Forever Alexa (Book Four In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series) Read Free

booster and clutched her close, rocking them both on the edge of the seat. She reached forward and rummaged through her purse in the center console, searching for her phone. Grabbing it up, she dialed nine-one-one. Her eyes darted around the dark, desolate, parking lot, and her teeth chattered while her body shuddered in sheer terror.
    “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”
    “Someone took my sister,” she gasped between panicked breaths. “Someone took my sister.”

    It was well after midnight when Alexa let herself into her small home. On autopilot, she carried Livy to the couch, laid her down, and covered her with a fleece blanket, too terrified to put her daughter in her bed, or even let her out of her sight. With her arms empty and suddenly feeling cold, Alexa glanced into the moonless darkness boring through the windows. She hurried around the living room, quickly twisting the blinds and yanking curtains closed, before she turned on every light she could. It was so quiet—too quiet—in her little corner of the woods. Her house, tucked among the trees on the outskirts of town, always brought her comfort, but not tonight.
    Head pounding, heart aching, Alexa sat down and pressed a hand to her nauseous stomach. She stared at the lists she’d made before her family left for their week of fun in Virginia. Abby’s small graduation barbeque was supposed to be tomorrow night. She wanted to do more, so much more for her sister, but money was tight. Purchasing streamers, balloons, napkins, and a million other items had been her biggest worry just hours ago. Now she wished juggling a couple hundred dollars was her biggest issue.
    Alexa rested her weary head in her hands. “My God,” she whispered, still unable to believe that two men had snatched her sister away. Abby was really gone. This had to be a dream. Glancing up, she looked at Gran’s piano in the corner of the small room, the fireplace with the decorative display of wood and candles in its center, and Livy’s toys and books tucked away neatly in the antique box by the window. Alexa knew she wasn’t asleep; she was in the middle of a nightmare, but she was wide-awake.
    Tears trailed down her cheeks one after another as she sighed out an unsteady breath. “What am I going to do? How will I get her back?” Where did she start ?
    The police were doing everything they could. They’d released Abby’s picture to the media along with the few details they had on her case, but it wasn’t enough. There were too many questions and hardly any answers, even after the police interview. She’d clutched Olivia in her arms for hours while she gave the detectives a description of the van and the two muscled men in black masks and jeans who had grabbed her sister, yet she hadn’t been able to give them a license plate number. She never looked as she ran after the Chevy. And although she’d racked her brain, she couldn’t think of a single individual who would wish her sister harm. Abby didn’t have enemies. Everyone loved her. She was so warm and fun.
    Restless and too frantic to be still, Alexa stood again, wandering the room like a lost soul. How could she have forgotten to get the license number? She didn’t even know what state the vehicle was from. She’d felt even stupider when she couldn’t give the officers a make and model of the van until she searched the catalog they gave her. She’d let Abby down in so many ways, and as a result, Alexa left the precinct the way she had arrived—powerless and without her sister.
    Alexa stopped by the mantel and stared at the photo of her, Livy, and Abby grinning for the camera in their winter gear. They’d had so much fun at the town’s annual Christmas Festival months before. Lips trembling, Alexa gasped for air as she gave in to her depthless sorrow. She crumbled to the floor and wept, drowning in her fear. “Oh, God, Abby. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I let you down.”
    On the couch, Livy stirred.