Read Not Until You Part VIII: Not Until You Love for Free Online Page B

“What the hell is this?”
    Pike stepped up behind him, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “Welcome to your party, bro. You’re a hero.”
    Heaviness landed in the pit of his stomach. Hero. That was the last thing he was. “Cela . . .”
    She bit her lip, her expression anxiously expectant. “Remember,
smile
. You can make me pay later.”
    He ran a hand over the back of his head, fighting the urge to stride right back out. But before he could say anything else, his assistant, Lindy, hurried over to him like a whirlwind of fluttering hands and smiles. She threw her arms around him. “I’m so glad you came!”
    On autopilot, he hugged her back. “You knew about this?”
    She stepped back, smiling sheepishly. “Maybe? The staff has wanted to put together an event for a while. A lot of the families want to thank you. So when Cela called me to see if we could put something together quickly, I sort of made everyone work overtime to make it happen.”
    He peeked over Lindy’s shoulder toward Cela. Everything in her stance belied her nerves. She’d gone through all of this trouble, and now she was afraid he was going to bail. He sighed, frustrated that this was happening but unable to let Cela or his staff down by being an asshole about it.
    He forced himself to smile, the motion straining his face. “Thanks, Lindy. Y’all really shouldn’t have gone through the trouble.”
    She crossed her arms and eyed him. “Yes, we should’ve. You built this company, and you need to accept the impact it’s had. Now, go sit, eat and drink. The presentation is about to start.”
    “Presentation?” But Cela and Pike were already ushering him to a table without answering his question.
    He felt like a piece being moved on a chessboard, everything out of his control. The whole experience was unnerving. But what else could he do at this point? Cela had thrown him into the deep end without an escape route. He ordered a stiff drink before his ass even hit the chair.
    And he would need that liquid fortification, because a few minutes later, the lights went down and a video screen lowered on the back wall behind the stage. Music filled the cavernous ballroom, and Cela reached out and grabbed his hand. Familiar faces began to light the screen in time with the wordless music. One by one, every person who had ever been found because of one of their products appeared on the screen. Happy, smiling faces of two little boys running through the park, a little girl with a tiara on, the wizened smile of an elderly man who’d been found after wandering off, footage of news stories showing families reuniting when they found their loved ones.
    Words appeared on the screen between the photos.
    Every day. . . .over two thousand children go missing.
    Every day . . . families grieve for loved ones they’ll never see again.
    Foster’s throat felt like it was stuffed with fiberfill, his chest going tight.
    Every day . . . hope is lost.
    But not for Mackenzie Osbourne in Cedar Rapids, IA.
    Not for Jayden Kennedale in Biloxi, MS.
    Not for MaryLou Wallace in Waco, TX.
    Because people like Ian Foster and the staff of 4N refuse to accept that there’s nothing we can do.
    A video of the Kennedales came on, Jayden in the middle with a toothless grin. Jayden’s mother began to speak. “
The day Jayden wandered off in the mall was the most terrifying day of my life. In a flash of seconds, I saw my whole world collapsing in on itself. I’d taken my eye off of him for one moment, and he was gone. My baby was gone and it was my fault.
” She swiped at tears through a wavering smile. “
I’m not sure what made me buy that Home Safe wristband a month before. I live in a quiet town, low crime. It seemed kind of silly and paranoid to have such a thing. But Neve Foster’s story affected me, and I bought one. If Jayden hadn’t been wearing his that day, I know we would’ve never seen him again. I will never be able to repay Ian Foster and 4N for what