Page 38 of Twisted Trust

My racing heart plummets to my stomach, creating an odd fluttering sensation that sends a rush of nausea up my throat. “Hillary.”

“Who is this?” Levi has been my shadow ever since I bolted from the car and he tenses so suddenly, it’s like all the air around us thins.

“Miss Jackson, if you wouldn’t mind?” Hillary points to an office door across the hall and begins walking toward it.

“Where’s Scott?” I demand loudly. “Where’s my son?”

“Miss Jackson.” Hillary stops in the middle of the hallway. “In here, if you don’t mind.”

Without thinking, I reach back and grab Levi’s hand, which would shock me, but not as much as Levi’s willingness to come with me.

I cling to a vain hope that his presence will somehow help my situation, but mostly, I’m hoping he’ll be able to get the answers she refuses to give me.

The office is rather bare with a small row of plastic chairs against one wall, a low coffee table with several magazines strewn across the surface, and an empty water cooler in the farthest corner near the window.

Hillary walks toward the window and then turns to face me with her lips pursed.

She glances briefly at Levi who remains almost attached to my side.

“Miss Jackson, you have some explaining to do.”

“Where is he?” I surge forward, but Levi’s hand is immediately on my forearm to hold me back. “Where is my son?”

“Interesting that you show concern for him considering he was found wandering the Strip an hour ago and handed in to authorities by a stranger. You work on the Strip, don’t you?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?Pleasetell me he’s okay!”

She sighs abruptly. “Our medical team have evaluated him and yes, Scott is fine. Very tired and upset, as you can imagine. Although…”

She purses her lips once again and glances down at the tan file she carries in the crook of her arm. “Youdon’twork on the Strip anymore, do you?”

A chill runs down my arms and legs, turning Levi’s grip on my forearm into a molten brand. “What?”

“Well, I called your work to tell you that we’d found Scott and your boss informed me that your position with them has been terminated. Is that why you abandoned your son and left him to wander the Strip?”

“I didn’t abandon him! He was being cared for by a friend!”

“Which friend?” She pulls a pen from her pocket and clicks the end.

“Cameron Newark. My neighbor.”

“You left your son with someone irresponsible enough to lose him?”

“No, I left him with Cameron but something happened.”

“What happened?”

“I–I don’t know, he’s missing or?—”

“Missing? Did you report it?”

“Well, no, because I?—”

“You’re telling me you left your son with an unreliable friend who has gone missing, but it’s not concerning enough for you to call the police?”

Each time Hillary cuts me off, Levi’s grip tightens on my arm.

“It’s not like that!” I gasp breathlessly, trying to untangle my thoughts. “I was going to call the police but I—” Levi stopped me. Fucking Levi. “I was so caught up in trying to find Scott that I didn’t think about it.”