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“Alice and I are on it.”
The call ends, and I hit the button to dial Evander. “I swear to god, Jasper, someone better be dead for you to be calling me at two o’clock in the fucking morning.”
“Juliet’s gone. I can’t find her.”
“Fuck.” All trace of sleepiness is gone from his voice. “I’ll send a team out. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
“None. Please, Evander, we have to find her.”
“We will.” The conviction in his tone soothes my nerves, but only a bit. “Check every inch of your house, closets, everything. Last time we had a Little girl go missing she was right under our noses. In the meantime, I’ll put everyone in town on alert as well. Don’t worry, Jasper. We’ll find your little one.”
Praying he’s right, I end the call and hurry down the stairs to begin the search.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Juliet
By the time I see the streetlights that line the main street through town, my feet feel like my shoes are filled with lead and it’s all I can do to put one foot in front of the other. If the docks aren’t close, I’m not sure I’ll ever make it.
Dropping down onto the sidewalk, I lean back against the brick wall of a building and try to catch my breath. But it’s difficult to get air in when my entire chest feels like someone has wrapped a rubber band around it and is just twisting it tighter and tighter.
Tears burn behind my eyelids as I sit there, and all I can think is that I want my Daddy. Even though I know my bottom will pay the price, all I want is for him to find me and take me home.
“Juliet? Honey, what are you doing out here?”
Forcing my eyes open, I look up to find a woman hovering over me. She looks vaguely familiar, and it takes me a moment to place her.
Myra. Solene’s Mommy, from when we went to the boutique my first day on the island.
“I don’t know.” The words burst out of me on a sob, tears streaming down my face. “I wanna go home.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Come upstairs with me and we’ll call your Daddy. The whole island is out looking for you right now.”
Guilt pricks through the relief that floods my system at her words. “I’m s-sorry,” I manage to sob out as she helps me to my feet and leads me into the boutique.
Upstairs, Solene is waiting for us, fury etched into every inch of her face. “I don’t want her here!”
“I know, baby. But Juliet needs our help. If you don’t want to talk to her, you don’t have to, but you will be polite. Am I understood?”
Crossing her arms, Solene stomps her foot. “No. She can wait downstairs for Mr. Jasper to come get her.”
Behind me, Myra sighs. “I don’t want to have to punish you tonight, little elf. But you are dangerously close to earning yourself a soapy mouth and a hot bottom.”
The threat is enough to have Solene pressing her lips together in a tight line, though it does nothing to quell the fury in her eyes as she glares at me.
“Thank you. Juliet, go have a seat on the couch there. I’m going to give your Daddy a call and let him know you’re safe.”
Myra hurries away, leaving me alone with Solene. And the guilt I’ve been feeling claws at me, until I can’t take the hostile silence any longer.
“I’m sorry I wasn’t a better friend to you back in New York. Well, I guess I’m sorry I wasn’t much of a friend at all.”
Solene’s expression softens, ever so slightly, and she jerks a shoulder. “It’s fine. It’s not like any of the other snobby bitches in the city were any better. I was just a commodity to you people, and I knew it.”
“That had to be hard.”
“It was. Honestly, I think if Myra hadn’t convinced me to come to the island with her, I would have flamed out hard in another year or two. I love designing clothes, but I’m not built for that life. It’s too… hard. Too cold.”
“I want to go back. No.” I shake my head. “I feel like Ishouldwant to go back. I didn’t really have a choice in coming to the island, and I miss having the freedom to just do whatever I want when I want. But I don’t really miss the people. Not like I should.”