Mr. Hollywood (Celebrity #1) (35 page)

“
Okay,
thank you. I
’
m ssorry.
”

“
Don
’
t even think about it. I
’
ll be there soon, Aubrey.
”

Sinking to the floor, I let the tears I
’
d been holding at bay loose, my
body shaking as I sobbed violently.
“
Please God, protect my son wherever
he is. I can
’
t lose him. I can
’
t!
”

Tears fell onto my shirt, leaving giant wet spots, but
I didn
’
t care. All I cared about was
finding my son.

Raising my phone, I dialed it again, listening to the
message on Zane
’
s phone pick up.

“
Hhey,
”
I said, fighting to make my voice
sound steady, but not succeeding very well.
“
I
know you
’
re on a plane right now, but I
nneeded to let you know that Dustin is missing. The school called. They can
’
t find him.
”

I took a deep breath, needing to calm myself so I
could speak clearer. This phone call wouldn
’
t
do any good if he couldn
’
t even understand me.

“
I
guess a bunch of reporters showed up there. The police are on the way and my
parents are already out driving the neighborhood looking for him. Penelope has
activated all your resources and has sent a car for me, because I
’
m a basket case.
”
Another sob, I couldn
’
t stop them.
“
I
’
m
sso scared, Zzane. I wish you were here. Hopefully we
’
ll ffind him before you land and
this message won
’
t even mean anything. I just wanted
you to know. I nneeded to hear your voice.
”
More tears.
“
I love you.
”

Burying my face in my hands, I
’
d never felt so helpless in my
life. Not even when I was a lonely, pregnant girl trying to survive in an
unfamiliar city. Now this city was my home, but my life was that little boy I
’
d been carrying. I couldn
’
t live without him
—
not for one minute.

The sound of the security gate lifting caught my
attention and a few seconds later, a black sedan pulled into the garage. I didn
’
t even wait for the car to stop,
instead jumping up and running toward it and getting in the front seat with the
driver. If he was surprised he didn
’
t say so.

“
Hello,
Ms. Hart. My name is Ben Lackey. Penelope sent me. I
’
m at your service for the rest of
the day. Where would you like to go?
”

“
Thank
you. I
’
d like to take the route we drive
from here to my son
’
s school, normally. I
’
ll stop to speak with the principal
and authorities there.
”
I gave him the address and he
left the garage.

“
I
’
m sorry to meet you under these
circumstances, but I
’
m happy to do whatever I can to
help find your son.
”

Unable to speak, I simply nodded and forced a half
smile, grateful for his help. My eyes darted to every person we passed, even
every vehicle in some instances, as I tried my best to search everywhere all at
once. I knew I was missing things though. I didn
’
t
have enough eyes.

My phone rang and I glanced down.
“
Mom?
”
I
answered quickly.
“
Did you find him?
”

“
No,
sweetie. We
’
re at the school now, and there
’
s been no sign of him. There
’
s at least half a dozen police cars
parked in front. Do you want us to stop, or keep driving around the
neighborhood?
”

“
Please
keep looking. I
’
ll be at the school soon. Penelope
sent a car and driver for me.
”

“
Oh,
that makes me feel better. That girl thinks of everything. Okay. Let us know
what
’
s going on as soon as you know.
”

“
I
will.
”

Silently, I prayed again, my eyes never leaving the
window as I searched for my child.

Sitting on my bed, I wasn
’
t sure if I had any tears left in
my body to cry. Dustin had been missing for over seven hours now. I still hadn
’
t heard from Zane, but his plane
should be landing any minute. Hopefully he
’
d be checking his messages soon.

The news had leaked out fast. By the time I left the
school and headed to my house, the entire street was filled with reporters trying
to get some sort of statement.

It was nighttime now, dark outside, and despite the
dozens of police officers crawling the neighborhood both by vehicle and on
foot, there
’
d been no sign of my boy.

Numbly, I stared at the wall, feeling completely
helpless. Everyone felt I should stay here, in case he showed up.

This was all my fault. I should
’
ve never agreed to attend that
first event with Zane. That was what got all these rumors about us started. If
I
’
d said no, I
’
d still have my son, but would I
have Zane? I wanted them both in my life, not one or the other.

Proving myself wrong, a fresh onslaught of tears
assaulted me, burning down my already tearstained, swollen face.

Right now, I wanted to burst outside and yell at every
single reporter camped there, but it wasn
’
t just the paparazzi out looking
for a story now. Legitimate news crews lined the street, filming updates.
Penelope had distributed Dustin
’
s picture to all the major stations
and every channel was abuzz with the breaking story, asking people to please
look for my son. While I was extremely grateful for them spreading the word,
this wouldn
’
t have been an issue if reporters
hadn
’
t shown up to my son
’
s school in the first place. And if
I heard one more person say how crucial the first twenty-four hours were in a
missing persons case, I was going to scream.

I didn
’
t need statistics. I needed my
baby.

This is why I was currently locked in my bedroom, away
from the masses of people wandering around the rest of my house. I needed a few
moments of peace. A few seconds to pretend Dustin was happily playing video
games in the other room.

Jumping, when my phone started ringing, I quickly
glanced at the number. It was a video call. I answered immediately, waiting for
it to connect.
“
Zane?
”
I
practically shouted, as soon as his face came into view. I wanted to crawl
through the phone and into his arms.

His face looked stricken.
“
Aubrey? Good lord, what is going
on? My phone is flooded with dozens of messages from people. I checked your
message first.
”

“
Dustin
is still missing. There
’
s been an Amber Alert put out for
him, but we
’
ve found nothing. He
’
s just .
 
.
 
. gone.
”
Fresh sobs shook me as I spoke, and
I wasn
’
t even sure if he could understand
me.
“
I
’
m
sorry, Zane. I
’
m so sorry.
”

“
Baby,
why are you sorry? This isn
’
t your fault. I
’
m just sad I
’
m not there with you. Let me call
Penelope and Luke and see what we can do about getting me a flight home. I
swear I
’
ll get back as fast as I absolutely
can.
”

“
Okay.
Please hurry, Zane. I need you. I
’
m so scared.
”

“
I
am, too. We
’
ve got to keep the faith though.
Okay, Aubrey? Promise me you
’
ll keep believing. We will find
him. You hear me?
We will.
”

“
How
can you be so sssure?
”
I hiccupped, wishing I could
believe but feeling hope slip away with every passing second.

“
Because
I won
’
t rest until we do. If I have to
personally overturn every single stone on this planet to find him, I will. This
search will never stop until our son is back in our arms.
”

I gave a choked laugh.
“
That
sounds so wonderful. I just want to hug him and never let him go.
”

“
Me,
too.
”
He clenched his jaw and swallowed
hard.
“
Listen, I don
’
t want to hang up, but I need to
call some people and see what I need to do to get there. I
’
ll call you as soon as I know what
’
s happening on this end, okay? And
you
’
ll keep me updated with any news
you get?
”

“
I
will.
”

“
Keep
the faith, baby, and know that I love you both with all my heart. I
’
ll call you back as soon as I can.
”

“
All
right. Love you.
”
Both of us seemed reluctant
to push the end button.

“
Damn,
I wish I could hold you right now.
”
He pressed a kiss to the
camera and I smiled weakly.

“
I
wish that, too. Go take care of things. I
’
m hiding in my bedroom, but there
are tons of people here. Hey, do you want me to go get Penelope? She
’
s here. So is your lawyer.
”

“
I
’
ll just call them. Glad to know
they
’
re on top of things. That makes me
feel better at least. You try to rest if you can, and I
’
ll speak to you shortly.
”

“
Okay.
I love you.
”

“
Love
you, too,
”
he replied again and the
phone call ended.

Sighing, I flopped back on the bed and covered my head
with a pillow. Waiting sucked. I wanted to be out there doing. Wasn
’
t I the best person to be out there
looking for my son?

Glancing at the sliding back doors, I wondered if I
could sneak out while everyone thought I was resting. I could at least walk
around the neighborhood again, not that it would do much good. The police had
been crawling all over the neighborhood, even going door to door and showing
his picture, trying to see if he
’
d gone to a friend
’
s house.