Page 31 of Kaya's King

I hear a noise so lay flat over my tablet. It feels like the car we’re in is slowing down. I can’t let them find my tablet yet, so I slip it into my backpack again and pray Mr. Specks can figure out where I am so he can come find me. I feel a tear rolling down myface and wipe it away because I’m a big boy now and have to be brave.

But I miss my mommy and wish I had my stuffy with me.

CHAPTER

THIRTEEN

Kaya

My heart’slodged in my throat as we pull to a stop outside of a restroom where all I see are flashing red and blue lights along with yellow crime scene tape. I can see two unmoving people on gurneys with EMTs working steadfastly on them and realize both Chelsea and Canyon were injured while watching over my son.

The tears haven’t stopped pouring down my cheeks, although they’re quiet as I attempt to rein them in so we can rationallytalk to the police and comprehend what all’s being done to locate Noah.

Please God, please, please, please, keep him safe for me. He’s just a little boy.

I see the members of the club standing around with Brooks speaking rather animatedly to a police officer. When he sees us, he motions us to come closer and it takes everything in me not to break into a run. “I’m Kaya Mabry, Noah’s mom,” I rush out, holding out my hand as I introduce myself.

“Detective Osgood, ma’am,” the man who Brooks was talking to states. “Do you have a current and up-to-date picture of your little boy that I can hand out to the search party?”

Nodding my head, I pull out my phone and open up my photo album. I’ve been taking pictures almost daily during his therapy sessions, as well as when he and Specks aren’t paying attention to me, so I’ve got a lot of poses of him to choose from. “Um, he’s currently non-weight bearing so he’s probably in his wheelchair, and he’s wearing colorful braces on both of his upper legs, like this.” I turn my phone around and see the detective grin. I added various pictures of superheroes to his braces, and then everyone signed them.

“He’s what, five? Six?” Detective Osgood probes, opening up a small notepad that he pulled from his blazer’s inner pocket and begins jotting the information I’ve provided for him down.

“He’s going to be six next month,” I quietly reply. “Where can I send these?” He rattles off his phone number and I quickly text several pictures of Noah to him. “The last picture, that’s the outfit he was wearing today since they were coming to thepark on a field trip.” Remembering my manners, I ask, “How are Chelsea and Canyon? Did they see anything?”

He shakes his head. “The male was coldcocked over the head from behind and knocked out. The female briefly saw an older female, approximately your height, who managed to strike her which knocked her into the wall. Both are going to be transported to the nearest hospital to be checked over. Pending their examination results will let us know when we can attempt to get statements from them. While we wait on that, what else can you tell me about your son? Height, weight, that kind of thing.”

I quickly rattle those details off to Detective Osgood, then refocus my thoughts in an effort to keep things straight in my head. “So right now, we don’t know anything except my son, who’s wheelchair bound no less, was taken, stolen in broad daylight pretty much in plain sight for any passerby to witness?” I inquire, trying to keep my temper in check even as my voice rises with each word. I can feel my momma bear mode trying to breach the surface, just out of arm’s reach and right now, being told they really have little to nothing to go on just flipped the proverbial switch. “Are there cameras around here?”

“We’re working through the channels to access them now.”

Poseidon’s phone rings and he steps away from eavesdropping ears before answering it. I’m trying to listen to his side of the conversation but he’s speaking so low, it’s damn near impossible to comprehend what he’s saying. If I thought it would do any good, I’d stomp my feet and throw a tantrum by screaming the skies down, but Granny has always said you catch more flies with honey and sugar than vinegar. When Poseidon comes back to our little group, he looks at Loki first then swivels his eyes at me. I don’t understand their non-verbal communication, butwhen Loki moves closer and pulls me toward him, I realize it has something to do with Noah and my heart starts pounding like elephants trying to herd their way out of my chest.

“Just heard back from one of my guys, Specks. He and Noah have been playing Minecraft today and he was the one who heard Noah get kidnapped. Noah reached out to him through the game chat apparently. He doesn’t know where they’re going but he says it was a team consisting of a man and a woman who took him.”

I gasp while clutching onto Loki’s arm, my mind furiously spinning as I try to figure out who in the world would seek out and take my son. I’m glad Specks is using his hacking and computer skills to try and track Noah down, worried about how my boy is doing, scared this might give Granny a heart attack, and grateful to have a club like the Poseidon’s Warriors standing sentry at my back.

Detective Osgood is furiously scribbling everything down before he picks up his phone, dialing a number and I overhear him advising someone to get an Amber Alert activated. Turning to me, he simply says, “They didn’t take Noah’s wheelchair, ma’am. It was left in the bathroom.”

“Did… was there anything else left behind?” I manage to stutter out.

“A kid’s gaming headset,” he replies. “Ma’am, I suggest you go home. As soon as we know something, we’ll advise you.”

“If we hear of anything of importance regarding your son, we’ll contact you and let you know that as well,” Poseidon states. “The rest of my guys are out running the roads so to speak. Not surewhat kind of vehicle we’re looking for, but I hope that maybe Canyon or Chelsea noticed one when they pulled in.”

“You should leave this to the experts,” Detective Osgood cautions.

Poseidon’s laugh is one I’ll have nightmares about if I ever manage to sleep again. “I don’t care who finds him, I just want him found!” I’m probably nearing the edge of hysteria, but I can’t help it at this point. I’m devastated and need my man. Turning to Loki, I clearly state, “I need Specks, Loki. Take me to him,please.”

Specks

I continue to try and reach Noah through our chat box but have a sneaking suspicion he hid his tablet from his abductors. Hopefully, they don’t catch on and find it and right now, I’m kicking my own ass because I don’t have an embedded tracker placed on the device. Something tickles at the back of my brain, it’s nagging at me, but for the life of me, I’m stumped at what it could be. The CCTV cameras at the park were clear enough to show a man haphazardly carrying Noah like a ragdoll while a woman followed along behind them, closely on the man’s heels. I was able to get a good enough visual shot of the vehicle’s make and model, which I sent out to all the guys before forwarding the information to the police detective so he can put out a BOLO alert once Poseidon gave me his contact number. Do I care if they suspect we’re breaking into the camera feeds to find Noah? Not particularly because I’ve erased my digital tracks and I’m positive they don’t have anyone with my skillset available to trace my hacking activity and prove it was me.

Hearing the noise of running feet down the hallway, I turn around in the nick of time to see Kaya rushing her way into my office. Opening my arms, she falls into them, her tears soaking the front of my shirt almost immediately. I suspect she’s been continuously weeping based on how red and puffy her eyes are, but from what I’ve learned about my old lady, she likely held it together for the most part until she got to me.

“It’s okay, babe, let it all out,” I whisper comforting words to her, my hands stroking her back in a feeble attempt to comfort her. “I’ve got you.”

“S-s-specks, please tell me you know something,” she sputters out, clutching my shirt in a death grip.