Page 54 of Play With Me
“I don’t think that’s helping, Mick,” Lenni snaps.
None of this is helping.
The sun has started to set, night chasing away the glowing light, and with every passing hour, my hope that Maya will be found. Officers are packed into my house when they should be out looking for my daughter.
For some reason, all three squad cars that are on my property have their lights lit up like they’re doing a drug bust, and my home has a meth lab in it. LikeI’vedone something wrong.
“Stay out of it, Valentina,” Mick bites back.
“Watch your tone when you speak to my wife, Mick,” Lenni’s husband, Tripp, warns from where he stands next to the sofa. There’s literally no reason for him to be here, but Lenni refuses to leave my side, and he refuses to be parted from her for long. I have to give Tripp props, though. He’s already gone out twice with Anders to look for Maya.
Mick hasn’t left the house once.
His phone lights up in his hand, and a picture of Kate fills the screen. “You should get that.” I nod to it.
He looks at me in confusion before following my eyes to the phone. His lips turn down as he frowns at it. “I can’t worry about that right now.”
Anders steps up beside him, offering me a handto help me up. “Do you want to go out with me this time, or do you still want to stay here?”
I'm about to answer when, all of a sudden, there’s a flurry of commotion. I hear yelling, and everyone’s radios crackle simultaneously.“We got the girl! I repeat, the girl is home and unharmed!”
Flying from my seat, I rush through the house to the front door, where Maya is walking in with an officer, wide-eyed and shocked. “Mom? What’s going on?”
“She just walked on up, ma’am. Says she was dropped off a block away,” the officer explains.
A sob escapes my throat as I pull her into my arms, shaking us both as all the adrenaline leaves my body, the intensity of how scared I’ve been hitting me all at once. “Are you okay? Where have you been, Maya? What happened?”
She grips me back just as hard, tears leaking from her eyes, though I suspect it’s in reaction to me. “What do you mean? We just went and grabbed food before he brought me home.”
“He? Who is he?” Mick presses from behind me.
I pull back to see Maya glaring at him. Her eyes flit to Anders, where embarrassment smothers her hostile look. “The guy you sent to pick me up today.”
We all look at Anders as his face morphs into shock. “That I sent? Maya, I didn’t send anyone to pick you up.”
Goosebumps break out over the skin on Maya’sarms. She shakes her head in puzzlement, looking back and forth between him and me. “He said he was a friend of you and Mom.” She looks at Lenni. “He said you couldn’t make it, so he was supposed to get me home.”
The shock takes over as she begins to shake, fingers digging into my arms where we’re still holding onto each other. “He knew all of your names. He knew Aunt Lenni was picking me up. I just thought…” The severity of the situation settles over her as she stares at me with wide, teary eyes. “Who was he, Mom?”
Ignoring her, I ask, “I’ve been calling you all night. Where is your phone? Why was it going to voicemail?”
“It died during last period. I asked the guy if he had a charger, but he didn’t.” Maya keeps looking around at everyone who’s staring at her, shoulders hunching in with every passing moment.
“Can you describe him to us, Maya? Did he tell you his name?” Anders asks her.
She shakes her head. “He never said his name. He didn’t really talk much until we got to the restaurant. Then he just asked me about school and what I was into. He asked how long you’ve been dating my mom. And if she’d brought anyone else home lately.” Her cheeks flush as her eyes dart back to me before settling on the floor. “I thought it was kind of weird that he was so interested in Mom, and when I askedwhy he wanted to know so much about her, he stopped asking questions.”
I look over my shoulder at Anders, concern drawing my eyebrows together. His profile matches my apprehension. “Alright.” He turns and motions to the officers. “Everyone who doesn’t need to be here, out. Thank you all for your help. Get home safe.”
The next hour passes in a blur. Maya describes the man to a sketch artist while Anders calls the noodle shop where she was brought to see if they have cameras. None of the men we show her pictures of are familiar to her. She doesn’t recognize Vinny or Luca. We even show her pictures of Martin and Nikolai, but she says no to all of them.
Lenni and Tripp go home after a lot of hugs and promises to keep my friend in the loop—to the detriment of her guard dog of a husband.
Soon, it’s just us four.
Exhaustion settles in my bones, and I feel like crying into a bottle of red while I watch Maya sleep…creepy as that sounds.
“Maya, why don’t you go on upstairs. I’ll be up in a minute,” I tell her, fully prepared to fight both Mick and Anders on them leaving us alone for the night.