Claiming Sarah (Ace Security #5)(72)
He’d carried her to and from the bathroom, leaving her alone to do her thing. She hadn’t been able to stand in the kitchen to make meals for them, but he’d done his best to follow her directions to the letter. Owen had been so proud when he’d managed to make a simple macaroni-and-cheese dinner.
They’d played card games, Go Fish being his favorite, as well as a ton of board games. She’d even helped him put together a puzzle that he’d been struggling with.
The only time Sarah had seen Owen lose his cheery disposition was when she asked if he would drive her into town. He’d frowned and shaken his head violently.
“No! Someone will see and take you away!”
Sarah had backed off immediately, but her heart had sunk. Owen knew as well as she did that the only way he’d be able to “keep” her was if she remained a secret.
Short of crawling out of the cabin and into the forest, and for who knew how many miles, it looked like she was stuck.
“Good morning!” Owen said happily as he sat up on his bed next to her. The twin beds had been a relief; knowing he didn’t expect to sleep with her or next to her was one worry off her plate. The mattress wasn’t very comfortable, but after he’d gotten her a pillow from the couch and helped her prop up her ankle, it had been better than the sofa.
“Morning,” Sarah said. She was missing Cole more than she could say, and was beginning to think it would be a lot longer than she’d thought before he would find her. But she wasn’t going to give up.
“Go Fish this morning?” Owen asked.
Sarah sighed. She was so sick of the card game, but it was much better than War, because at least it ended. She’d made the mistake of agreeing to play War with him the day before, and five hours later, she thought she’d scream in frustration when it still wasn’t over.
Someone had stocked the cabin with a ton of kids’ games. There was a whole closetful—Sorry!, Chutes and Ladders, Pictionary, Mouse Trap, Clue Junior, Shark Bite, Apples to Apples, Battleship, Trouble, HiHo! Cherry-O, and Let’s Go Fishin’. She had played them all with Owen and preferred Go Fish. It was simple and easy, and she didn’t have to think too hard. Besides, the man-boy was a sore loser, and it was easier to cheat to let him win in Go Fish than some of the other games.
“Sure. We can play Go Fish,” she said wearily.
“Yay!” Owen said, clapping joyfully. “But first, Owen needs to take care of Sarah.”
Sarah nodded and braced herself for his touch. He might act like a kid, but every time he picked her up, she was terrified he’d drop her. Or decide he wanted to touch her like an adult touched a woman. Besides that, her ankle was still extremely painful. She’d stopped taking the Oxy, afraid of becoming addicted, and had switched to plain Tylenol. It wasn’t as effective, but at least it took the edge off.
When Owen left her in the bathroom so she could pee and clean herself with a washcloth, she stared in the mirror. Her hair was a mess; she hadn’t washed it since she’d arrived. The huge muumuu she was wearing hid her body from view, but she knew she’d lost weight. The stress of the situation was taking its toll.
All things considered, Sarah knew she was still lucky. Owen hadn’t hurt her. He was actually somewhat sweet when she forgot that he was keeping her in the cabin against her will. He’d told her about his mom and how much he missed her. He talked about his life with her, and Sarah realized exactly how much Aubrey had done for her only child. She’d obviously loved him, and had probably been terrified for him when she’d found out she was dying. It didn’t excuse her for making her son think he could drag someone off into the woods and live happily ever after, but after spending time with Owen, Sarah at least understood.
But she missed her life.
Missed her new friends.
Missed Cole.
God, she missed Cole.
For the first time, she had true empathy for Owen. For what he might feel missing his mother. Of course, Cole wasn’t dead, and Owen was keeping her from him.
Hating how she vacillated between feeling sorry for Owen and being terrified she’d never see Cole again, Sarah took a deep breath. She placed a hand on her belly and closed her eyes. “Please find me soon, Cole,” she whispered. “I’m ready to go home.”
“Thank you very much,” Logan said into the phone as he nodded at the others. “I’d love for you to send a picture of it to me. Yes . . . I’ll be waiting . . . I appreciate this so much . . . If I have any other questions, can I call you back? Great. Thank you . . . I hope we find her too. Bye.”
He hung up the phone and said, “The lady at the hospital found the dollhouse! Sarah donated it to the children’s ward. It’s been in one of the playrooms ever since.”
“She’s sending a picture of it?” Blake asked.
“Yeah.”
Cole paced. He tried like hell not to get his hopes up, but everything else had been a dead end. Ryder was still looking into the tax payments on Aubrey’s accounts, but otherwise, they were stumped. They’d been searching for a week, and nothing had panned out. They’d had some close calls where they’d thought they were on the right track, but then each lead had fizzled out, or the cops had followed up and found nothing. At this point, Cole was ready to go rogue.
Ready to go door-to-door, head up into the mountains, whatever it took to find his Sarah.