"I think it is you," Reyona said breathlessly.
She was staring up at the roof of the car while trying to catch her breath.
"It is me what?" Maxwell asked as he turned to her, his chest still heaving as well.
"You did something to me. You… I was perfectly fine before you came around, and now I can't remember a day that I did not have the thought of… you know."
He had a proud look on his face as he grinned and said "That was the best thing you had said to me all day."
Reyona rolled her eyes and sat up to rearrange her clothing.
Just as he started doing the same, his phone started ringing again.
"Someone must be very desperate to get to you. That has been going on and on." Reyona said as she moved from the console and properly got back in her seat.
"You heard it? I thought those were the sound of you moaning." Maxwell said with a grin.
Reyona raised her brows at him as he turned to search for the phone which was ringing from below the seat.
He chuckled and said, "How had that got there?"
He stretched to reach the phone, and he said "This had better be good because I do not appreciate it when anyone interrupts my me-time with my wife… Jane."
The smile on Reyona's face morphed into a confused look as she turned back to him. "Jane?"
She could already see the instant worry on his face as he pointed at the phone that had stopped ringing. "Five missed calls. She wouldn't call me five times un… Hi, what happened?" he asked instantly as the call was picked up.
Reyona could hear some rushed, mumbled words on the other end as Maxwell's brow furrowed.
"Jane. Listen to me!" Maxwell commanded. Then, when he saw the questioning look on Reyona's face, he put the phone on speaker even while saying, "Calm down and tell me what happened."
Reyona could hear the voices in the background even as she heard Jane sniffling.
"Yes, sir. I…" sniffles. "It is Allysyn... the sleepover that you approved? The one with Amelia, sir. I was getting ready to go pick her up this morning when Amelia's dad called me, sir. They couldn't…" Her voice got clogged again as she said, "Allysyn is missing, sir."
"What do you mean she is missing?! What do…have they checked everywhere? How can a girl be missing in their home?!"
"Amelia said she was grabbed, sir. By some man. They were outside the house when it happened, sir. The parents didn't see anything but Amelia said she was grabbed by a man just as a van parked suddenly, and the man pushed her inside."
"Oh my God!" Reyona said with widened eyes as she covered her mouth with her hands.
She started hearing a commotion in the background. "What is going on? Is she…have they found her?"
"Amelia's mom is asthmatic. She is having a crisis. The police are here, sir. What should I do? I was supposed to come get her, sir. She would be so scared right now."
"I am on my way. Just cooperate with the police and give them every detail they need. Can Amelia talk? Was she able to give them the needed details?" Maxwell asked anxiously as he ran his hand towards his hair, then adjusted his seat in place.
"I will do it," Reyona said as she helped with the adjustment while he quickly put on the ignition.
"She is…yes, I think she is giving them now. She was in…she is in shock…"
"I am on my way," Maxwell repeated as he started driving out of the lot.
Reyona shook her head and gestured that they should switch places.
He parked automatically and they both went out to change places.
Reyona got behind the wheel as Maxwell asked "Where is Junior? Does he know?"
"No, sir. He is with Meg." the housekeeper. "He thinks I was coming to get Allysyn." she started sniffling again. "What will I tell him, sir?"
"Nothing, you are not telling him anything. Stay right there or go back home if you have to, but you should not have to let that kid or anyone else know what is going on. Now, are any of the police officers right there with you?"
"No, okay, yes. One of them is close by. Amelia's mom is steady now."
"Good, give the officer the phone."
Heart laden with guilt and fear, Reyona drove as fast as she could.
She supposed he would want to get his things from his place before leaving, so that was where she headed.
Her guilt stemmed from the fact that while the poor girl was being grabbed, they were all over each other like dogs in heat.
She cringed as she remembered how they had conveniently ignored the phone when it was ringing.
"Poor Allysyn," she thought as she half-listened to Maxwell's conversation with the cop.
She looked towards the dashboard and saw that it was almost 8 pm.
The time difference between Kayooma and Sydney was twelve hours, which means it was almost 8 am at Kayooma at the moment.
Reyona couldn't even begin to imagine what the girl was going through at the moment.
Why would anyone kidnap an innocent girl like Allysyn?
For the money? A gang thing?
Not that she had ever really heard of many gang activities in Kayooma, but that could be a possibility, right?
Hoping that they wouldn't hurt the girl before the cops could get her back, Reyona drove as fast as she could.
She had just gotten to Bellevue Hill when Maxwell got off the phone.
"What are they doing already? Do they have a clue about where she could be?" she asked as she took the path that led to his place.
"No, not yet. They are combing the neighbourhood, asking questions and getting warrants to check every camera in that vicinity that could have possibly picked up anything."
"Oh my God. She must be so terrified right now," Reyona said as she approached the house.
"I can't even imagine how much," Maxwell said as he removed his seatbelt before pointing at the spot she needed to stop for the camera to pick up her plate number that he had already added to the configuration. "There, right there."
"Okay."
"So, I will quickly grab my things while Stefan gets ready for us. I will pick you up once…"
Reyona stopped moving abruptly just before she got to the spot. "Wait, what do you…? I…you…" She looked forward and upward as the camera got into the spot but couldn't pick up any signal, then whirred away uselessly.
"You are coming with me, right?" Maxwell asked anxiously.
"No, I am not…" she stopped her agitated tone and looked straight at him as she said "No, I am not coming with you. I told you…we talked about this."
"Yeah, but this is…different. This is Allysyn," he said emphatically in a tone that said it all.
"I know, and I am sorry that this is happening. I just…"
I can't plunge into all that mess again so soon. She thought.
But to him, she said "I can't just leave like that. I have a life here too. I am…tomorrow, the company is having…" she stopped as her churning emotions escalated. Tears tingled at the back of her eyes as she looked away from his confused and hurt look. "You should go," she said thickly.
"Yes, I should," he said as he opened the door and got out immediately.
Reyona instantly turned and zoomed off.