“You didn’t have to come to bed, Angel.”

“I know.” I snuggle closer to him, resting my cheek to his chest and my thigh over his. Looking at the TV, I notice he’s watching one of his detective shows that I have never been able to get into.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yeah,” I whisper, my eyes already getting heavy. “Tomorrow night, we’re shopping, going out to dinner then going to a movie—a really girly one,” I tell him, and he laughs.

“Glad I’m spared from that.” He kisses the top of my head, and I give his waist a squeeze right before I lose the battle with my eyelids and fall asleep.

***

Waking to the sound of laughter, I force my eyes open then roll to look at the clock. It’s already after nine. I slept in. Not only did I sleep in, I slept longer than I have in a while. Forcing myself to get out of bed, I get dressed, brush my teeth, and then tie my hair up into a ponytail. I leave the bedroom and stop dead, staring at not only Harlen, but also Willow, my mom, and my dad all standing around in the kitchen, plates and coffee cups littering the surface of the butcher-block island.

“Hey, honey.” Dad smiles at me, and I come unstuck, moving further into the room. “Harlen called and said he was making breakfast,” he tells me, and my eyes go from my dad to Harlen, who’s leaning against the counter near the stove with a cup of coffee in his hands, a small smile playing on his lips, his bare feet crossed at his ankles. I still haven’t gotten used to my dad and Harlen getting along, and I’m not sure I ever will.

Seeing Harlen’s eyes soften on me, I give him a small smile then go to my dad and give him a hug. I then do the same with my mom, getting a kiss to my cheek from her before she lets me go.

“You ready for a waffle, baby?” Harlen asks, as I tuck myself against his side, and he slides his arm around me, kissing the top of my head.

I look up at him. “You should have woken me up.”

“You needed to sleep. You haven’t had a chance to sleep in, in a while.” That’s not a lie; with class, work, studying, and spending every second I can with Harlen, sleep has been a rare commodity.

“Mom didn’t lie. Harlen is the master of waffles,” Willow inserts, and my eyes go to where she’s sitting at the island, an empty plate in front of her that still has remnants of syrup on it.

“They’re good,” Dad agrees.

“The best,” Mom counters, and I grin at her.

“Kiss me then let me go so I can make you one, baby,” Harlen orders on a squeeze.

I lean up on my tiptoes and kiss him then let him go before I head for the coffeepot to make myself a cup. Taking a sip, I lean against the counter and watch him as he puts the batter into the waffle machine. I feel warmth hit my side, and I look at my dad as he wraps his arm around me, leaning into him as his lips touch the top of my head.

“So what are you and Willow doing today?” Mom asks, and I look at my sister then my mom.

“We’re going shopping, out to dinner, eating sushi, and then going to a movie.”

“That’s fun.”

“You wanna come, Mom?” Willow asks.

Mom’s eyes go to her and soften. “No, honey, you and your sister have fun. Your dad’s taking me to Nashville tonight to see a show.”

“Really? What are you guys seeing?” Willow perks up.

“The King and I,” Mom replies, and I look up at my dad and smile when I see he doesn’t exactly look as happy as Mom does. He’s going, because Mom wants to go, because he loves her. My eyes go to Harlen, and I feel my chest get warm and my belly dip. He’d do the same thing for me. He’d take me to a show, take me shopping, take me to the moon if I asked him to, and do it without complaint, because he loves me. If I had made a list of traits I’d want in a husband and checked each item off one at a time, Harlen would check every single box. Every single one of them.

Chapter 12

Harmony

“I’LL BE RIGHT BACK. I’M just going to the bathroom real quick,” I whisper to Willow, and she takes her eyes off the screen to look at me.

“I told you not to get the extra-large soda,” she mutters, and I grin at her.

“Whatever.” I stand and duck out of the theater, hearing everyone laugh behind when something funny happens. Wanting to get back so I don’t miss anything, I hurry toward the bathrooms then stop when I run into a huge body. “Sorry.”

I look up, feeling my lungs tighten and my heart stutter when I see my own refection staring back at me through a pair of dark sunglasses. I turn to get away and start to scream, but before I can even make a sound or take a breath, my mouth is covered by a large hand holding a cloth.

I suck in a lungful of air that burns my throat and buck back, feeling my feet come off the floor. Feeling something jab into the side of my neck, my eyes that are suddenly too heavy to keep open start to close, and my body feeling like deadweight falls. I hear people chatting and try to fight, try to open my mouth to yell, but it’s useless as I’m dragged into the darkness.

Hadley

As the credits on the screen start to roll, I stand from my seat, grabbing my purse, my half-eaten bag of popcorn, and my empty soda cup. I smile at the couple that had taken up the seats next to me and scoot past them, not bothering to stick around for the extra feature. Heading down the steps and out of the theater with the crowd, I toss my cup in the garbage and tuck my popcorn away in my bag, figuring I paid close to ten dollars for it, so I might as well pretend like I will eat it later.

Stopping at the restrooms, I wait in line forever for a stall, and by the time it’s my turn, the bathroom is almost empty, so I quickly use one of the stalls, wash my hands, and leave. Going to the exit closest to where my car is parked, I push the door open and start down the sidewalk, hugging my jacket around me to ward off the cold night air. When I see movement out of the corner of my eye, I turn my head and my heart drops into my stomach as I watch a figure dump what looks like an unconscious woman into the trunk of their car and slam it shut.

“Oh, God,” I breathe, covering my mouth with my hand, and then I quickly duck behind the hood of a truck when the person stops and turns my way at the sound of my voice.

Did that just happen? No. No way. I close my eyes, trying to convince myself that I’m imagining things. Hearing a car start up, my lungs compress and I take off at a run without thinking, crouching low behind two cars and down an aisle to where I parked. When I get into my car, I start the engine and grab my cell phone out of my purse. I don’t even know what I’m doing as I pull out after the car, but something in my gut urges me to follow it.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

“I just witnessed a man put a woman in the trunk of his car!” I shout into my phone hysterically.

“Where are you, ma’am?” the woman asks, and I tell her the theater name then hold my breath when the light in front of me goes from red to green.

“The light just turned green. We’re leaving the theater parking lot now!” I cry, holding on to my steering wheel tightly as I press down on my gas.

“Which way are you heading?”

“I don’t know. Can’t you track my cell phone or something?” I yell, panicking as the car in front of me speeds up.

“Ma’am, please calm down. Do you see any street signs?” Calm down - is she crazy?

I scan the road, but there is nothing. “I don’t see anything. I’m in a bright blue Nissan Altima. He’s in a black Ford.”

“We’re looking for you,” she says, and I swallow then jerk my head to the right, seeing a sign.

“We’re on Bitterknot Road. I don’t know what direction we’re going, but I just passed mile marker five.”

“Good, that’s good.” She sounds relieved, and I let out a deep breath while sending up a silent prayer. “Ma’am, I’m transferring you over to an officer,” she tells me, and I nod. “Are you still there, ma’am?”

“Yes, sorry, I’m still here.”

“Transferring you now,” she says, the line going quiet.

“This is Detective Cobi Mayson. Who am I speaking with?” a deep voice rumbles in my ear, and I swallow. Cobi Mayson. I know him—or knew him—when I was in high school. Okay, I hadn’t actually known him, but I knew of him. Everyone did. At least, every person with a vagina did, and since I have one of those, I knew him. “Hello.”