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disappearance had been his first thought too.
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    At the doorway, Humpty, stopped him. "Where are you going?"
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    Mark hadn't spent four years in juvie for nothing. Staring back, eye to eye, he said, "To keep an eye on your man as he follows Gem."
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    Humpty's brows pulled together in a frown and the two males glared at each other.
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    "We're not the enemy here. We're just trying to help."
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    Mark snorted. "Yeah, sure. Maybe Gem had the right of it after all. Maybe you took Misty yourself." He slipped on a look of complete insolence and sauntered past.
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    The bathroom door was closed. He assumed Gem had gone inside. Dumpty stood outside. Pug faced, and dressed in denim, the guy looked more like a washed out boxer than anything official. "What, a lineup?" Mark asked. "There's a second bathroom if you're in a hurry, you know?"
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    Dumpty's gaze was ice cold. "I'm fine ta wait."
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    Mark struggled to keep his gaze solid, even as his insides fell. That definitely was the same accent he'd heard outside earlier when the light flashed around. Gem was almost certainly right. They had snatched Misty. And how did they know that she'd been the teen they wanted? Cause they'd seen a girl? If so, was that why they were keeping such a close eye on Gem? Had the men seen both girls outside? Was Gem in danger too?
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    The bathroom door opened. Gem stopped in the open doorway, her gaze hardening as it switched from one to another. "Wow. What's this? A party?"
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    "He followed you here? I told him about the other bathroom but he didn't want to use it."
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    Gem's face darkened. "Really? And why would that be?"
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    "A girl has gone missing." Dumpty grinned, a horrible reshifting of the heavy folds of his face. Mark wanted to shudder. "We wouldn't want anyone else to disappear now…would we?"
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    Was that a veiled threat?
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    Gem's back stiffened and she walked toward Mark, slid her arm through his and tugged him toward the living room. Mark allowed himself to be led back to his seat calmly but his mind was racing, searching for options on where Misty might be, and what they could do to get her back.
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    "Have you called in the sheriff yet?" Gem asked.
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    Doris sniffled and gasped again. "Oh dear?"
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    "Well, the sooner the better. You don't want to have to explain why you didn't call them as soon as you noticed you had a girl missing, do you?" Gem said in a reasonable tone.
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    Humpty's lip curled. Mark's gut clenched. He narrowed his gaze, watching for signs that would help to explain what the hell was going on.
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    With a frown, John nodded. "I did. To ask about these men, only we didn't know about Misty then."
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    "No, and Misty could be just outside. Maybe she's just slipped out to meet a boyfriend," Doris suggested unhelpfully.
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    John glanced at her in horror. "Does she have one?"
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    "I don't know," Doris wailed and subsided again into the depths of her chair. "I don't think so."
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    Gem hopped back to her feet, worry lining her face. "That's a good idea. She could be outside. We should go search for her." She grabbed Mark's arm, pulling him up as she motioned to the other two to get up. "We can look in pairs. We have our cell phones and we'll call you every ten minutes or so."
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    John looked relieved at the suggestion to action. "Yes. Yes, that's a good idea. I'll call the sheriff back."
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    Stephen stood up. "Reid and I will go together." Everyone turned and looked at Reid, wondering what he'd say. Reid, the tallest and wiliest of them all, nodded and stood.
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    "Let's check the yard first."
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    "Stop. You can't seriously let these children go out in search of another child?" The leader glared at John. "Take charge here, man. You don't send a child to do a man's job."
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    Mark wanted to bare his teeth and growl. "We're almost men. Who are you to talk? You've done nothing helpful since you arrived. Now, get out of my way."
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    The man in the suit