Page 24 of Cursed Fox (Willow Creek Security #4)

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Nancy

Jessie was missing. Her roommate said she never came home last night and Jessie wasn't answering her phone. That wasn't like my girl.

"I knew something was wrong. Why the hell didn't I listen to my instincts?" I asked no one in particular.

"You did listen to them, Mom. You just figured it was me Dad was going to come after, not Jessie. Not once did he threaten her. There was no way for us to know."

I heard what he was saying, but it didn't change the fact that I felt responsible. Jessie was missing, and it was all because I was focused on one child and not both of them.

"Where could he have possibly taken her?" This time I directed my question to Lex and Nolen.

Nolen had flown out as soon as I got word that Jessie hadn’t come home last night.

"The local police are out canvassing. They are aware of the situation, but no one has seen him in at least a week. He got fired from his job and the bank foreclosed on his home. The man is a fucking ghost," Nolen responded.

So basically everything he wanted to happen to us was happening to him.

"He's got to make contact at some point, right?" I knew I was grasping at straws, but I couldn't just sit there and do nothing. That wouldn't bring Jessie back to me. "What if we go to her? He couldn't have taken her far."

I hoped not anyway. And without money, Thomas's options had to be limited.

"We can be there in five hours," Lex assured me.

"I want to go," I said with as much conviction as I could muster, "but someone needs to stay back with Jimmy. I'm not leaving him alone."

"Mom, I'll be fine. I can have one of the guys from the team stay with me if that will make you feel better."

I shook my head. "No. It has to be Nolen." I looked at the man and pleaded. "You can stay with him, right?"

"Absolutely. But are you sure you don't want someone else with you and Lex?" He looked concerned.

"There's no time. We need to get going." I couldn't explain why the sudden urgency, but everything in me was telling me we had to move fast.