CHAPTER 27
KEVIN
“Mr. Spencer! Open up!”
A furious banging on my door caused me to drop my son and rush to the front of the house.
“Mr. Spencer! We found them!”
I yanked open the door and felt Daniel hot on my heels.
“What did you just say?” I asked.
“We found them,” the officer said. “We have them in our custody. Brooke and Sydney.”
I felt my stomach drop to my toes as tears welled in my eyes.
“You found them?” I asked.
“You two need to come with me. They’re at the station,” the officer said.
I couldn’t pick Daniel up quick enough before we rushed out of the house.
We loaded into the officer’s car and sped to the police station. I jumped out of the car and gathered Daniel in my arms. We ran through the doors, not bothering to wait for the officer to escort us in.
“Sydney! Brooke!”
“Daddy!”
Sydney came running at me as tears spilled over onto my cheeks. I crouched down and held out my arms for her, bracing myself for the impact. She hugged me close and I wrapped both of my children in my arms, taking in their scent. Sydney’s hair was muddled with sweat and her bathing suit was dirty, but she was there.
And she seemed unharmed.
“Where’s Brooke?” I asked.
I looked up at the officer before he spoke into his radio.
“She’s still answering questions. She’ll be out of interrogation in a second,” the officer said.
“Interrogation? I want to see her right now,” I said.
“And you will, Mr. Spencer. Once she’s done telling us what happened.”
I gathered my kids in my arms and went to sit on a bench. Daniel was hugging his sister tightly as I wrapped them both up. I pulled them into my chest and cried into Sydney’s hair, thinking about all the terrible things she’d been subjected to. I was shaking, holding my kids so tightly they told me I had to loosen my grip. I kissed them over and over, whispering how much I loved them and how they were never getting out of my sight again. I told them we were going to go home, and I was going to take off work and we were going to have the time of our lives.
Then I heard footfalls in front of me.
I whipped my head up and my face immediately fell. Brooke was standing in front of me, wrapped in a blanket. Both of her cheeks were severely bruised, and I could tell by the look in her eyes that she had a terrible headache.
“Brooke,” I said, breathlessly.
I felt an anger encompass me that I’d never felt before in my life.
“Brooke!” Daniel said.
He jumped off my lap and went running to her. He barreled into her legs with a fiery passion. Brooke stumbled back, and I could see the pain wash over her face. They had hurt her.
I vowed that they weren’t going to get away with it.