The bullet, luckily, had only grazed the left side of my head, but it was enough to render me unconscious. The doctor assured me the wound wouldn’t scar, but cosmetics was the last thing I was worried about. I had told him just as much.

Keiran had just taken off yesterday morning for California to bring Keenan home and had been unreachable while everyone scrambled to find Kennedy.

The few witnesses who stepped forward said she had been taken into a black van with missing plates. My only guess would be that they couldn’t have gone far without the risk of being pulled over. It was all I could hope for.

“How long—” I stopped to clear my throat and swallow down panic. “How long until he gets here?”

“Eight or nine hours, maybe?” Her voice trembled while nervousness was sketched all over her face. “Your parents have called Dash, and he’s on his way from Germany as we speak.”

I stifled a curse and managed to keep a straight face. My parent’s reaction was bad, but Dash’s would be one hundred times worse.

My parents had done nothing but blame me for losing Kennedy along with grilling me over my activities. They hated that I moved away with Kennedy although it was only thirty minutes away. They accused me time and again of punishing them by taking her from them.

Never mind that I was in college just as they had always wanted. They believed my need to be completely independent was selfish due to having her so young. I was depriving her of her heritage, my father would say.

From the moment Kennedy took her first breath, she had only been without one thing and that was her father. Even so, she was loved as if she had two parents instead of one.

Lake would always say that maybe they were upset I proved them wrong and I had shown them a teen pregnancy didn’t always have to end in disaster.

* * * * *

No sooner than I had ended my phone call with Dash, Keiran burst through the door with a stormy expression. I could tell by his unkempt hair that he had been running his fingers through it. His jaw was locked and he looked ready to battle any and everything that stood in his way.

It was the last thought I had before my mind drew a complete blank. Following behind Keiran was the only person who ever made my heart race and break simultaneously.

It seemed that God had once again ignored my prayers because here was Keenan Masters, my first love, my first heartbreak, and the father of my missing child, standing before me.

I could tell instantly, without ever speaking a word, he was nothing like the boy I fell in love with. This person who had returned to me four years later was a cold shell of him.

There should have been some profound method of dealing with the day you come face to face with love again. Even one that had been as broken as ours had.

He looked at me with disinterest from his perch by the door. His Mohawk was gone and replaced by a head full of dark hair that still kept its spiky texture. His jaw had lost its boyish youthfulness and he had grown hard. His lips were still plump and perfectly kissable. His eyelashes were long giving his eyes deceptively playful character. Dressed in his signature dark clothing, I could still see that his body was now covered in tattoos. They peeked from his short shirtsleeves, and I had to admit, even those appeared dangerous.

“How are you feeling?”

The sound of Keiran’s gruff voice broke me from the trance I had currently been entrapped in. Keenan’s stare was more than a little disturbing. With one look, he communicated how much he would like to hurt me, but this time with his bare hands. Even after four years, I could still read him.

“A little sore, but the doctor said I should be discharged in the morning as long as I take it easy.”

I agreed even though I knew taking it easy wasn’t an option. How could anyone think I could ever rest knowing my daughter was out there alone and unprotected? I mentally prepared myself for the battle that would disrupt once Keiran found out Kennedy was missing.

“Please, Keiran, you have to get me out of here now.” I decided once we were somewhere more private, I could tell him. Twenty-four hours had already passed and the police had already warned me the first forty-eight were the most critical.

He didn’t seem to hear me as he looked around the hospital room. “Where’s Kennedy? Who is watching her? Was she hurt?” Keiran fired off questions faster than I could answer them. Lake paled as she backed into the corner furthest away from him.

“I—I have to tell you—”

“Who’s Kennedy?” Keenan asked with disinterest.

Before I could answer, the door burst open as my parents and two men I didn’t recognize filed in. They were dressed casually in dark jeans and collared shirts, but the serious looks on their faces said their appearance would be anything but casual.

“Sheldon, these are the men we hired to find Kennedy,” my father stated.

“Yes, ma’am. I’m Greg and this is Vick,” the longhaired blond introduced his partner and himself. “We will be assisting the police offline to find your daughter.” The disinterest in his tone made me wonder how invested in this case he really was. His unkempt attire and scruffy beard were anything but professional. His partner was even worse. It looked as if he had just finished rolling in the dirt. These weren’t the usual men my father hired whenever he needed something taken care of.

“What the fuck do you mean find?” Keiran bellowed.

“Daughter?” Keenan choked. I could hear the anger and judgment in his voice as if he had the right after coming back into my life uninvited.

If I thought the brothers were intimidating before, it was nothing compared to the sight of them both glaring at me now.

“You haven’t told them yet?” my mother questioned.

“N—no. I was just going to before you guys interrupted.”

“Oh, dear.”

“Someone had better start talking in the next two seconds,” Keiran threatened.

“Two men took Kennedy yesterday morning after her eye doctor appointment. A man had appeared out of nowhere and opened her car door when we were parked at a gas station. I was shot trying to stop them from taking her. I have no idea who they were or why they took her—”

“That’s why we are here, ma’am,” the detective interrupted. We need a complete list of friends, acquaintances, extended family members, neighbors, and anyone down to the mailman who may have come in contact with the child before the abduction.”

“How the fuck could you let this happen?” Keiran began to pace angrily, ignoring the investigators questions.

I never got the chance to respond because Lake had flown out the corner and into Keiran’s face. “She didn’t let anything happen, Keiran.” She stabbed him in his chest with an angry finger, backing him against the wall. “Look at her. Look at where she is. I think it’s obvious she did all she could to save Kennedy. This is her child we’re talking about. She isn’t to blame here, so quit it because you’re not helping.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this shit before?”

“Because I wanted you home safe. You and I both know you would have gone berserk and Kennedy needs you now.” She looked over at Keenan with disgust. “She needs both of you.”

Keenan’s brow lifted, but thankfully, he didn’t question her statement. Either he still had no idea who Kennedy was to him or he was bastard enough not to care. I secretly hoped it was the former.

“Kids, we really need to get started if we want to bring Kennedy home soon,” Mr. Chambers interrupted.

The lead investigator cleared his throat and pulled out a notepad and pen. “Yes. Let’s first start with her age. How old is she?”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Keiran barked. “Let me put it this way… she’s too fucking young to survive on her own. Would it matter if she was older or younger?”