Hurricane Kisses (The Kisses 6)

“None of the staff has seen them.” She stopped mid-pace and looked up at me with eyes as wide as saucers. “Keiko said she saw the door to Spock's area open earlier.”

“They can't have gone far. Tyler knows not to go out in the storm,” I told her, but I was already putting on my shoes to go look for him.

“But Spock doesn't,” Maddy countered, worry dripping off of every syllable. “That dog hated being in that room and with the door open... I'm scared Tyler went after him. What if they found a way out into the storm?”

I stood from putting my shoes on and put my hands on her shoulders. She was shaking. “It's going to be okay. We'll find him. I promise. They're probably just in one of the kitchens stealing cookies or something.”

She followed me out into the hallway and down to the main lobby. Dr. James was talking to the concierge, Keiko. Both their expressions were troubled.

“Ms. Sawyer,” Keiko addressed her as she saw us approach. “Have you found him yet?”

Maddy shook her head. She was struggling to hold it together. Dr. James and Keiko glanced at one another. Dr. James pressed his lips into a thin line that communicated all too well what he was thinking.

Keiko picked up the phone. “Security?” she clarified in her calming voice. “Yes. We have a missing boy. Eleven years old. Light brown hair, brown eyes. Thin build. Last seen wearing...?” she asked, looking at Maddy.

“A blue t-shirt and gray cargo shorts,” Maddy supplied quickly. Keiko nodded and repeated Maddy's words into the phone.

“Can either of you think of where he might have gone?” Dr. James asked, drawing our attention to him. “Has he made any friends his own age here? Could he be in someone else's room?”

“No,” Maddy said, shaking her head. “The only friend he has is that dog. He'll be wherever the dog is.”

I put my hand on Maddy's shoulder as she leaned against the desk. A shriek of wind rattled the boards holding the storm at bay. I swallowed hard and prayed that security found him quickly.

“What's going on?” Logan asked, walking up to the concierge desk. I hadn't even heard him approach. He looked remarkably put together. I was sure I looked like a mess. I hadn't even bothered to brush my hair before coming down. He refused to look at me, focusing instead on Dr. James.

“Ms, Sawyer's son is missing,” Dr. James supplied. “You haven't happened to see an eleven-year-old boy running around, by any chance?”

“Tyler's missing?” Logan froze. “Where's Spock?”

“Maddy can't find him o

r the dog anywhere,” I answered. Logan didn't look at me, but he paled.

Keiko set down the phone. She glanced at the faces around the desk before delivering her news. “Security just did a sweep of the bathrooms, kitchens, and maintenance hallways and didn't find him. One of the guards remembers seeing a dog running through the maintenance hallway a little after lunch, though. He says strays get in there occasionally and didn't think much of it until now. They're going to start checking the rest of the buildings.”

“Could they be lost in the maintenance hallway?” Maddy asked, fear and hope thrumming in her voice. Lost was bad, but at least they were safe from the storm.

“No. Security checked them all.” Keiko hesitated, her eyes going to Dr. James before continuing. “But that hallway leads to the other buildings. Ones that aren’t as secure against the storm. If they went in there, they could have gotten outside.”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. The wind howled and shook the doors. The lights flickered slightly as the storm demonstrated its power.

“We have to find them,” I whispered, more to myself than to anyone else. I looked at the boarded-up doors, starting to think of ways to search out in the storm.

“You said the dog is missing too?” Logan asked quietly. His eyes were on me now for the first time since his arrival, watching me contemplate the entrance. I could practically see the gears in his brain turning.

“He wasn't in the room that we were keeping him in,” Maddy answered. She was twisting her bracelet at a rate I was sure was going to give her friction burns. “He must have escaped.”

“I have an idea where they might be. “Logan stood taller. “Somewhere the dog would go to feel safe. Where's that maintenance hallway?”

Keiko pointed to the doorway behind and to her left. “He was in storage room three. There's diagrams at each junction.”

Logan moved quickly toward the door and I caught his arm. He froze at my touch, his muscles tense and hard. “Where are you going?” I asked.

He gently extracted his arm from my grip but didn't look at me. “When we first met Spock, he was sleeping in the shed with the jet-ski equipment. I'm guessing that's where Spock went and where Tyler followed him.”

“The hallway doesn't extend that far. You'd have to go out in the storm,” Dr. James informed us. He looked to Maddy. “Would Tyler have done that?”

Maddy thought for a moment and her face crumpled. “Yes. He loves that dog. He would have followed him through fire.”