But Grant understood how bad it could get and what the real chances were. He’d been through this type of thing before. He’d gotten his daughter back, but that had been a miracle. He could hardly expect to have such luck again.

“What you told him, it’s true,” Phil said after Amarok had promised to keep them informed and hung up. “We are going to get Evelyn back safely.”

Amarok had forgotten Phil was even in the room. He jerked his gaze away from the spot he’d been staring at—as if his eyes were laser beams and could drill holes through his desk—and nodded. He couldn’t talk about it; he’d fall apart. And that was the last thing he could allow himself to do. He had to remain strong and clearheaded, for Evelyn’s sake. In order to get through this, he could only think one step ahead, and his next step included another difficult call.

He wished Phil weren’t watching as he dialed his mother’s number. But as much as Amarok preferred a bit of privacy, he wasn’t about to ask him to leave. Phil had been completely devoted to him and to keeping Hilltop safe since Amarok had chosen him as Village Public Safety Officer. He was proving his commitment now, by doing all he could to support and assist in Evelyn’s investigation.

When his mother didn’t answer right away, Amarok’s anxiety grew. Maybe Phil was right and she had been hurt. Although he didn’t want anything to do with his mother, his feelings were a great deal more complex than he was willing to admit, even to Evelyn, which was probably why she’d kept pressing him about whether he really didn’t care to invite Alistair to their wedding. Evelyn knew he had to be torn on some level; she was a mental health professional. And she was right. Alistair’s death would only make his feelings where his mother was concerned more complicated.

He was about to hang up and call the Seattle police, to ask them to check on her, when he heard a breathless, “Hello?” as though she’d had to hurry to reach the phone.

“Alistair?” He hardly knew her, refused to call her Mom. He’d spoken to her only a handful of times since Jason had reached out to him on their eighteenth birthday, and there’d been no communication before that.

“Benjamin?”

That she used his given name only highlighted the fact that she’d missed his entire life, wasn’t even familiar enough with what people called him to use it herself. “Yeah, it’s me.”

Now that he had her on the line, which confirmed she was alive, he didn’t know what to say next. I’m just calling to make sure you’re okay wasn’t something he felt comfortable with. That made it sound as though he cared a great deal, and since she hadn’t cared enough about him to remain in contact after she walked away from him when he was only two years old, he wasn’t willing to pretend she could so easily erase all of that.