“We need to get out there and look for him, Dean. Maybe he’s lying somewhere hurt.” Olivia grabbed Dean’s arm, her eyes wide with alarm. “We’ve got to find him.” Her voice held signs of panic.Dean placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Olivia, I checked the street and front yards of every house along his walk home. He isn’t there.” It was apparent she was in complete denial Eli had been abducted. “Think hard now. Any other friends he might have gone to play with?”“Perhaps… Maybe Steven. Eli has gone to his house for playdates before.” Her face was now drained and colorless.“Okay, call anyplace you think he could have gone, and I’ll call sheriff Tanner.” Dean knew she wouldn’t find Eli at any friend’s house.Somebody had kidnapped his son. He knew this with a gut instinct, and the faster the sheriff and his men got involved, the better the possibility of finding him. Looking back, he should never have removed the backpack. Of course, he had enough law enforcement training to kno

Olivia’s heart was now sitting in her throat. She looked at the phone on the table. The caller I.D box displayed a PRIVATE NUMBER instead of a phone number.The phone rang a second time. She was suddenly more afraid than she had been throughout the entire evening.“Answer it,” Dan said, ready to record the conversation. The phone rang a third time. “Olivia, answer the phone,” Dean said calmly.Hands trembling, she picked up the receiver and whispered a faint hello. “I have your son.” The voice echoed throughout the kitchen. The voice was digitally distorted, making it impossible to know if the caller was male or female. “Who is this? What do you want?”“At midnight tomorrow, bring three million dollars in hundred-dollar bills to the Bosque River marina. There is a delivery box at the number three wharf. Inside, you will find instructions on where to leave the money. If I see any cops, the boy dies.” Dean grabbed the phone from Olivia. “You get nothing unless we get proof of life,”

Dean returned to the kitchen. “A news van just pulled up outside.”Olivia took a moment to study his features carefully. She wanted a clue as to what had sent him out of the house earlier. His posture was set square and tension radiated out from him.Glen got up from his chair, anticipating the doorbell to sound. “Do either of you wish to talk to the press or make a statement?”“I don’t,” Dean said, then looked at Olivia. “You go ahead if you want to.”“No, I have no wish to give the monster the pleasure.” Olivia had seen the parents of kidnapped or missing children begging at press conferences for mercy as they wept. She wasn’t about to become one of those parents unless someone could persuade otherwise her.The doorbell rang. “I’ll get the door and tell them to stay off your property,” Glen replied, and then left to deliver the message.“I think the sheriff will expect you both to stand next to him when he holds the press conference,” Dan said. “I definitely have no intention of sh

They drove in silence, full of aching anticipation of finding Eli. The old property had been abandoned for over five years. The last Olivia heard, Emma and John Winchester had passed away within a few months, leaving the three children and Emma’s younger brother in litigations.The caller said he couldn’t identify the person as a man or a woman. She knew this might be another crank call, but the caller had sounded genuine. Was it Jack they had seen?Her gun sat in her lap as her index finger mindlessly tapped the barrel. Its weight was familiar to her. She’d wanted a weapon. Her father encouraged her to learn how to shoot. He knew he wouldn’t be around forever and had wanted her to be able to protect herself and Eli. She was comfortable shooting it. She’d never believed until this moment that she could shoot and kill somebody, but she would have no hesitation if it meant saving her son’s life. Dean had grabbed his gun out of his truck before they had left. When protecting Eli, she kne

Lying on his side, Eli willed his eyes to open. His clothes felt dirty against his skin. He needed a bath. He knew he was still chained to the wall, but the chain was long enough to allow him to move around the basement and reach the toilet next to an old sink where a cup sat so he could drink. Sitting up, he inspected his ankle and reached down to try to loosen the shackle again, but his ankle was now too swollen and sore to keep trying. He began to cry again. It scared him that nobody had found him. Was he still in Valley Mills? For all he knew, he could be in New York, he had learned a little about that place in school, and he knew that it was a long way from his home. He also knew his kidnapper wore a black coat and ski mask; Eli didn’t know if it was a man or a woman. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The black figure was carrying something new, an old wooden chair and something white folded under his arm. Eli tried to speak with his capture again. “Why are you keeping