The Missing

her head. “He showed up this morning. We’re getting ready to head out now.”

    “What do you mean, we, Taige? That’s a civilian you have with you, and the victim’s father. This goes against Bureau policy.”

    She smirked. “Well, I didn’t take the case from the Bureau. I took it from him.”

    “You can’t mean to take the girl’s father with you, Taige. It isn’t safe.”

    Taige glanced back at Cullen. He wouldn’t let her leave him behind, but truthfully, it hadn’t occurred to her. It was his daughter, and if it were somebody Taige loved who had gone missing, nobody could keep her away. He had a right to be there. She didn’t tell Jones that, though. Instead, she pointed out, “I’m still a little limited here as to what I can do on my own. Only got one good hand.”

    “Then you’ll damn well wait for the team to get there.”

    With a laugh, Taige said, “No. I don’t think so.” Then she disconnected the call. She was tempted to leave the phone behind, but she wasn’t sure what was waiting for them. If she knew Jones, he’d have a team tailing them using the GPS on the phone, and the backup might come in handy.

    But there was no way she was waiting. This wasn’t going to turn into an agency case. She wasn’t going to let them slow her down with policy and procedure, not when it was Cullen’s daughter out there who needed her. She stood up and headed for the door. On the way out, she remembered that soft, strong little voice from her vision.

    The little girl. How Taige had realized, with complete and utter certainty, that Jillian had been aware of Taige’s presence. It’s okay, sweetie. I’m going to bring you home. I promise you that. Taige had been making the promise to herself. But the girl had heard her.

    Pausing by the door, she glanced back at Cullen. “We’re leaving. And on the way, you’re going to tell me more about your daughter.”

    “More what?” he asked warily.

    She cocked a brow. “I think you know what I want to hear.”

    She saw the knowledge glinting in his eyes. “That could get complicated.”

    Taking the steps two at a time, she glanced back over her shoulder at him with a humorless smile. “Not a problem. We got a good three-hour drive ahead of us.”

SEVEN

    “ W HAT happened to her mother?” Taige rested her head against the headrest as she spoke, closing her eyes to block out the blur of the countryside. They’d left behind the flatter areas of southern Alabama, climbing into the heavily forested area north of Birmingham. They weren’t too far from William B. Bankhead National Forest.

    The itching in her gut was getting worse, and she knew it was going to go from an itch to downright nausea before the adrenaline finally cleared everything from her system so she could focus on nothing but finding the girl.

    The girl. No, not the girl; she had a name now. Jillian. Sweet Lord, Cullen’s daughter. It still didn’t seem real. None of this felt real, and she kept expecting to wake up and find herself alone in her empty bed once more, alone and aching for the man who didn’t want her.

    “She died having Jillian. She started hemorrhaging; she never even made it down to surgery.” Cullen’s voice was oddly flat and, unable to help herself, Taige looked at him.

    His face was as expressionless as his voice, and she wondered how much grief he was keeping hidden under that calm mask. For the past three hours, ever since they’d left the house, he’d been remote, almost distant. It was a few minutes after two now, and she would bet that he hadn’t looked at her once since they’d stopped half an hour ago for gas.

    At her house, he’d shown fear and desperation, but now it was as if those moments hadn’t existed. She couldn’t really even pick up on any emotion from him at all. She’d never been able to read him the way she could other people. Over the years, her mental blocks had gotten strong enough that she no longer picked up so much random emotion, but there had only been a few people in her life like Cullen, people she didn’t have to shield so strongly against. Under any other circumstance, it was a welcome respite, but right now, she wished he wasn’t such a closed book.

    Then again, this was a blessing. She didn’t know if she could have dealt with the pain it would cause her if she knew how much Cullen had loved this wife of his. “I’m sorry,” she finally said, looking away from him and closing her eyes