Burn Me, Break Me, Love Me, Hate Me

Burn Me, Break Me, Love Me, Hate Me

Chapter One

Her purse banged into her side as she pushed the heavy glass door open. Her black hair, dyed to match her daughter’s, hung down her back in a single braid as she stepped into the main office of the school.

Her formal business clothes had been exchanged for the more casual combination of jeans, heeled boots, and a t-shirt. She could pass for a college student even after turning twenty-five shortly after her daughter’s fifth birthday.

“Hello, Mrs. Murphy!” Gina, the front desk receptionist called cheerfully. “Your husband already swung by and got Lara.”

Katherine Murphy stopped in her tracks, a mere foot away from the desk. “Excuse me?”

“Mr. Murphy was here…maybe forty-five minutes ago? He picked up Lara.”

“A…Aidan was here?”

Kat was stunned. He was supposed to be in meetings all day, which was why her father had given her the afternoon off to run errands. One Murphy could handle meetings—two Murphys created chaos and led to clandestine meetings in closets.

“He looked a little different than I remembered. It’s been so long since he’s been here…”

“Did you check the ID?” Kat asked automatically. Aidan never picked up Lara without checking with her.

“Yeah, it was a perfect match. Lara knew him too.”

“She… she did? Was she happy to see him?”

Kat’s hand reflexively tightened on her purse, her blue eyes sweeping the light-blue walls. The office was fairly empty of personal belongings and also of decorations. The main source of light, aside from the tinted front door, was the bay window to the right of Gina’s desk. The gingham cushions beckoned her, offering her a place to sit besides the hard chairs in the waiting area.

“She seemed a little indifferent. But she was sound asleep when he carried her out of here.”

“Asleep…?” Kat’s heart pounded. “Asleep…”

Aidan wouldn’t… he couldn’t…

“Get me the security tapes, Gina.”

Gina stood up, coming around the desk towards her. “Why? Is something wrong, Mrs. Murphy?”

She nodded, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Yes, yes, very wrong…”

“I’ll get the tapes… should I be looking for something specific?”

Gina had learned not to ask too many questions within the first few weeks of Lara attending the school. Some of Kat’s preventive measures had seemed extreme to the teenager, but Gina had learned why they were necessary as she got to know Katherine and her family.

“The man… the one who took my daughter… I need to see his picture. Get me pictures!” Kat screamed, sinking into the window seat, the sun warming her back. Her shaking hands struggled with her purse zipper, reaching for a cell phone.

She fished out the silver object as Gina nodded, racing toward a backroom which held the security cameras—a donation from Kat herself. She speed dialed Aidan’s cell phone, her fingers crossed as she pressed the phone to her ear. Please let me be wrong…

“Murphy,” her husband answered after the first ring.

“Aidan, Aidan, where’s Lara? Where’s my baby?”

“Kat? Katy, slow down. What’s wrong?”

“Where’s Lara?!” Panic crept into her voice. So much for being strong…

“Katy, isn’t she at school?”

Kat shook her head, pacing the floor now. “No… no… no! They say she’s with you!”

“Katy…Lara’s not here. I swear.”

She pinched her nose again, falling towards the floor in front of the window. “Aidan…”

“Katy, what’s wrong?”

Worry edged into his voice. It made her want to cry. Kat wanted nothing more than to cry in Aidan’s arms—to feel safe with her husband and to listen to his soft reassurances. To have her daughter with her.

“Lara… Lara…”

“Kat, honey… I’m—“

The phone cut out before he finished.

Kat hit the floor, curling into a ball as she sobbed.

This can’t be happening, not to us… not to my baby…