Lara came back ten minutes later, sneakers crunching over gravel and grass, eyes already sweeping the park before she fully stopped moving.
That section of the Treasure Island buzzed—kids laughing, while they looked for treasures behind rockeries. Some even dug on certain mound while the nannies and teachers were giving hints nearby.
Lara's gaze cut across the clearing where the from children from Shay's school were "treasure hunting," their bright backpacks bobbing between the trees.
Her pupils shrank.
Something was off.
She scanned again. Slower this time, carefully looking for that curly black hair.
Her heartbeat skipped.
Shay wasn't there.
Lara moved. She did not walk but broke into a run.
One second she stood twenty feet away. The next she was in Sarah's face, fist tangled in her collar, jerking her forward hard enough to choke the air out of her.
"Where is Shay?"
Her voice wasn't loud.
It was cold.
Cold enough to freeze blood.
