UNSEEN by John Michael Hileman Read Free Book Online

had known only a month. That guy turned out to be Jake's second step-dad. But after his mom had caught him cheating on her, twice, she had taken Jake and Holly, and moved to Maine.
    At nine years of age, Jake had thought his life would have new birth in the city of Sunbury, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, but his mother had not changed her ways. She fell right back into drugs, and the list of male companions grew longer than Jake cared to keep track of.
    The last five years had been the most stable his life had ever been, mostly because he was no longer under his mother's roof, but partly because she had made a real effort to change. She had managed to stay with the same man for five years and had, as far as Jake knew, stopped using drugs. He’d even started calling her Mom again.
    But hearing her voice like this and remembering the many times she’d let him down before... A flood of emotion came back to the surface. "Mom.” His voice grew cold. "I really can't do this right now."
    " Jacob," she said again, in that familiar voice of weakness, "...something's happened."
    He dreaded to hear her next words. What would it be this time? What crisis could she come up with to affect him now that he was no longer dependent upon her to take care of him? He didn't know, but if there was a way to make this day any worse...
    " Something's happened to Gabe."
    Her words drove a knife into his gut. Why did it have to be Gabe? If there was still a tender place left in his heart for family, that place was strictly reserved for his little nephew.
    At seventeen, Jake had been there when Gabe took his first breaths and opened his big beautiful eyes for the first time. Jake had changed his diapers and taught him to walk, while his sister was busy rebuilding her reputation with her high school entourage. It had been a couple years since he had seen him for more than a few brief moments, but his love for Gabe had never diminished.
    " What happened?"
    She could barely get it out. "He's been taken."
    Jake's heart constricted. "What? Wh-what do you mean? By who?"
    " That killer on the television, the one who takes children."
    " Are you kidding? In Sunbury?"
    " Your sister called me this morning in a panic, talking about his bed was empty and she couldn't find him."
    " Where is she now?"
    " At her place, with the police."
    " I'll head over."
    " I don’t know if they’ll let you in. They’re calling it a crime scene, like he's already dead." Her voice broke. "I told Holly I would try to find a way to get there. I feel so...” She struggled to keep her voice. "Jacob... Do something..."
    " I'm heading over now. I'll call you."
    She couldn't respond.
    And Jake had no words left to say.

Chapter 7

    Holly Paris sat curled up on her couch, cradling a cup of mocha iced coffee that one of the police officers had brought in for her. Her gaze sat fixed on the cup. The room had been cleared except for her and the ever-intrusive Agent Grant. Holly wanted to see the gift as an act of kindness, but she knew better. These people had rules and regulations for everything. Everything was by the book. Somewhere, in some government big-wig's filing cabinet was a list of procedures for every possible circumstance. What to do if the killer calls. What to do if they find something dangerous. What to do if the phone rings and it’s the pizza guy. There was a process for handling every conceivable situation. There was even a procedure for handling people. They didn't care about her or her son. They were just doing their job, and their job, at the moment, was to befriend her, break down her walls, and extract information. What better way to do that than with a cup of mocha iced coffee with cream on top?
    She gripped the plastic cup and let the cold sink into her fingers. It was painful to the touch, but feeling something was better than not feeling anything at all. The shock and helplessness had emptied her insides, leaving a dark hole of deadened nerves. But she