It was well past 2 A.M., and Zac still hadn't fallen asleep. He stared at the ceiling of his bedroom, at a tiny speck made visible by the moonlight streaming through his window. He bit his tongue hard as he wondered if Amie was sleeping. He was tired of crying.

Stephanie would have been so disappointed in him.

He could hear a car alarm in the distance, wailing in a way that echoed Zac's heart. His daughter was gone. Night had fallen. He knew the statistics. Very few children who were kidnapped ever came home. Most that did came in a casket.

It was very likely that he would never see his daughter again. It was very likely that in the future her sweet smile would only be a bittersweet memory, and he knew it. Knew that his entire reason for living was lying in Mia's hands, and she was only human.

Zac rolled onto his side, wondering how people ever survived this. How anyone could ever go on living after their child is gone. Suddenly he knew why his parents had been so protective of him. They were afraid of losing one of their children.

The living room clock chimed, signalling that yet another sleepless hour had passed. Zac hardly noticed. Instead, he gave up on getting any sleep, and kicked off the covers. He pulled himself out of bed and tip-toed down the hallway. Fixing a snack and watching some mindless television would at least make the hours pass a little faster. Maybe then, it would be time to wake Mia and continue this search.

A peek out the window confirmed that the car Mia had stationed outside his building was still there. Inside the car was a retired police officer, who was keeping watch while pretending to be asleep in the car.

Zac was snapped out of his trance when he heard a muffled snore. He couldn't help but smile at Mia's slender body fast asleep on his couch in what looked like a highly uncomfortable position. How anyone could sprawl themselves like that, he did not know.

Her hand was tucked under her cheek, and the moonlight was illuminating her face in a way that made her look amazingly innocent, reminding Zac of Amie. She too had a pure expression on her face when she slept. The only difference was, Amie didn't snore.

Fear gripped Zac's heart like a hand, and terror spread over his body in a chill. How could he have intrusted his life to this woman, who still looked like a little girl? The woman at the agency had said she was their best, but Zac couldn't help but wonder if she had been right. At the moment, Mia looked so vulnerable that Zac couldn't imagine her being much more help than Amie's stuffed puppy.

But he had no other choice. The other two agencies he'd talked to refused to help without the police's involvement. Mia's boss was the only person that seemed to understand how afraid he was, how little he cared about the loss of money in comparison to his daughter. If it took every penny he had, he would get his daughter back.

Zac turned and began down the hallway. He would try to sleep again. Maybe knowing nothing could help at that moment, maybe that realization would let him sleep.

And then the phone rang.