Two days. Two days, Nick thought. It had been two days since Lily had been kidnapped, and there was no news as to where Summer could be. No one had reported seeing her, and the police were tracking her bank account and credit cards to see if and where she spent any money. So far, it didn’t look too good.
The press conference obviously hadn’t done anything to make Summer call them or send them any sort of message. She hadn’t even asked for a ransom. She’d just taken Lily and vanished.
Nick pounded his fist against the window of the suite and stared, frustrated, at the bright lights of New York. For all anyone knew, Summer and Lily weren’t even in the city anymore. They could be anywhere, and he was worried sick.
But as terrible as he felt, Autumn was much worse. She was barely eating, didn’t talk to anyone, and slept in fifteen minute snatches of time. The dark circles under her eyes were a testament to the sleeplessness. No matter how much coaxing or cajoling anyone tried, she simply didn’t crawl into bed.
Well, he certainly understood. He’d slept for a couple hours here and there, but, with all the nightmares he’d been having, he no longer wanted to shut his eyes and let his subconscious wreak havoc.
Turning away from the window, Nick studied the people sprawled out across the suite. It was nearly three in the morning, and, just like the past two nights, Howie and AJ were camped out on the couches. Because neither Nick nor Autumn were using the bedroom, Brian had tucked Leighanne and Baylee into the bed there. Leighanne had flown up after ignoring Brian’s advice to just wait it out in Atlanta. Nick was glad she was there because she was just another person who would force Autumn to eat and function as a normal human being.
And, speaking of his wife…
Nick leaned against the doorway of the second bedroom, the one that had been Lily’s, and studied Autumn. She was curled up on the bed, clutching Lily’s favorite teddy bear. Her eyes were wide open and stared blankly up at the ceiling. He couldn’t count the number of hours that she’d spent in that same position, but he was worried about her. It couldn’t be healthy to turn into a conscious coma patient, he thought, and yet, that was what she was doing. If you tried talking to her about something other than Lily or the investigation, it was like talking to a wall.
He sighed and, making his way over to the bed, settled on the edge of it. She didn’t blink once, but he heard her breath exhale shakily.
“Autumn?”
Her hand moved then, reaching for his. “Why haven’t they found Lily yet? I bet she misses Bear. She loves Bear, can’t sleep without him. Oh, I hope she’s not scared without him.”
Nick stroked his fingers through her hair and kissed her forehead. “She’ll be fine. She’s a pretty strong kid. It’s just a matter of time before the cops find Summer.” He paused. “Autumn, why don’t you get some sleep? Just for a little while.”
“She could be anywhere, Nick.”
“You need to take care of yourself because Lily’s going to need you to be strong enough to take care of her when she comes home.” His fingers squeezed hers lightly. “Come on, baby. Just for a little while. Just close your eyes.”
A single tear rolled down her cheek. “Nick.”
“Yeah?”
Her words were a whisper. “Can you hold me please? I’m too scared to close my eyes. The nightmares…They hurt.”
“Come here.” Nick held out his arms, and she curled up against him, her body trembling. “Shh. Everything will be fine, baby. Lily will be home soon. I promise.”
“I never meant for her to be hurt in all this,” Autumn murmured. “I tried to protect her as best as I could.”
Nick pulled her close, resting his chin on her head. “We both did. It’s no one’s fault but Summer’s.” If he could go back in time, he thought, he would have Summer in prison in no time. “Just close your eyes, Autumn. Think of all the things we’ll do once Lily’s home again.”
“I’ll never let her out of my sight,” she whispered fiercely.
“I’ll take you both to Disney World,” Nick murmured, ignoring her words. “Have you ever been?”
Autumn sighed a little. “No. I bet Lily would love it.”
“You’ll love it, too. It’s the most magical place on earth.”
“Nothing bad happens there. Everyone’s happy.” Her words were slowing, her breathing softer.
“Yeah. It’s the best.”
When she didn’t respond, he found that she’d fallen asleep. Finally. If he had anything to say about it, she’d sleep for more than a little while. He’d meant it when he said that Lily would need both of them to be strong when she came home. God only knew what their little girl had been put through already.
“Tomorrow,” he whispered. “Tomorrow, we’re getting out of here, Autumn. We both need fresh air and more hope.”
Hopefully, he’d be able to find enough hope for the both of them because they needed it. Desperately.
***
With a sad sigh, Brian watched as Leighanne tried to cajole Autumn into eating breakfast. As Liz had gone back to her hotel for a fresh change of clothes, Leighanne was put in charge of Autumn, and it didn’t look as though her efforts were getting anywhere. Autumn just shook her head and ignored everything Leighanne put in front of her.
“I’m just not hungry, Leigh.”
“You have to eat something, Autumn. You’re wasting away in front of our eyes!”
Autumn shrugged. “So what? I’m more concerned about my child right now. Do you think, if it were Baylee who was missing, that you would care about something like food or sleep?”
Leighanne sighed and set down the plate she held. “No, of course not. Autumn, I’m worried about Lily, too. All of us are,” she gestured to her husband, Howie, and AJ. “But I know you’d feel better and have more strength if you ate something.”
“Maybe later,” Autumn replied, and, folding her arms, she turned away to stare out the window, her phone clutched in her hand.
Brian shook his head and paced the room a little more, stopping to check on Baylee, who was coloring in the bedroom. Nick was the only one Autumn even remotely listened to anymore. He’d somehow managed a minor miracle by getting her to sleep for several hours the night before, but, now, he was gone. Brian had caught him as he’d been heading out the door. All he’d said was he had things to do, and Brian had let him go.
Now, he wished Nick were back.
“Daddy?” Baylee looked up from the picture he was drawing.
“Yeah, buddy?” Brian crouched next to his son.
Baylee stared at his picture for a long time before speaking. “Is Lily going to come home soon? I miss her.”
“Aww, buddy.” Brian scooped his son into his arms and rocked a little. “The police are working very hard on bringing her back.”
“Do you think she’s scared?”
Brian sighed. “I don’t know. I hope not. Her aunt sort of looks like Autumn, so maybe she’s not so scared.”
“How come her aunt is so mean? Uncle Nick and Uncle Howie and Uncle J would never be mean and steal me. How come Lily’s aunt is like that?” Baylee’s eyes were worried, and he bit his bottom lip nervously.
“I don’t know. A lot of bad things happened to her, and she decided not to forgive people. It was a bad idea because now she’s not very nice at all.” Brian didn’t know how else to explain the messy situation. “We just have to hope that she’ll take care of Lily and let the police find her.”
“I made a picture for Aunt Autumn,” Baylee said after a few moments. “Look.”
Brian looked at the drawing, and his heart swelled. In the picture, a pretty house with lots of flowers surrounding it stood in the background. Standing in the front yard, were three figures, that, in a four year old’s creative mind, loosely resembled a smiling Nick, Autumn, and Lily. Perfect, he thought. It was perfect.
“Bay, this is really nice. I bet Autumn would really like it. It’ll make her feel better.”
Baylee smiled. “I hafta color it some more, but then I’ll give it to her.”
Brian heard the door to the suite open and, ruffling Baylee’s hair, he headed out and intercepted Nick before he reached the parlor. “Nick! Where have you been for the last three hours?”
“Out.” Nick carried plastic shopping bags and wore a baseball cap.
“Out? Out where?” Brian fisted his hands on his hips. “Look, Nick. You have a wife who is going to collapse from exhaustion soon, and you’re the only person she listens to. You can’t just go out whenever the hell you want.”
Nick rolled his eyes. “I know you’re worried, Brian, but I’m taking care of her. If you let me go, I can do that.”
“Fine.” But Brian followed Nick into the parlor.
Nick took a moment to look from Autumn’s expressionless face to Leighanne’s frustrated one and the full room service tray. “Okay, let’s go.”
Autumn looked up, confused. “What?”
“Oh, good. You’re paying attention.” Nick grabbed her arm and hauled her off the couch. “Let’s go. We’ve got places to go, things to do.”
She jerked her arm out of his hold. “I’m not going anywhere. Are you out of your mind?”
Nick pulled out a hat and sunglasses from one of the bags. Piling Autumn’s long curls on top of her head, he fit the hat on her head and popped the sunglasses on her nose. “I haven’t lost my mind, and neither have you. Yet. But we might. So let’s go.” Not giving her a second to react, he grabbed her hand and yanked her out of the suite. “We’ll be back soon, guys. Don’t worry,” he called over his shoulder before the door shut.
Autumn struggled to get out of Nick’s hold all the way down on the service elevator. “Nick, I can’t leave! What if someone calls? What if there’s new information? What if Summer calls?”
“What if, what if, what if!” Nick rolled his eyes. “Autumn, we both have our cell phones on us, don’t we? We’ll be the first to know if something happens.”
“Nick-”
But she was cut off by the opening of the elevator doors. Nick hustled them down a hallway and out the back door of the hotel. Walking quickly, they took the back alleys without talking and came out on the busy sidewalk after a few blocks. Nick glanced back at the main entrance of the hotel and winced when he saw all the reporters and media crews crowding the sidewalk. No one had seen them, but there were so many of them.
Not taking any chances or giving Autumn time to speak, he hailed a cab and hopped in.
“Where to?” the cabbie muttered.
“Central Park.”
Autumn gaped at him. “Are you kidding me? Central Park? You can’t be serious. Let’s go back, please.”
“Nope. Besides, have you ever seen Central Park?”
“No, but that’s not the damn point! I don’t know how you expect me to walk around out there while Lily is missing!” she hissed. “Maybe you don’t care about her, but-” She broke off when fury filled Nick’s face.
“Don’t you ever think that. I would do anything, anything to bring her back to us. What is it gonna take to convince you that I really love her? She might not be mine biologically, but she’s my daughter in every other way.” Folding his arms, he turned to stare out the window. No matter how many times he said it, he thought, Autumn still didn’t believe him. She and Lily were his family, and he’d cut off an arm before letting either of them get hurt.
“Nick.” Autumn touched his shoulder. “I’m sorry. I know you love her, I know. I’m just so out of my mind with terror, and I don’t know what to do anymore.”
He sighed. “I understand. I just need you to understand what I’m saying, too. We can’t hole ourselves up in that suite because it’s not helping. I thought if we went for a walk, getting a little fresh air would help. Energize us or something.”
She considered it for a moment and realized he was doing this for her more than himself. “Yeah, I guess. Thanks, Nick.” She kissed his cheek. “I’m glad I have you here during this really awful time.”
“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand. “Same goes.”
When the cab pulled up at the entrance to the Park, they paid the driver and climbed out. Standing in the brilliant sunshine and the sticky New York summer heat, Autumn felt as though she’d stepped into a different world. It was as though she’d forgotten all about the outside world with Lily’s kidnapping. As though it didn’t affect her.
Nick laced their fingers together and pulled her down the path. They didn’t speak as they walked down the path in the busy park. At midday, there were plenty of children running around and parents running after them. There was an old man feeding the ducks at a pond, and an elderly couple held hands as they sat on a park bench amidst the children. Nick wondered what it would be like to sit like that with Autumn when they were both old.
It would be pretty great, he decided. As long as he didn’t let her get away.
As they approached the zoo, Autumn tugged Nick over to it. “Let’s go in.”
“The zoo?” He frowned at the sign. “Really? You want to?”
She managed to smile, the first smile he’d seen since her birthday party. He knew then that, if the zoo was going to put a smile on her face, he’d do it. “Okay, yeah. Why not?”
Inside, they wandered from room to room. Autumn stopped to silently study an iguana sunning itself before moving on to another section. Nick let her go wherever she wanted, knowing it was helping her.
When they arrived at the penguin area, she smiled again. “Look at them, Nick. Aren’t they cute?”
“Yeah.” He watched the black and white birds waddle around and honk at each other. “They’re kinda funny. I think Lily’ll like them when we bring her here. She loves that movie, too.”
“Happy Feet,” Autumn murmured. “Yeah, she does. So do you,” she added with a wink.
Nick grinned and pulled the bill of her cap over her eyes, ignoring her yelp. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. It was all right.”
“Whatever. I know who was dancing along to it with Lily, and it sure wasn’t me,” she teased. “But I’ll let it go. Let’s go see the polar bears!”
As he followed her to the tank where the snowy white bears swam lazily, he couldn’t help but be glad that they’d gotten out of the hotel. Both of them had needed a distraction from the constant worrying. Not that they weren’t worried, now. Though she smiled, Nick could see the nerves in her eyes. And the fear was ever present, the same fear that lived inside him. But, he thought, if he could make her smile for a little while, then it had been worth it to sneak away for a little bit.
He had a family now, one he’d chosen, and he was going to do whatever it took to keep his women happy and safe. He’d failed at protecting Lily already, but he was determined that, while they waited for Lily’s safe return, he would take care of Autumn. No matter what.
***
They sneaked in the back entrance to the hotel when they returned. When they’d seen the news crews in front of the building, Autumn’s smile had disappeared, and Nick could practically see her spirits sinking again. Disappointed, he struggled to be optimistic and positive for the both of them.
The elevator ride was silent, and Autumn took the time to shed herself of the disguise Nick had put on her. He’d managed to get her to eat a hot dog and a half at the park, and, while it hadn’t been the healthiest of foods, at least she’d eaten something, he mused. He wondered what it would take to get her to eat dinner.
“Thanks again, Nick,” she said quietly. “I know you wanted to help me, and you did. I feel a lot better considering.”
He smiled and tugged on her hair. “If polar bears and penguins have a positive effect on you, we’ll have to head to the zoo whenever you’re mad or upset.”
“They were cute to watch. And innocent,” she added. “Must be nice to live your life worry-free and only have to care about what you’ll eat at your next meal.”
“Or what rock you’ll sunbathe on next?” Nick suggested with a smile.
When the elevator doors opened, they were smiling at each other. Outside the door to the suite, Brian and Liz stood whispering heatedly about something.
“Hey guys.” Nick frowned when they shut up and smiled widely. “Is everything okay?”
Brian nodded. “Yup. Uh, of course! Why wouldn’t it be? Did you have a nice trip?” he asked Autumn.
She frowned at him and Liz. “Yeah, I guess. What’s going on? Did something happen?”
“No,” Liz replied quickly. “Nothing happened. Everything’s fine. It’s just, uh…”
Autumn slid her key card through the lock and pushed the door open. Nick let her go before turning back to Liz and Brian. “Okay, what’s going on? And don’t lie. You were talking about something important, and I want to know what it is.”
Before either of them could answer, they heard Autumn scream. Nick bolted through the door and came to a screeching halt inside the parlor. Obviously, there had been no reason to get so scared, he thought with a sinking feeling. Autumn was perfectly fine.
Even though she was currently enveloped in the arms of Jack McCann.
“Shit.”
Jack cupped Autumn’s face in his hands and studied it. “Are you okay? I got here as soon as I heard what had happened. Oh, Autumn, I can’t believe your sister kidnapped Lily. I’m so sorry.”
Autumn wrapped her arms around Jack’s waist and leaned against him. “I know you didn’t leave on a good note, but I’m so glad you’re here.”
AJ and Howie sidled over to where Nick stood. “That’s the ex?” AJ muttered.
“Yeah.” Nick watched the way they stood, wrapped together as though they were the only ones in the room. He could feel his heart crack and wondered what to do next.
Jack lifted his head and met Nick’s eyes. “Carter.”
“McCann. It’s nice of you to come.”
“I’d do anything for my girls,” Jack replied simply and then proceeded to settle Autumn on the couch, murmuring soothingly to her.
Leighanne sighed and placed her hand on Nick’s shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, Nick. You have nothing to worry about.”
“Yeah,” Nick whispered but didn’t agree at all.
He couldn’t believe this was happening. After all the months and all the time he’d spent trying to gain Autumn’s trust and affection, he hadn’t known that all it would take was Autumn’s ex showing up to wreck it all. She’d fallen in love with Jack, had wanted to marry him, and nothing Nick did would compare to that.
But Jack was wrong about one thing. Autumn and Lily weren’t his anymore. They were Nick’s family, and he’d do everything in his power to keep it that way.
“No damn archaeologist is going to change that,” he muttered to himself.
He only wished he could believe it.
Author's Chapter Notes:
In case you haven't heard, November is official "I will finish writing this story" month! And here's the first of the last five chapters of this story! I'm really excited that it's all finally starting to come to an end, and I hope you enjoy!
