Life
is full of decisions and it’s the split-second ones that change your world
forever.
Nick
Shepherd made such a decision on the day his son, Jesse, was taken from a
Christmas market in Naperville. The woman looked normal and had a son of her
own, and he was only going to be a minute. But that minute was all she needed.
His son was gone.
A
year later, the task force is being downsized and they are no closer to finding
Jesse than they were the day he disappeared. At his wits end, Nick is given a number
and a name by the lead on the case.
Ex-detective
Frank Ford has issues, several of them. Two steps shy of a full-blown
alcoholic, all he wants is to bury himself in the bottle. He’s doing a pretty
good job of it, too, when Nick Shepherd asks for his help. Does Ford want to
help? No. Is Ford going to help? Hell no. Until four words resonated deep within
him.
“She
took my son!”
Excerpt:
Tapping the woman
in front of them on the shoulder, Nick made an executive decision.
“Excuse me,” he
said as she turned around. “My son left his mitten at the seating area over
there but I don’t want him to miss his turn. Would you mind watching him for a
minute while I run over and find it?”
The woman’s kindly
brown eyes took in Jesse’s tear-soaked face and the length of the line then
smiled. “Of course,” she replied. “But be quick, I think they’re rushing the
kids through so they get in as many as they can before closing.”
“Like there’s fire
coming out of my as—sorry, butt—sorry.” Nick stumbled over the words but she
only laughed and waved her hand.
“Go!”
“Thanks,” Nick
said gratefully and quickly hugged Jesse to him. “I’ll be right back, buddy,
okay? You just stand here with this nice lady and I’ll be so quick you won’t
even notice I’ve gone.”
Jesse looked at
him warily but the woman smiled and said, “He’ll be fine with me and Marcus,
won’t you?” Jesse gave a hesitant nod and Nick hit the ground running.
The mitten Gods
must have been smiling down on him because he found it under the table where
they’d been sitting almost immediately. He heaved a huge sigh of relief and
dashed back to Santa’s Grotto, mitten held high like a victory torch so Jesse
could see.
Nick made good on
his promise, he was back in just over a minute, if a little out of breath.
Promising himself he’d tell Daisy to stop bringing in donuts to work, he headed
to the front of the line. He smiled as he slowed his approach, not wanting to
slip on the frozen ground. Nick was surprised to see Jesse still held the
woman’s hand. Although Jesse was an affectionate kid, he was also very cautious
and took a while to warm up to new people. A hand tightened around Nick’s
heart. It had been a long time since Jesse had felt a motherly touch. Even when
they’d sat on the couch watching TV, Jesse’s hand had always been curled around
Anna’s.
“I got it, dude!”
Nick said jubilantly, putting his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “It was right whe—”
The words caught
in his throat as the boy turned and so did the woman holding his hand. “Hey!”
she yelled, pulling the boy toward her.
“I’m sorry.” Nick
held up his hands. “I thought you were… my….” He spun on his heel, his gaze
flitting all around him. “Jesse!” His name echoed on the cold evening air.
“Jesse! My son? Where’s my son?” Nick grabbed the woman’s forearm and her eyes
widened in horror. “My son!” he repeated. What was wrong with her? Why was she
looking at him like that?
“Hey, man, take it
easy.” That came from a big, bald man a couple of spaces down the line.
Nick ignored him
and shook the terrified woman. “My son, he was here. Right here. Where is he?
You must have seen him!”
“Sir, is there a
problem?”
Nick looked at the
woman dressed in a short-skirted elf costume and the burly security guard behind
her. He dropped the frightened woman’s arm and ran shaking hands through his
hair. “My son,” he said again. Why was no one listening to him? “He was right
here! Where is he?” He turned back to the dark-haired woman who now clasped her
son to her tightly. “You saw him. You must have. He was with the other woman
and the boy. I just went to find his… his mitten.” Nick waved it pathetically,
the woolen mitten still clutched firmly in his fingers. “I found… it.”
“The little blond
boy?” the elf asked.
“Yes!” Nick tried
not to scream but panic, raw and heavy bubbled deep within him. He tried to
push it down, but he could taste it in the back of his throat. “He was here.
Right here. I was only gone—”
“She left.”
“She left?” Nick
shook his head. “What do you mean she left? Where. Is. My. Son?”
The elf turned her
concerned gaze on the security guard, who stepped forward and put a firm hand
on Nick’s shoulder. Spots dotted Nick’s peripheral vision as his brain tried to
force him to accept what she was saying.
“Sh-she said there
was an emergency. That they had to go.”
“Go?”
“I-I thought you
were together,” she stuttered. “Oh, my God. I didn’t know. I thought you were
toge—”
“Where is my son?”
Nick knew what the answer was going to be, but he had to hear it. “Where is my son!”
“Sh-she took him.”
BUY LINKS TO FOLLOW
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