Loving Quinn Novel by North Rose

(Quinn)

The second Aaron parked behind L****s SUV, I opened my door and rushed forward. The driver’s side door is ajar, and I can already see that there is no one inside. Before I even reach the open door, I notice a small puddle of blood and shattered glass on the ground. I also notice a trail of blood leading a few feet away.

Whoever attacked him took him with them when they left.

“Is he in there?” Aaron calls from behind me..

“No.”

I glance inside the SUV as Aaron walks up behind me. There is blood on the steering wheel and

glass from the broken window on the seat. The center console between the front seats is open and

L**’s gun is on the driver’s side floorboard.

for his

“He went for his weapon. Whoever took him ambushed him.” Aaron says as he steps up next to

me.

“Call the police while I go inside. Then call Mac.”

I don’t wait for him to respond as I walk towards the school. The need to find my daughter propels me forward at a rapid pace. When I reach the front door of the school, I yank one open and rush inside. The secretary on in surprise as I

bang on the ple**s separa” whom I have never seen before, looks i

“May I help you?” She stutters after taking a look at my face.

The fear and anger on my face must have scared her. Normally I would care and try to calm her but right now I just don’t care. My child’s life is at stake.

“Grace Greyson. Where is she now?”

“Are you on her contact list?”

I let out a growl of frustration as I pulled out my wallet for my identification. “I am her father, and this is an emergency.”

“Let me look. Is there anything we can help with?”

“Just find her now,” I yell in frustration.

She flinches at my outburst then looks down at her computer. After a few keystrokes she picks up

the phone on her desk. “I will call her teacher now to send Grace here.”

I make a motion with my hand for her to proceed then I glance around the entrance hall to keep myself from going crazy. I turn back to look at her as I hear her speaking to someone on the other

end of the line.

Yes, can you send Grace Greyson down to the office please? There is a pause as her face pales.

*She isn’t in class? Where is she? She never came to your class today? That is odd.”

Fear shoots through my body as she ends the call.

“What is going on out here, Lisa?”

I look up from her pale face as the principal walks up behind her. His face is full of concern and I

can only assume he heard my raised voice when I yelled at Lisa a few minutes ago. Surprise

registers on his face when he spots me.

“Mr. Greyson. What can we do for you today? Are you here to pick Grace up for something?”

“When was the last time anyone here saw my daughter? She isn’t in her classroom and her

teacher said she never showed up for class. Where is Grace?” My voice gets louder with each

question I ask.

Confusion crosses his face as I yell at him.

“Pull up the attendance chart for today, Lisa. I saw Grace at lunch. What is going on Mr. Greyson?”

I briefly explain the phone call I received earlier today while Lisa does what he asked her. “The

police are on their way.”

Chaos ensures for the next twenty minutes. It gets even more stressful when police sirens are heard outside. Then the bell signalling the end of the school day rings. I am quickly ushered into the principal’s office while the students exit the school.

Thirty minutes later I am sitting in a small conference room talking to two familiar faces. Anson is pacing while his partner takes my statement. This is quickly becoming my worst nightmare. No one noticed that Grace was missing since lunch. Not her teachers, not the school’s attendance officer, and not the principal. They were all under the impression that one of her parents came to pick her up even though there was no record of her being signed out.

An Amber Alert for a missing child was issued immediately after Grace was found nowhere on school property. Annora called me a few minutes after the alert was sent out to the public. The sound of her voice made my heart clench further.

I demand to see the surveillance videos, so Anson follows the principal to his office to look at them. Aaron leaves to pick up Annora rather than have her drive here on her own. My only thought there is that I am happy that Shawna is with her so that she isn’t alone when he arrives.

As much as I wanted to be the one to tell her that our daughter is missing, I need to be here with the police at ground zero. I need to see who took Grace. There is no doubt in my mind that Dionne is behind this even if she wasn’t the one who did the dirty work.

Why take Grace though? What is her goal in taking my daughter? So many questions are running through my head like a freight train. One after another.

“I have a feeling that if I ask who you think is responsible for this, I will already know the name,” Morris says.

When I look at him all I can do is nod my head.

“Tell me why you think she would kidnap Grace?”

I take a deep breath and then close my eyes. Why would Dionne do something like this? She is a mother. Why would she kidnap a child? Is she doing this to get back at me for leaving her or is this retaliation for what happened in court?

“F***k. I keep asking myself that question. Grace is innocent. There is no reason for her to take my child, yet I can’t shake the feeling that she is behind this.”

“It is because she is a bitter b**h who can’t let go of the past.” Annora’s voice is sharp as stone with ice laced around every word she says as she walks to me.

I can see the shimmer of tears in her eyes as she stops in front of me. Right now, in this moment, she looks calm, but I know the storm will break the moment I pull her into my arms. I am scared that the wall holding my emotions back will crumble as soon as the first tears fall from her eyes.

“From everything I have gathered about this woman, I can see why you think that. Other than Masters and her husband, is there anyone else who would do this?”

“Can you give us a few minutes alone?”

Morris nods his head then walks away to join his partner.

“Oh, Quinn,” Annora ***s against my chest after I wrap my arms around her. “Why would she take Grace? Why take an innocent child like this?”

Hot tears slip down my cheeks as I hold her. I want to scream and rage that this is even happening to us but I will remain strong for my Annie, and for Grace. For Grace.

I will be strong for our daughter. Today. Tonight I will do everything in my power to bring her home. The police are doing well at getting her kidnapping out to the public, but I will do the rest

my way.

It is time to call in the troops.

Morris returns a few minutes later with a box of tissues in one hand and a glass of water in the other. He sits them both on the small coffee table in the corner of the room. I give him a subtle nod then slowly maneuver Annora to one of the visitor chairs nearby.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

“Have you thought of McAllister? Could he be behind this?” Morris asks after I sit next to Annie.

From what I know and have seen of Ethan McAllister this doesn’t seem like something he would do. I saw the look on his face when he was told Logan was his son. Shock and horror. The man did shady things to ruin my company but kidnapping a child seems like crossing the line for him.

McAllister is unlikely involved in this. I feel that he isn’t aware of most of what she does behind his back. If he were, he would have figured out her true nature long before what happened in

court.”

Morris looks towards the principal’s office door as Anson walks out. From the expression on the other detective’s face, I have a feeling that I am not going to like what he has to say. The pit of dread in my stomach widens as he walks closer to us.

Annora’s head jerks up off my shoulder as Anson stops in front of us.

“He was careful to avoid the cameras. Which tells us that this was planned for awhile. He knew where to move to avoid them. However, there was an additional camera installed yesterday near the playground. His face is visible.”

Anson hands me a piece of paper. I look down at the black and white printout of the man who took my daughter. My mind draws a blank. I have never seen him before in my life.

“Do you recognize him?” Anson asks.

“No. I have no idea who he is.”

“I have never seen this man before in my life,” Annora says. Her voice is h**r

crying.

from all the

“We will dust that fence rail he touched for fingerprints. I need to update the Amber Alert with his photo,” Morris says as he walks away.

“What are you going to do about Dionne Masters?” Annora asks. This time there is fire in her eyes

and steel in her voice. Rage.

“I have sent officers to pick her and McAllister up for questioning.” Anson tells her.

“That b**h has harassed Quinn for years, then she tries to sue him over the paternity of a child she knows isn’t his. It needs to stop. If she took my daughter, I want that evil woman to pay for

it.”

Anson nods his head. “For now, there isn’t anything more we can do from here. Morris and I would like to set up shop at your place. There we will monitor any incoming calls from your cell

phone, Mr. Greyson.”

“Ransom? Do you think that crazy b**h will call to demand a ransom for Grace?”

Anger s**es through me when I hear Annora’s words. I did this. What is happening now is my fault. Dionne wouldn’t be in their lives if I wasn’t around. Will Annie forgive me if we lose her?

“We don’t know their motives, Dr. Winters. However, seeing as you two are both high profile

people…”

“You mean rich? Annora interrupts him.

“Yes. Due to this fact, we must assume a ransom demand will come in.”

Annora turns to look at me and the look in her hazel eyes freezes my heart. There is an emotion in her eyes that I never thought I would see directed at me. Part of me knows it is meant for

Dionne or whoever took Grace.

The other part knows that the hate I see in her eyes is meant for me and I deserve it.

“We will do whatever is needed to bring Grace home,” I tell Anson.

What he doesn’t know is that at this very moment, Aaron is calling in the troops. It was the plan.

we made as we drove to Grace’s school. He would call Mac and then recruit everyone he could to help me bring my daughter home safely.

Now, I will just have to find a way to leave the penthouse once Mac finds out what I need to know.

Thirty minutes later my dining room is now a police command center. Anson, Morris, and two technicians are seated at the table. My cell phone is **ed up to their

to record incoming calls and trace the caller’s location.

puter that they set up.

In the living room, Annora’s parents, brothers, and Shawna are all gathered to support us. Annoral has been pacing back and forth across the living room floor since we got home. Her inability to sit still is driving her mother crazy.

Vivian keeps trying to get her to sit down but Annie brushes her hands away then keeps pacing. I am standing next to the fireplace and staring blankly out the window. To others, I look calm, but I am anything but calm.

The police have no leads on the kidnapper. His prints were not in the system. The destruction I caused in the kitchen after learning this made me retreat inside myself.

There is a dangerous rage burning deep inside me.

It demands to be let out.

All it wants is to destroy.

Fear races down my spine as rage burns inside me. I am afraid of what I will do when I am face to face with the ba**rd that took my child. Dionne may be the mastermind behind this, but she is

not the one who committed the crime.

Smart of her to hire someone rather than do it herself.

It won’t change the outcome when I find her.

I feel my pocket vibrate as my unregistered cellphone signals an incoming message. Without giving anything away, I proceed up the stairs. Once I am in my room, I pull the phone out of my pocket to check the message.

It is from Mac. He has a name for me. Holden Michaels.

He is apparently another one of Dionne’s lovers. His prints popped up when Mac pulled strings with his FBI contacts. Michaels is an FBI agent. Well, he is on administrative leave, so he probably won’t be one for much longer.

Why would he risk his career for Dionne Masters?

What does she have on him?

“Where are you going?” Annora says Behind me.

I look at her as I pull my back t-shirt down over my chest. Her eyes are puffy from crying and all want to do is hold her. Comfort her. Do anything I can to end this nightmare.

To do that I need to leave.

“I will do what the police can’t do.”

With determined strides, Annora walks to me then stops in front of me. Tears slip from her eyes as she looks up at me. I pull her into my arms as she quietly s**bs. Soon she pulls herself out of my embrace and then looks up at me with rage in her eyes.

“Bring our daughter home even if you have to kill that b**h to do it.”