Page 7 of Mending Fate

I stiffened. “I don’t talk about my students, especially with random strangers who come into my workplace asking questions.”

One corner of his mouth quirked up in what might have been a smile at one time but seemed like it couldn’t quite make it all the way. “I’m Eoin McCrae.”

“Oh.”

“I’m assuming that means you know who I am.”

I had no idea how much he knew about Alec and me, and this wasn’t the place or time to have that type of discussion. “I can hazard a guess that you’re Evanne’s uncle.”

After a momentary pause, he nodded. “I’m helping my brother, and I need to ask you some questions about the last time you saw Evanne and what the usual procedures are for calling a child off sick.”

“Of course.” I sat down. “Anything I can do to help.”

Five

Alec

“Thank you.I appreciate you checking for me.” I closed my eyes as I ended the call and reminded myself yet again that I shouldn’t throw my phone. All that would do would lead to the hassle of having to purchase a new one.

I’d spent the entire morning calling hospitals and hotels, starting in Seattle and working my way out. Because I had no other ideas. None. Hospitals and hotels were the only two places I could think that I could check from home, and Eoin had made it perfectly clear that I wasn’t to go anywhere. He was here to help, and I was supposed to stay here in case Keli and Evanne came back.

But I couldn’t just sit here and do nothing. I could have worked from home, but how was I supposed to concentrate on anything if I didn’t know where Evanne was?

I’d made more than two dozen calls, and not a single one of them turned up anything. For the hospitals, that was a good thing. I couldn’t regret not finding them in a hospital. Not even Keli. As pissed as I was at her, I didn’t want her hurt. I would have liked to find them at a hotel. I could have called Eoin, and we could have gone to get Evanne back. Problem solved.

But it wasn’t as if I’d actually expected to find them. Keli was smart enough that if she really wanted to hide, she’d be far away from Seattle. I just had to hope that she hadn’t prepared for what she’d done. If she had, she could have texted me from an airport and then disappeared into a random country with no way to track her.

Just the thought of it was enough to make me ill.

The front door opened again, but I didn’t bother letting my hopes go anywhere. I expected Eoin back from wherever he’d gone, except it wasn’t Eoin who came into the front room. It was another of my brothers. Brody was only two years younger than me, and it was thanks to him that I’d met Lumen.

The pain that came with her name was enough to make me wince, but not enough to make me forget our fight. Fortunately, Brody would help me forget it and get refocused on what was important.

“Brother.” He went in for a real hug, smacking my back hard enough to sting. “You’ve got the worst fucking luck with women.”

“Aye, I ken it well.” I took a step back. “Do none of you ever call ahead?”

Brody smiled, blue-green eyes sparkling. “I’ll take that to mean Eoin’s already here.”

“He is.”

Brody looked around. “And he’s…?”

“I have no idea,” I said honestly. “He said he had to talk to some people.”

“What does that mean?” Brody and I walked back to the living room and sat down.

“I have no idea,” I said again. “I find that I often don’t ken what that lad is up to.”

“Me either,” Brody admitted. “Once we get this squared away with Evanne and Keli, we should spend some time with him. I don’t think he’s doing as well as he wants us to think.”

I nodded. I didn’t like that I felt as if I was prioritizing my daughter over helping my brother. Logically, it made sense for me to put Evanne first. She was my daughter. She was missing. I needed to find her. Eoin was clearly functioning, and he was an adult.

But I kept hearing Lumen’s voice in my head, asking me if Evanne was safe with Keli. Was it possible that my urgency in finding Evanne was causing me to overlook things that I should be seeing?

Brody kept my thoughts from wandering too far down that path as he brought me back to why he was there. “Have you thought of any other places they could be?”

“Not really,” I said with a sigh. “I don’t think they’re in the area anymore, and I can’t think of anything else.”