“Will, it’s Deputy Raines. Are you okay in there?”
My shoulders sagged in relief. Will answered the deputy in a shaky voice. “We’re okay.”
I heard a door opening, and Mia’s cries got louder, but it was Ava who spoke. “I want Cae Cae.” The sound of her pleading shattered the last piece of my heart still holding itself together.
“I’m gonna be there soon, Ava.”
“Did you hear that, Avs? Caelyn’s coming soon.”
The deputy began speaking again. “We need to take the bad guy out to the patrol car. Then we’ll come back for you.”
“Okay.” Will’s voice sounded stronger now. “I have to move the furniture, Caelyn.”
“Don’t hang up!” I was desperate. This was my one lifeline to my siblings, and I couldn’t let it go. “Put the phone on speaker and lay it on the bed.”
“All right.” Something rustled, and then Will spoke again. “Can you hear me?”
“I can hear you.”
The sounds of furniture being pushed across the carpet, and Will grunting, came over the line. I held my breath until I heard a knock.
“It’s Deputy Raines. Can I come in?”
A door creaked in the background.
“Are you guys okay?” Deputy Raines asked.
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Will answered.
The slight tremor in his voice had me fisting the sheets even tighter. I never should’ve left Anchor. I should’ve simply found the cheapest apartment possible and worked at a bar or a restaurant on the island. But instead, I’d been selfish, desperate to use the scholarship I’d worked so hard for.
Ava’s voice cut into my thoughts. “Can you take us to Cae Cae?”
“Who’s Cae Cae?” Raines asked.
“My sister. She’s on the phone,” Will said.
“Is it all right if I talk to her?”
“Sure.”
The phone beeped as he took me off speakerphone. “Ms. O’Connor, we’ve got them. They look scared but are perfectly safe.”
I burst into tears. Through my sobs, I managed to get out, “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“Of course. We’re going to take them to the sheriff’s station on Shelter.”
“Okay. I’m in Seattle. I go to college here. But I’m going to get over there as fast as I can. Will you take this phone so that you can update me if anything changes?”
“I’ll keep the phone with me. Take a deep breath. They’re going to be fine.”
But that wasn’t completely true. Sure, physically, they were okay. But emotionally? The kids were traumatized. And I didn’t know the first thing about how to heal those wounds. But like with everything else, I’d simply have to find a way. I just had to get to my siblings first.
“Cae Cae!”
Ava hurled herself at me as soon as I crossed the threshold of the staff lounge at the sheriff’s station. I caught her, lifting her into my arms and rocking her back and forth. “I’m here now. You’re okay.”
She pressed her little face into my neck. “I was so scared.”
I held her tighter against me as I squeezed my eyes closed. “I’m so sorry, Avs.” As her small body trembled against me, I vowed that she would never feel scared like that again.
I scanned the room, my gaze catching on Harriet, Kenna’s adoptive guardian. She’d been the one to arrange a boat for us from Seattle to Shelter Island and had immediately headed to the sheriff’s station herself. She rose, little Mia fast asleep in her arms.
I blinked back tears. “Thank you so much, Harriet. I don’t know what I would’ve done…”
“Oh, hush now. You know I’d do anything for you girls.”
Kenna crossed to the older woman, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “Thank you.”
“I’m happy to help however I can.”
“Where’s Will?” I asked.
Harriet inclined her head to the hallway. “Deputy Raines was getting him a soda and a snack. I think the adrenaline was wearing off. He was getting a little shaky.”
My eyes fell closed again as if I could will away the nightmare of the past few hours. I had so many questions, but I didn’t want to ask any of them in front of little ears. I pressed a kiss to Ava’s head. “Can you go to Bell? I want to find Will.”
Ava nodded and went easily into Bell’s arms. Bell snuggled her close. “I missed you like crazy.”
The small smile that Ava gave Bell had my shoulders easing a fraction. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
I headed back into the hallway, looking for any sign of the vending machines. After a couple of wrong turns, I spotted a head of floppy brown hair. “Will.”