Before she could make a move, the muffled sound of a phone ringing filled the air.
“Shoot. That’s mine.” Sloane reached into her back pocket, pulling out her cell. Her eyebrows dipped as she read the screen. “It’s the kids' school.”
I went on alert, as did everyone else.
“Put it on speaker, Sloane,” Waverly instructed.
She did, then answered. “Hello?”
“Miss Beckington, it’s Jillian Shelton, the principal at Cabell Elementary. I’m so sorry, but we have a situation.”
“Principal Shelton, this is Special Agent Duncan Palmer with the FBI. I’m Rogan and Reagan’s father. What exactly is going on?”
“The children are missing.”
Sloane
Missing.
The second the principal finished, everyone around me exploded into action. They were on their feet, shouting incomprehensible words I couldn’t make out over the ringing in my ears. Nausea churned in my belly. There had to be a mistake, except I knew there wasn’t. A moment later, I was running for the nearest door. I didn’t get far when an arm circled my waist, lifting my feet off the ground. Survival instincts took over. I kicked and flailed, trying to break free from whoever was stopping me from getting to my babies. The sound of someone screaming cut through my panic. Only then did I realize that someone was me.
“Noooo!”
“Easy, Sunshine. I’ve got you.”
“Duncan, we have to find them.”
He lowered me to the floor, turning me in his arms. “We will. I swear to you, we will.”
Waverly jogged to our side. “Shayne’ll meet us at the school. Finn’s on his way too.”
“All right. Let’s move out.”
He grabbed my hand, leading me out of the FBI office with his entire team on our heels. Silent tears streameddown my face as he lifted me into the passenger’s seat of a black SUV. He drew my seat belt across my chest, clicked it in place, then slammed the door and ran to the driver’s side. Two others got into the back, though I couldn’t bring myself to check to see who it was. It didn’t matter anyway. The only thing that mattered was finding my babies.
The road blurred as we raced through the center of town, sirens blaring, weaving in and out of traffic. Duncan only slowed down at red lights long enough to ensure the other cars stopped to let us pass. He had one hand on the steering wheel, the other was grasped tightly between both of mine and I wasn’t letting go. I couldn’t. His touch was the only thing keeping me grounded.
My tears had dried up by the time we pulled into the parking lot of the elementary school. Four police cars were lined up along the sidewalk with their red lights flashing. Tires squealed as we came to an abrupt stop next to one of them. When Duncan released me to get out, it felt like an invisible force had my chest in a vise grip. I couldn’t breathe. The agony eased afraction when he opened my door and recaptured my hand, but it was still there under the surface, waiting to pull me under.
Shayne met us at the entrance. “I’ve pulled the school’s security footage and all the traffic cams in the area. They hit Nelson’s inbox thirty seconds ago. I’ve also got officers canvassing the woods at the back of the building in case they wandered off.”
“Good. What else do we know?” Waverly asked, taking my other hand as her friend led us down the hallway to the main office.
“At one fifteen, their class went outside to the playground for recess. Twenty minutes later when the teachercalled for them to line up, Rogan and Reagan weren’t there.”
“It’s almost two o’clock. What the fuck took them so long to call us?” Duncan’s voice vibrated with fury.
Principal Shelton was seated on a love seat in her office, comforting the twins’ teacher, Ms. Lemroy, who was in the middle of a breakdown. When her brown eyes locked on mine, they were filled with regret. I didn’t understand until she spoke.
“We followed protocol, searching the building and grounds first. No need to sound the alarm if the children were simply hiding. And please”––she glared at Duncan––“mind your language.”
Waverly brushed past us, extending her hand. “Principal Shelton? I’m Resident Agent in Charge Mitchell. My team will be assisting the local PD with the investigation into the abductions.”
“Is that what you think happened?” the administrator asked.
“What the hell would you call it?” Lanie grumbled.
My mind had been too preoccupied to notice the agents were flanking us––Keaton and Noah on one side, Koen and Lanie on the other. Their presence loosened the knot in my stomach slightly. Duncan trusted them and so did I. They’d do whatever it took to bring my babies home safely.