Harrison came toward me, empty-handed and with a grim look on his face.

“I’ve got men looking outside and in other stores around us. Savage is on his way, too.”

Interesting how Harrison and Savage worked together. They were a strong partnership and as far as I could gather from what Harrison had told me, they always had one another’s back, regardless of the time of day or night. I still needed to thank Savage for dropping off my purse the night before, but at that moment it seemed insignificant.

“Jessica told me she already lost one child. We have to find Mitch,” I said, choking on my words. I remembered Mia’s agony when Jaime went missing; I’d hoped I’d never see another mother experience the same thing again. But life didn’t work like that. Kids went missing every day, and for different reasons. It sucked, and a feeling of hopelessness overwhelmed me.

“Baby, you have to stay strong for Jessica. If she sees you’ve lost hope, it will frighten her out of her mind.”

“I’ll go to the bathroom and splash my face with water before I go back to check on her,” I said, turning away from Harrison.

“Eva, wait.”

I swung around. “Yeah?”

“The washrooms are the only place I haven’t checked.” He smacked his forehead with his palm. “I’ll go check the men’s room while you wait, and then we’ll check the ladies room together.”

“But—”

Harrison laid his fingers over my lips. “Shhh . . . trust me,” he said simply.

I nodded, my eyes widening as I watched him go into the men’s room. Seconds later, he emerged still empty-handed.

“I have a strange feeling about this,” Harrison said, as he gripped my arm and shoved me behind him. Without any warning, he smashed the door of the ladies room open and burst inside.

Sobs. The sobs of a child.

“Fuck,” Harrison yelled. “Stay where you are and I won’t hurt you.”

Stunned by Harrison’s aggression, I followed him inside. Standing inside a cubicle was a middle-aged woman holding a distraught little blond boy in her arms, her hand covering his mouth.

“Mitch?” Harrison said. “It’s going to be okay, buddy. Mommy is waiting for you outside.” He took a step closer to the woman. “Don’t move a fucking inch. I’m going to take the boy from you and then I’ll ask questions. You got that?”

The woman went pale and nodded. Harrison was a large man and the way he towered over her, threatening her with his body language, would be enough to make anyone agree. She shoved the boy forward and Harrison grabbed him from her.

The woman cowered into the corner, her face in her hands as she began sobbing. I had no doubt that Harrison would get the whole story out of her.

My gaze swung back to Harrison holding the boy. What astounded me most was the soft look in his eyes as he comforted the child. “Listen, buddy, this beautiful lady is Eva. She knows your mommy and she will take you to her, okay?”

Harrison reached for something inside his pocket and produced a handkerchief, wiping the tears and snot from the boy’s face before handing him to me.

I couldn’t help kissing the boy’s forehead as tears filled my eyes. Jessica and Mitch were lucky today. If Harrison hadn’t decided to spoil me, this child would most probably have become another face on a milk carton.

“You okay, Eva?” Harrison’s voice was laced with concern.

“Yeah, I’ll take Mitch to his mommy. Jessica will be so happy.” I hugged the boy for a few seconds as relief flooded my body.

“I’ll be there soon. I just need to call Savage and deal with her.”

He nodded his head toward the woman who’d sat down on the covered toilet, her shoulders slumped forward and tears streaming down her face. Somehow, I couldn’t help but feel pity for her. Something must have driven her to do something like this. Who was I to judge without knowing the whole story?

Yet I couldn’t deny that what she’d done was a terrible thing. I shuddered to think what her intentions were for the boy. And Harrison—he’d saved a boy by listening to his gut when he sensed something was off. The man never ceased to amaze me. Between him and Savage, they’d deal with the woman in the most appropriate way.

As fast as my legs would carry me, I made my way back to the café area where I’d left Jessica. She was pacing up and down, clutching her chest and talking rapidly on her phone, tears streaming down her face.

“Jessica, look who we found,” I shouted out as I approached her.

Her head snapped up, and her whole expression changed when she saw her child. My heart skipped a beat when I witnessed pure joy and love shine from her face. She sobbed even harder through her smile.

“Mitchel, are you okay, baby?” She took him from my arms and smothered his face with kisses.

I couldn’t help laughing and smiling with her while watching them reunite. It tugged at my heartstrings to see so much love between them. I was so damn proud of Harrison and what he’d done to save the day.

Yet something Jessica had alluded to earlier had stuck in my mind, and I needed an answer, so when she finally calmed down enough to talk, I ordered fresh coffees and a drink for the boy and invited Jessica to take a seat.

“Oh my God, I can’t thank you and your husband enough for helping me today. Thank you, thank you,” she said, reaching out and squeezing my hand. “I don’t normally ask strangers for help but after I’d run around hopelessly, I was so frightened that I realized I needed help.”

“Oh, it was all Harrison; he’s the hero. He found your son in the ladies room.” I didn’t want to tell her more than that, figuring that Harrison or Savage would fill her in when they had all the details. What Jessica needed at that moment was a friend and supporter. The truth and the horror of what happened would come out sooner or later.

“Where is he? I need to thank your husband.”

“Oh no, he’s not my husband,” I said, heat rising to my cheeks. The first time she mentioned it I kind of ignored it, but I didn’t want her saying something like that in front of the guys.

“He’s not? I’m sorry. It’s just the way he acted around you—I could have sworn you were a married couple. You appear to be so in love with one another.”

I just did a kind of unladylike snort-laugh, because if Jessica knew how far from the truth she was, it would be awkward.

“Honey, you said something earlier which worries me. Why did you think your husband would kill you? Is he a violent man?”

Jessica cast her eyes down for a long moment before meeting my gaze. “There’s no point in lying. Since our daughter was killed in an accident, he blames me, and our marriage is on the rocks. He yells at me all the time.” She shrugged, her eyes sad. “He’s become abusive lately, and I must admit I’m afraid of him when he goes on a rampage and threatens me. Poor Mitch hides under the bed when he starts yelling at me.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sorry was an inadequate word, but I didn’t know how else to say it. “Has he . . . physical hurt you?”

She shook her head before whispering. “Not yet.”

Shifting my weight on the chair, I thought for a long moment before speaking. “I know it’s not my business, but maybe you should get help? Have you spoken to anyone about it yet?”

Jessica ruffled Mitch’s hair before planting a kiss on his forehead. Since we’d sat down, she hadn’t stopped gently touching the boy and hugging him to her. “I’m too embarrassed. Our families think we are a match made in heaven. I don’t want to upset anyone.”

“You’ve got to look out for yourself, Jessica. And for Mitch. If something happens to you, what will your boy do?”

She lay a hand on my arm. “You’re right. Thanks for your help.”

I smiled warmly at her, hoping she’d take my advice and do something about it before she became another statistic.

Savage came toward us, a deep frown between his eyes. “Hey, Eva,” he said, but his gaze was glued on Jessica. “Um, Jessica, are you okay?”