I wake up to find her gone. At first, I assume that she just left to go to her room or to the bathroom. Until I pass by the foyer and see her jacket and shoes missing, that is. Frowning, I look outside, wondering where she could've gone. Meri never goes outside alone anymore. She's terrified that her step-dad will come for her before she can legally refuse to go back to him.

"Hey, little bro..." Min pads up behind me and ruffles my hair with a laugh. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing... Have you seen Meri?" I turn around.

"Nah. Just woke up." He smirks, waving at his clothing.

Sure enough, he's wearing a pair of blue fleece bed-pants and a white t-shirt. I sigh. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You two looked pretty cozy last night. We gonna be planning another wedding in another year?"

I glare at him. "You better not let her hear you say that," I threaten.

"Why not? And since when are Mom and Dad okay with just leaving you lying on the living room floor with a girl sleeping in your arms?" He crossed his arms, looking at me with a grin. "Mom just about slapped me when she found me asleep on the couch with Zhilan. I didn't even mean to let it happen. We fell asleep watching a movie. You, on the other hand, let her curl up next to you, and didn't even protest or move away. How come they didn't chew you out for it?"

"She's been through a lot. You know that. Mom and Dad don't want to make her feel awkward. And I think Mom's really taken to her. You're not the first to talk about weddings," I grumble. "I'm going to see if she's in her room."

"Why are you so freaked out?"

"Because her shoes and coat are gone, Min. She never moves those unless she's going somewhere with them."

"Oh. Where would she have gone with them?"

My stomach churns, and I feel cold.

"Are you okay? You look pale, Milan."

"No, I'm not okay," I whisper. "I don't think she's even in the house."

"Well... Where do you think she went?" he asks, frowning as I push past him.

"Back to her mom."

"The same one who's abusive and has drug problems? The one who married an equally abusive, possibly even worse jerk?"

"Yes, Min. That one. Who else?"

He shrugs and knocks on Meri's door before I can. "I dunno..."

No answer comes from Meri's room so I push open the door.

Her bed is made like it was last night. Nothing's out of place, and the whole place has an empty air. Dread settles deep in the pit of my stomach as I stare at the vacant room. "She's gone," I mumble, backing away from the door and shaking my head.

"But why would she go back?"

"I... I don't know," I stammer, clenching my fists. "She said her mom didn't want to talk to her again."

"Wow. Harsh."

"Her mom refused addictions counseling and all attempts at rehab. Meri came home in tears and told me that her mom said she didn't ever want to see her again. Her step-dad hasn't been back since the day I threw him out of here," I say, moving to the railing and gripping it tightly. "Maybe she didn't go willingly?"

"I didn't see any signs of a struggle."

Without another word, I race down the stairs, taking the last two in a leap. Dashing into the foyer, I shove my shoes on, hastily tie the shoe laces, and throw my jacket on. Grabbing my hat and yanking on gloves, I turn the door knob. Unlocked. We always lock it.

"Milan!" Min gasps, following me. "What are you doing?"

"Going outside," I snap, racing out the door.

Her small footprints are clear in the deep snow covering the sidewalk, but they end at the road. The only reason I can see her footprints in the snow near the house is because we hadn't cleared the sidewalk when it started snowing after Min and Zhilan arrived after dinner last night. The road has been cleared, however, and nothing remains to tell me where she went.

I don't know the address either. She never even told me she had it. What if she's stranded somewhere, or what if, even worse, she's dead? Maybe she was kidnapped?

"Milan, you aren't going to find her like this. If you think she went to her mom, go there."

"I can't," I say, the words catching in my throat. Icy wind reaches its bony fingers down my back, chilling me to the core. "She never told me where her mom moved to. Just that she'd moved in with her new husband."

Min puts his hand on my shoulder. "Do you know their names? You can look them up."

"Her mom's last name is Yanamari, but I doubt we'll find her under that name. She just married."

"Can you get the info from the cops?"

I shake my head. "The charges were dropped, and that's private info."

"Maybe someone in her old neighborhood would know?" Min suggests, tugging me toward his car. "Get in. I'll let Mom and Dad know what's going on, and we'll head out."

Sighing, I shove my hands into my pockets and trudge to the driver's side. A chaotic mess of feelings tumbles through me as I settle in and adjust the seat. She's gone. She left me. Why? Why did she go? She would've been safe with me, and I wouldn't have let Petre get to her before she turned eighteen. I drop my head against the steering wheel, biting back a sob. Don't cry... Don't cry... I don't need to cry. I'm strong; I can handle this. I'll find her, and I'll keep her safe. My shoulders tense with the effort as I hold everything in.

The passenger's door opens, letting in a blast of freezing winter air before slamming closed again. "Mil?"

I haven't heard him call me by my nickname in ages, and it almost breaks my resolve not to cry. Suddenly, I feel like a little kid again. I remember running to Min whenever I was hurt or scared. He always made me feel better.

Without lifting my head from the steering wheel, I mumble, "Why? Why did she run from me?"

"I don't think she ran from you. She was running for other reasons but not because of you," Min whispers, patting me on the back.

I bite my lip. "Why run at all? I would've kept her safe."

"I know. But she's scared, Mil. She's terrified of her step-dad and confused about her mom. I think she's running back to them because she doesn't know what else to do."

"I would've helped her. How could I be such an idiot?" I bang my head against the steering wheel with a muffled grunt. "This is my fault. I should've seen the warning signs."

"Milan, this is not your fault. She ran because she chose to. You didn't do anything to force her to run, and you didn't do anything to make her feel threatened. The way she acted with you last night proved that. Now drive. We need to find her before she gets to them or freezes to death."

***

"Excuse me, but I was wondering if you had an address for the Yanamari family. I heard they moved," I say when the neighbor opens the door.

The man eyes me dispassionately and grunts. "Didn't know 'em that well. We mind our own business here."

"I understand, but it's really important," I say, pleading with him to understand.

He shakes his head. "No address. Sorry." He starts to close the door on me.

"Wait! Do you know anyone who would know where they are?" I stick my foot in the door jam, wincing as the man tries to slam the door shut.

"Ask at Moonlighter's Pub. That's where Cindy worked. If anyone would know, someone there would," he snaps. "Now would you get off my property?"

I pull back with a hasty thank you as the door slams in my face with a resounding thud.

"Man, people in this neighborhood are rude," Min mutters as we go back to the car.

Absently, I shrug in agreement and start programming the GPS. "Let's head over to Moonlighter's Pub."

"They might not let you in. You're underage, and you definitely don't look twenty-one."

"We'll deal with that when we get there," I huff, starting the car and pulling onto the road.

The drive is quiet as I focus on the road. Min watches me and the landscape in intervals, and as I glance at him briefly, I can see he's worried. His shoulders are tense, and his jaw muscles are clenched. With Min, the biggest sign that he's worried is the way he drums his fingers softly on the arm rest.

Sighing, I pull into the parking lot of the bar. "We'll get her back..."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself of that, little bro," Min says, trying to be upbeat.

I shake my head and smack my palm against the steering wheel. "Yes, Min. I am. Honestly, I'm terrified that I might never see her again, and even if we do find her, we might not be able to rescue her. What if she doesn't want to come back? Or how about the fact that she's still a minor? Her step-dad can deny us entrance, and he can darn well keep her trapped there."

"She'll come back with us, Mil. Of course she will. We'll find a way to make things work."

Shaking my head again, I slump down in the seat and close my eyes. "I can't shake the feeling that I'm never going to see her again," I whisper.

"You will. Now come on. The longer you wait the longer she's missing."

Wearily, I get out and follow him to the pub. He's right... We'll find her. She'll be okay. Everything will be fine...

***

"Yeah, I remember her. One of the worst workers here, but she amused the guys, so I let her stay. Always doing stuff she shouldn't. Drugs. Drinking on shift. But she was good with the customers, so the rest of us let it slide," the bar owner says, wiping his hands on his apron. "Why?"

"I... We think her daughter's in trouble, and we need to know if you know where the family moved..."

"Well... Heard that Cindy finally got hitched. She said she finally took the step with Petre Voynovich. Never would've guessed a rich guy like him would be interested in a lass like her, but... To each their own."

Gritting my teeth, I step closer. "Yeah, I don't think he's all that interested in the mother either. Regardless, do you have an address?"

"'Course I do! Cindy got drunk and let it slip a while ago. Figured I'd better keep track just in case someone had to take her home. Sure enough, one of my boys had to take her home a few nights ago. Mr. Voynovich wasn't too pleased."

"No, I can't imagine he would be," Min mutters.

"Here," the man pulls a blank slip of paper out of a drawer and writes the address down with a worn stub of a pencil. "Check on her would you? The stories circulating about her daughter have me worried. And not for Cindy..."

I clutch the piece of paper tightly in my fist and lean on the desk where the bar owner is sitting. "What stories?"

"Cool off, son... They aren't all that bad, if you catch my drift."

"No. No, I don't catch your drift," I snap, trying to stay calm. "What stories?"

"Well..." The man gulps. "I hear tell that she was pressing charges for abuse on Mr. Voynovich's part, and some people have been saying she ran. Said she went off with some boy. Heard that one from one of the neighbors." He squints at me. "Say... You happen to know if any of that's true?"

"Yes," I hiss. "He was abusing her, and what he was doing bordered on sexual assault and harassment. She did run. You can tell people the truth now. Voynovich is a scumbag, and he needs to be in jail. Only reason he's not is because he paid everyone involved to keep their mouths shut and get the charges dropped."

The bar owner's eyes widen. "Really? Voynovich seemed rather a decent fellow from what I saw. He always treated Cindy with the utmost respect: the perfect gentleman... It surprised me, actually. Cindy wasn't the sort who garnered the decent sort of attention, and she certainly didn't command respect."

"Well... Voynovich is a wolf in sheep's clothing, as the saying goes."

"How would you know?" The bar owner's eyes narrowed, and he frowned.

"Because I saw firsthand how that piece of trash treated his wife's daughter," I snap, shoving the paper into my pocket. "We're done here. Thank you for your help."

"Sure, sure... Just don't go doing anything rash, son." The man gets up from his spot behind the desk and shows us out of his office.

"I'm level-headed unless you give me a reason not to be. If Voynovich gives me a reason not to be, he's going to be sorry," I mumble.

Min grabs my arm and tugs me out the back door. "Shut up. You're just going to make a scene."

I glare at the cracked asphalt and storm to the car. "Let's just go get her before it's too late..." As an afterthought, I add, "I don't know whether to hope she made it or to hope she's still out there somewhere."

"We'll know soon enough, and it's better for her to be at this address. At least then we know where she is," Min reasons, hopping into the passenger's side. "Whatever the case, we'll figure it out together. I promise. Now let's go."