A Bad Day for Sunshine (Sunshine Vicram #1)(100)

Sun rushed inside and found a tiny, shivering ball of a girl wedged as far into a corner as she could get.

She knelt down. “Sybil? Sweetheart? I’m Sheriff Vicram. I’m Auri’s mom.”

Her eyes were huge circles on an elfin face, but even in the light, her pupils were dilated. She raised her hands to defend herself. Good girl. Never stop fighting.

“What did he give her?” Quincy asked.

“No idea. Possibly morphine or Rohypnol.”

Fields knelt down and found a clear vial. “Rohypnol.”

“I think it’s time,” Quincy said to her.

“Call them in.”

As Quincy called in a rescue team, forgoing radio silence to get Sybil to the hospital, Sun tried to reach the girl. “Sybil, you did it. You led us straight to you. You and Auri. Such clever girls.”

She finally blinked and tried to focus. “Auri?” She pointed.

Sun turned to see Auri’s name in graffiti on the cinder block. No wonder she could see it in the windowless room. The paint was glow in the dark.

“Auri,” Sybil repeated, nodding as though wanting Sun’s approval.

“Yes. Auri.”

Levi took off his jacket and wrapped it around Sybil while Fields called in a report.

“You and Auri.” Sun drew her into her arms, and while one might imagine she would break down, she was simply in too much shock from both the ordeal and the cold.

“We can’t wait,” she said to Levi.

He nodded and lifted her into his arms.

“Zee, you and Quince get the ATV.”

“On it,” Zee said.

“Quincy, we don’t know if this guy is out there. Stay sharp.”

Quincy gave Sun a curt nod and took off in the direction from which they’d come, rifle at the ready. Levi carried Sybil, and Fields took point as they followed her team out. Levi’s role was as transparent as the rest of theirs. He was the knight.


State police escorted them to the small Del Sol Urgent Care Center. Levi sat in the back with Sybil. She clung to him, her dirty fingers and broken nails digging into the flesh at his neck. He didn’t seem to mind.

Emergency vehicles in every size and shape were waiting for them when they arrived. A medical crew had a gurney at the door as soon as they showed up. They didn’t know yet if they’d have to transfer Sybil to Albuquerque or not.

The mayor was there, speaking to news crews. They called to Sun, but she strode past and inside the UCC.

She watched the medical team work as she called Auri.

“You found her!” Auri cried when she picked up.

“You’ve seen the news.”

“You found her. Thank you, Mom.”

“Thank you, bug bite. I didn’t do it alone.”

“You have to tell me everything when you get home.”

“No, because you will be in bed asleep.”

“Tomorrow, then. Promise me. Everything.”

“Remember that whole no-more-secrets thing?”

“Yes.”

“I’m pretty sure it applies here.”

Sun hung up and looked around for Levi. He was gone.

She’d been dealing with doctors and family and reporters. The mayor gave her a semi-approving nod. The St. Aubins were rushed in among a flurry of camera flashes and hugged their daughter for days. And the doctors agreed Sybil would be fine despite her state of near hypothermia and dehydration.

Never one for the spotlight, however—even when it came to promoting his own company—Levi vanished before she’d gotten a chance to thank him.

“Around the clock?” Quincy asked before checking out for the night.

“Around the clock,” she said. With the kidnapper still out there, they’d have to keep a very close eye on the little ginger with olive-green eyes. In the meantime, Sun would contact some of her friends in the SFPD to see if they could borrow a safe house, although the St. Aubins might just want to take her somewhere safe. “Who’s up first?”

“Your call,” her chief deputy said through a yawn. “Not sure I could keep my eyes open, but I can take point first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Thanks, Quincy. I’ll stay tonight and work on getting her moved somewhere safe. You get some rest.”

“You got it.”

He started to walk off when she added, “You know who would be great right about now?”

He turned back. “Who?”

“Lieutenant Britton. We could really use him, don’t you think?”

Quincy frowned at her and said, “Who?” before doing an about-face and walking away.

Expecting nothing less, she gave his back a sassy thumbs-up, swearing to get to the bottom of that fiasco. As soon as she had time to breathe, that is.

After grabbing a cup of coffee, she sat across from the state trooper who’d joined her on the night watch. There were only a couple of hours before dawn when help was due to arrive. She just hoped she could stay awake that long.

Of course, the fact that a tall, ebony-skinned hottie with an authentic U.S. Marshal’s badge sat down next to her would definitely help. He handed her a sandwich, then stretched out his legs, clasped his hands behind his head, and closed his eyes.

“Come here often?” she asked him as she took a bite of the turkey club.