt’s hand, turning them out of the office. “C’mon, Wy.”
“I’m coming.”
If things had been better, he’d have made a joke of that. Right now, Wyatt followed behind Raph, his heart thudding. With every minute they wasted, his baby was getting further from them. Who knew where she was? Who knew what would happen to her?
As long as she was on the move, it meant her captor couldn’t do anything to her... right?
He swallowed, climbing into the passenger seat when Raph opened the door for him. Then they were off, screeching out of the parking lot.
“Drives like a sports car,” Raph said, his lips curling a little.
“Don’t joke about that.”
Raph glanced at the road, then at Wyatt. “I’m not leaving you to your thoughts, Wy. Your mind’s a dark place.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
Raph shrugged, turning them down one street, then another. Then they got onto the acceleration ramp of the highway, and Wyatt relaxed by a fraction. We’re heading for you, hon. Hang in there. “Tell me anyway.”
“The time you asked me to slap you,” Raph finally said, looking at the road. “I learned things about you, Wy. Not sure you meant me to, but I did.”
“Oh.”
Wyatt still remembered that night, when Raph had stripped him raw with words, and Wyatt had laid before him, vulnerable and broken. Then Raph had cradled him after, loved him, and Wyatt had known he wanted no other alpha, but Raph.
They drove in silence, switching lanes, passing slower cars. Wyatt watched as the asphalt skimmed by beneath them, the mile markers passing one by one. “I don’t suppose you could drive faster.”
Raph eyed him sidelong. “No. Not if I want to keep you safe.”
And Wyatt looked down, remembering the baby in his belly. He’d not thought to keep himself safe, but he needed to remember, for their child’s sake.
“How far are we from Hazel?” Raph asked.
Wyatt looked at his phone. “About fifty-five miles.”
“I can’t go much faster. At most, eighty. They’re probably doing sixty an hour.”
Unease coiled his guts into a tight knot. Wyatt stared at the red dot on his phone, willing it to stop moving. But if it did... what would happen to Hazel? He refused to believe she was dead. No. Hazel was alive somewhere, and he’d get to hold her in his arms again.
Raph reached over, squeezing Wyatt’s thigh. Then he rubbed his knuckles over Wyatt’s belly, dipping his thumb into Wyatt’s navel. Wyatt nudged his hand away.
“What?”
“Tickles.”
“Really? I didn’t know you were ticklish.” Raph’s hand slipped up his chest, a light, warm touch.
Wyatt squirmed, pushing it away. “Drive!”
“I’m driving!”
His phone buzzed—a message from Penny. His stomach flipped.
Raph glanced over. “What did she say?”
Wyatt clicked on the message, his throat tight. Sam says it’s someone called Max. He’s in a silver car with the following license plate number. I’m attaching pictures and a video clip. He took her at 1:43 PM.
He dropped the phone, his pulse roaring in his ears. Max had his baby. Max took his baby, and who knew what he’d do to her?
“Wy?” Raph asked, his eyebrows screwing together. “Wy, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Max,” he choked, his throat too tight. He should watch the video. He should see what Max had done to his daughter, but he couldn’t. Not when he remembered that too-tight grip, the way Max had slammed him against the wall. “I—I... Penny sent a video.”
“What car am I looking for?”
“Silver.”
“That’s all I need. You did good, Wy.”
Raph caught his hand, his grip warm and firm. Wyatt concentrated on Raph’s touch. Outside, the forest flew by on either side of the highway, and the afternoon sun glinted off the cars.
Wyatt gulped. “I should—should watch the video. Just—just so I know.”
Raph glanced over. “You don’t have to. We’ll track her down and beat the hell out of him.”
The phone buzzed again. Wyatt closed his eyes, torn. He was a dad. He should be brave enough to know what happened to his daughter. But the sight of Max... He gulped. Maybe a video would be okay, if he wasn’t looking at Max in person. “If you want to... to watch it, I can... hold the phone up.”
Raph studied him again. “If you’re sure.”
Wyatt nodded. He needed to be brave. So he held his breath, picked the phone up. Penny’s new message said, I’ve forwarded all this info to Dad, too. He’s passed the news to the Highton police. He’s on his way.
“Dad’s on his way,” Wyatt said, some of the weight on his chest easing. Then he scrolled up, tapping on the video.
The video was grainy, a wide-angle view of the drive-in’s parking lot. There was a silver car there, and two others to the side. Hazel skated up in her yellow apron. The window rolled down, and Wyatt glimpsed the vague outlines of Max in the car, with his
