Hard Fall (St. Louis Mavericks 1)

“I’m going to leave for the airport now.”

“I’ll call you back.”

I disconnected and stared out at the city, but I didn’t see anything. All I heard was Ben’s voice in my head.

“Find her, Wes. Find my baby girl.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Hadley

I sighed with relief as the plane touched the runway, jolting slightly. Finally, I’d made it to St. Louis.

“Good luck, Hadley,” the woman sitting next to me said, squeezing my hand.

Her name was Netta and she was a very kind mother of five and grandmother of twelve. When she’d noticed I was crying as the flight took off, she’d asked me what was wrong.

I’d spent the next hour telling her everything, starting with meeting Wes seven years ago at Ben and Lauren’s engagement party and ending with returning to New York just over a week ago. Netta had listened to every word, peering at me intently over the rims of her glasses.

“Wait, hold up, Susan said what?” she’d cried when I’d told her about the court hearing. “Aw, hell no. That’s not okay.”

Waiting for the pilot to taxi all the way down to our gate and come to a complete stop was painful. I wanted to jump out of my seat and run for the door. All I could think about was Annalise. Was she safe? Had someone hurt her? Just the thought made my chest tighten and my stomach clench.

I was never leaving the kids again. I’d move to St. Louis to be with them. Maybe I’d end up hurt and whatever Wes and I had been building before I left for New York wouldn’t work out, but I’d risk it. I knew before getting Wes’s frantic phone call that I’d never be happy in New York again. He and the kids were my world now.

What I hadn’t been able to work out, though, was whether I could sacrifice the career I’d worked so hard for. But the moment I found out Annalise was missing my decision had been made. I wanted to be with the kids and Wes, no matter the cost, because no job was worth losing time with them.

“Excuse me!” Netta called to a flight attendant as everyone started unbuckling their seat belts. “We have an emergency here. This young woman needs to be the first person off this plane; she has a missing child.”

The flight attendant looked at me and frowned sympathetically, then gestured for me to get up from my seat.

“Thank you so much,” I said to the flight attendant before looking back at Netta over my shoulder.

“You message me on Facebook and tell me when you’ve got your little girl back,” she said. “I’ll be praying for her.”

I nodded and said, “Thanks, Netta, for everything.”

The flight attendant led me to the airplane door, and as soon as she could open it, I sprinted down the jet bridge and exited into the airport. I had nothing but my purse—I’d gone straight to the airport after getting Wes’s call.

Wes had been able to get the ticket agent to book me on a flight from JKF to O’Hare, and then a connecting flight nearly two hours later from O’Hare to St. Louis. Wes had texted me that his parents got him a direct flight on a private plane some friends of theirs owned; he was already at Ben and Lauren’s house talking to the police.

As I walked to the airport exit, I opened my phone and ordered an Uber. The driver arrived quickly and we got to the house in less than twenty minutes. I yelled out my thanks as I bolted from the car.

I walked through the front door and immediately scanned the entryway and sitting room in search of Wes. A couple of his teammates were there, and several people I didn’t recognize. Nina was holding Benny.

The moment my eyes found Wes’s, I flew across the room and into his arms. His embrace was exactly what I needed. He held me tightly as he spoke in my ear.

“We’ve got lots of people out searching for her. Patrick and Susan are out looking, and a bunch of the guys. Lots of neighbors, too.”

Tears pooled in my eyes as I pulled back and looked at him, holding on to his wrists. “It’s been so long. She’s so little. I can’t stop thinking about—”

“I know.” Wes kissed my forehead. “But we have to focus on searching. Keep your mind on that.”

“I want to go look for her.”

He nodded. “We’ll go together. Just let me finish up with the police officer I was talking to.”

I hesitated for a second before saying, “I shouldn’t have left, Wes.”

His expression softened. “This didn’t happen because you weren’t here. This is all on Susan and Patrick; they were supposed to be keeping the kids safe.”

“No, I know. What I mean is…not because of what’s going on, but…I wish I hadn’t left.”