Page 4 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow (Heroes of Sleepy Hollow #7)

OLIVER

Why did I leave her alone?

On Halloween of all nights. The night I know damn well brings all the crazies out of their hiding places, emboldened by anonymous costumes and the chaos of the holiday.

Crime spikes on Halloween. I’ve seen the data. Theft, burglary, vandalism, and nearly a fifty percent increase in violent assaults.

My teeth grind together, sending pain slashing through my jaw and down my neck.

Why did I let Shea go off without me?

Of all people, I should have known better.

I swore I’d keep her safe after all that shit with the Russians. I promised her. Even knowing my past could carry risk into our future, Shea chose to stay with me. To trust me to keep her safe.

My hands go clammy with sweat as my thoughts spiral into even darker places .

The Russians.

After two years, I was fairly certain the threat was over.

After all, the man who targeted Shea is gone.

Dead, thanks to my contacts with the CIA.

His company’s been shuttered for years. I’ve been keeping track of any new illegal activity that could be linked back to everything that happened before, and nothing’s come up.

There’s been no sign to indicate Shea could be in danger again.

Still, I’ve been so careful —upgrading the security at our house whenever something new comes available, retrofitting Shea’s SUV with bulletproof windows and tires, and insisting she still wear the earrings with GPS trackers in them, just to be safe.

A harsh laugh escapes at the irony of it.

All my precautions, and Shea’s still missing.

Sure, there could be a hypothetical situation where everything’s fine and there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why none of the women are responding.

A reason why Shea’s tracker isn’t showing up even though I check the earrings once a month to ensure they’re working properly.

A reason why Shea wouldn’t answer my increasingly frantic calls and texts even though she knows how much I worry.

There could be a logical explanation for all of it.

But my gut tells me something different.

It’s telling me something is terribly wrong. And that Shea, my wife, the love of my life, is in danger.

Why did I go to the security station at all?

I’m not on duty tonight. I could have let the two officers assigned to man the station handle it.

Then I would have been with Shea. We’d be headed to the Hop-less Horseman to meet up with Kane and Jess for beer and wings.

Shea would be safely next to me and I wouldn’t be standing in the town park trying my best to keep my cool even though I feel seconds from losing it.

But the two officers—Jasper Harris and Milo Weston—are new to the force, thus the reason why they got assigned one of the least enjoyable duties all year.

Case in point, the drunken Headless Horseman fight I caught the end of, as Jasper and Milo tried to defuse the two men without drawing the attention of the kids nearby.

I thought I’d just stop by for ten minutes or so to check in. I never expected to end up serving as referee in a ridiculous argument over whose Headless Horseman costume was better.

Neither of them, for the record. Because the costumes were the same. But I guess after enough drinks, even identical costumes can look different.

Anyway, I thought Shea was just going to the park to meet up with her friends. “They’re all at the kids’ craft station,” Shea told me. “It sounds cute. Seeing all the little ones making Halloween crafts. I’ll just hang out there until you’re done.”

But she didn’t hang out at the park, did she?

“We need to check the library,” I announce. As Ben and Cash’s gazes swing towards me, I explain, “Maybe they’re still there. In the library, I mean.”

Cash nods. “Good idea.” He glances at Ben. “Didn’t Thea say something about the basement having bad cell reception? Maybe they went down there?—”

“To what?” Ben retorts. There’s an edge to his voice. “Check out the archives? On Halloween night? When Winnie and Elias are waiting for them? ”

A beat later, Ben’s face creases in contrition. “Sorry. It’s a good idea. It’s just… I’m worried.”

“Same,” Cash agrees. “I keep trying to tell myself there’s a logical explanation for this. But—” He shakes his head. His mouth drags down. “Winnie’s over there, waiting for Ari to show up. What do I tell her?”

Sympathy cuts through the thick cloak of guilt wrapped around me. Cash and Ben aren’t just worried about their wives, but how their kids will react. And they can’t show how worried they are, how scared…

“We’ll find them in no time,” I say, following my old CIA mentor’s advice. “Even if you’re not confident, fake it,” he used to tell me. “And eventually the confidence will become real.”

“Okay, so the library.” Cash glances at Winnie, who’s sitting next to Scarlett and the twins by the bandstand, listening avidly to whatever story Penny is reading. “I’ll go. And Ben?”

Ben nods quickly. “Yeah. Count me in.”

“I’ll go too,” I tell them. “If we have to break in, it’s better if I’m there.”

And considering it’s where Shea was headed, it’s the first place I want to check.

“There’s Kane,” Cash says, gesturing at my partner as he enters the park.

“And Ian,” Ben adds. He jerks his chin towards Ian, who’s making his way towards us from the east side of the park.

Just as I’m lifting my hand to signal to Kane, my phone rings.

My heart leaps .

A moment later, as I recognize the ringtone, it sinks with a sickening thud.

It’s not the ringtone I assigned to Shea. I should have realized that immediately. It’s the one I gave to my brother-in-law and founder of Blade and Arrow Security, Cole.

Shoving aside the heavy disappointment, I answer briskly, “Cole. Are you on the way? Can anyone else help?”

“I’m on the way,” he affirms in the crisp, commanding tone he uses whenever he’s dealing with Blade and Arrow business.

Or the possible—likely—disappearance of a family member, in this case.

“Zane, Nora, and Jackson are out on a job,” Cole continues. “Rylan and I are just getting in the car now. Leo’s going to stay back at HQ to keep an eye on things. But he’ll be following up on any leads we may find, too.”

I’m relieved to know Leo’s available, albeit from the Blade and Arrow headquarters across town. He’s their resident tech genius, so if there’s anything we need to research online, he’s the one to do it.

“See if he can trace their phones, too. Apparently, Thea left hers in the library, but Ari and Shea had theirs on them.”

Tires squeal in the background. “Will do,” Cole replies. “Anything else?”

I turn to Ben. “Do you need a laptop? A tablet? Cole could grab one for you.”

Ben’s a white hat hacker, so he’s more than capable of online research himself. Although I don’t know if he’ll want to take the time to work on a computer when he could be searching downtown Sleepy Hollow instead.

For a moment, Ben looks conflicted. Then he shakes his head. “I can do almost everything on my phone. And I don’t want to wait to get a laptop from Cole.”

“Okay.” To Cole, I say, “I’m headed to the library with Cash and Ben. Ian and Kane just got here, so I’m thinking I’ll have them start canvassing downtown. See if anyone remembers seeing the women.”

The rumble of a car engine sounds in the background. “Sounds good,” Cole replies. “Once we get into town, me and Ry will do the same thing. If Kane and Ian start on the west end of Main, we can start at the east.”

Kane and Ian join our expanding huddle, both of them silent and watchful while I continue my call.

“What about the trackers?” Cole asks. “I didn’t get a chance to look yet. Is Shea wearing her earrings? Thea? Ari?”

“Not Ari or Thea. Shea’s wearing hers. Or—” My heart lurches. “She was. But when I checked the app, her location wasn’t showing up.”

Cole goes quiet for a second. Then he says, “Okay. That’s not ideal, but I can ask Leo to find her last pinged location. At least it’ll tell us if she made it to the library or—” He cuts himself off. “Anyway. I’ll talk to Leo and let you know as soon as I hear.”

“Okay.” I can’t bring myself to examine the alternative if Shea didn’t make it to the library. “I’m heading out. Stay in touch.”

“Will do.” He hesitates before adding in a gentler tone, “We’ll find her, Oliver. We won’t stop until we do.”

As I end the call, his words reverberate in my head .

We’ll find her.

We won’t stop until we do.

But.

What if it’s too late?

“What’s the deal?” Kane asks, now that my call is over. He lifts his chin. “What do you need me to do?”

“Same,” Ian adds. Determination darkens his gaze. “Just tell me what you need.” His attention moves to Cash and Ben. “Do you need help with the kids? Rose can bring them to our place if you want. She and Jess are at the Hop-less Horseman, waiting for updates.”

Kane nods. “We didn’t want to take the time to bring them home, but we didn’t want to leave them…”

The rest doesn’t need to be said. And I don’t blame them. If the positions were reversed, there’s no way I’d leave Shea on her own with three of her friends missing.

A knot twists in my chest.

If Shea were with me, and not missing…

Shit.

Where is she?

Is she scared?

Hurt?

Wondering where I am?

The knot expands until there’s no room for air in my chest.

Kane looks at me with obvious worry in his eyes. “Kingston. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out.”

I give him a jerky nod. “Right.” Drawing in a deep breath, I let it out slowly.

“So Cole and Rylan will start canvassing Main Street from the east end as soon as they get here. Cash, Ben, and I will head to the library. Can you guys start on the west end? See if anyone saw the women? Check the stores. Restaurants.”

“Got it,” Kane replies. “We can do that.” He exchanges a quick glance with Ian. “Sound good?”

Ian lifts his chin at Kane. “Absolutely.”

“Alright.” Drawing on the years I spent working undercover in the CIA, I shove down my emotions so I can focus. “Elias and Winnie are okay with Grant and Scarlett, right?”

Cash looks pained. “Yeah. I hate to leave Winnie, but…”

“Grant can handle it,” Ian says. “You know he can.”

“I know.” Cash sighs. Though he doesn’t say it, I can tell what he’s thinking. Right now, Winnie’s in view. He knows she’s safe. But once he leaves… Grant’s one of the most capable men I know. But his protection isn’t the same as Cash being there to watch his daughter himself.

“Let’s go,” I announce. My muscles itch to move. Not to just stand here, talking about our plan, but to put it in action. Gesturing to Ben and Cash, I add, “If we hurry, we can be at the library in three minutes.”

With that said, I make a beeline out of the park with Cash and Ben trailing close behind me.

Though my legs want to sprint, I force myself to keep my pace to a brisk trot.

It’s not because I want to. But if people see a cop running full out down Main Street—and they’ll know it’s me, even without my uniform—it could cause panic.

And right now that’s the last thing we need.

We need to get to the library without incident. Without people calling after me, asking what’s wrong. Without scared parents hustling their kids back home and turning the controlled chaos of downtown into outright madness.

We don’t speak until we pass the line of food trucks, not wanting to be overheard by the lines of people waiting to order.

But once we do, Ben says, “I don’t know why I didn’t think of it immediately.

But I can check the security cameras in the library parking lot.

I’m not technically supposed to have access, but after what happened with Thea…

I may have hacked into the library security system. ”

“I don’t blame you,” Cash says. “If I could do the same thing at Ari’s school, I would.”

“Nice,” I tell Ben. “Maybe you’ll see something. Or,” I add hopefully, “maybe they’re at the library and lost track of time.”

But seven minutes later, it’s clear they’re not.

Three minutes to get there, one for Cash and Ben to shed their bulky costumes, and another three to search the perimeter of the library, establishing that all the doors are indeed locked and no lights are on inside.

Not upstairs, where the offices are, or on the main floor that houses all the books, or even through the narrow windows that give a peek into the basement.

Though I knew in my gut that Shea wasn’t in the library, it’s still a blow.

“Search the alley,” I tell Cash and Ben once we’ve finished our loop around the library.

Glancing up and down the narrow strip of asphalt that stretches between the old bank and the library, I quickly note all the places where a clue could be hiding.

“Check the grass and bushes,” I add. “I know it’s a long shot, but maybe… ”

“Got it,” Cash replies. His features are dark and haunted as he looks at me. “Maybe we’ll find something.”

Ben’s face is partly illuminated by the dim light of his phone. “I’m just logging into the security system now. Unless you need me to help search…”

“No, keep doing what you’re doing.” I start heading down the alley in the opposite direction Cash is going. “Between the three of us?—”

“Oliver.”

Not twenty feet away, Cash is crouched in the middle of the alley, staring down at something on the ground in front of him.

My heart lurches. “What is it?”

Cash looks up at me. The fear in his eyes is visible even in the darkness. “It’s a phone. Not Ari’s. But…”

I rush over to him. “Let me see.”

Cash gestures at the phone. It has a shimmery rose-gold case that I know is that color because Shea told me.

“Not gold,” I remember her explaining. “It’s rose gold. Isn’t it a pretty color?”

Bile rises in my throat as I reach towards it.

Shea’s phone.

Not with her, but here .

I knew something was wrong. But this? This reinforces my fears.

Inches from grabbing the phone, my police officer training kicks in.

Don’t contaminate the evidence.

There could be fingerprints on it. Traces of DNA.

Feeling sick, I pull my sleeve over my hand and pick up Shea’s phone, being careful not to get my bare fingers on it. When I turn it over, I see all my missed texts and calls splashed across the screen, but nothing beyond that to indicate any wrongdoing.

Except that it’s here and not with her, where it should be.

A desperate voice in my head whispers hopefully, Maybe she didn’t realize she lost it. It’s possible. If she was talking to Ari and Thea, and her phone slid out of her pocket…

But I know it’s not true.

And I’m more scared than I’ve been since that terrible day when Shea and I were taken.

“Oliver. Cash.” Ben’s voice is strained close to breaking.

Still clutching Shea’s phone tightly, I jump to my feet. “What?”

“I found something,” he says. “And… it’s not good.”