Gem Stone Read Online Free PDF Page B

answer.
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    The stranger asked, "Is she asleep?"
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    "No. Her bed's empty."
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    No . No, that couldn't be. Gem had seen her roll over and face the wall. Maybe she'd gone to the bathroom? That had to be it.
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    Gem got up and headed to the bathroom herself. She'd get her and they'd see. Misty had to be there.
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    "Hey. What's the matter?" She yawned for effect as she stumbled toward the bathroom. And stopped. The door was open and the small room empty. She spun slowly to see into Misty's room and noted the empty bottom bunk.
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    The blanket she'd watched Misty roll up in, was tossed on the floor. The discarded blanket made Gem's stomach heave. Misty never would have thrown around her stuff like that. Misty, like the others, had few possessions and what she had she took care of.
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    Scared now, she faced the two men who were watching her. John ran his fingers through his hair. Confusion and the beginning of fear were obvious on his face.
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    Gem studied the official-looking man at John's side. Her gaze caught a smirk before it disappeared under a look of heavy disapproval. Dressed in a three-piece suit, this guy looked like an authority of some kind. The man beside him was a different story. No attempt to cover up his true character would work – it still shone through in the curl of his lip and freakin' scary look in his eye. This man was hired muscle – a thug. And it was…Humpty.
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    Uh oh.
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    She asked her question again, eyeing the strangers suspiciously. "What's wrong? Where's Misty?"
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    John answered – his face grim. "I don't know. She appears to be missing."
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CHAPTER THREE
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    M ark sat as close to Gem as possible on the living room couch, without touching. Plain and serviceable, the couch could hold a lot of people – uncomfortably. Doris sat in her favorite chair, a tissue to her red nose, worry evident in her teary eyes. Everyone had been roused from bed, dressed, and the whole house searched. Misty's window was found to be wide open but there was no sign of her anywhere in the house or yard.
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    Anger radiated from deep inside him because he knew he'd closed that window pretty tightly. And he sure as hell hadn't opened it again. Gem sat stiff and straight at his side. If he wasn't mistaken there was a little more than uncertainty in her eyes too. Her narrow gaze was ever watchful. Distrust was something they all lived with.
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    He'd seen the spotlight shining into his room earlier, and that brought him out of bed in time to see the girls running. He'd raced into Misty's room to give them a hand up, as he'd done several times before. He'd seen Misty slip into bed and roll over to face the wall. She'd been fine when they left her.
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    But he couldn't say that to these people, because he didn't think they'd believe him. The focus would also shift to the girls breaking curfew and they'd all be in real trouble then. He struggled with what to share and what to hold back.
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    Two of the men standing in the living room looked to be brothers. But the third guy, suited up and straight-backed looked like their boss. Standing cold and stern together, the three men studied the teens.
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    What did they want? And what the hell had happened to Misty? She wouldn't have gone out again on her own. She hated being alone and she hated the dark. And he was sure she hadn't left her room, even to go to the bathroom. His door had been open and he'd have seen her pass by – and spoken with her if he'd been given the chance. He'd had his MP3 playing in his ears but that hadn't dimmed his vision any.
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    His chin squared as the ugly truth hit him. If Misty and Gem had been seen climbing in through Misty's window, there was a good chance someone took Misty back out the same way. That could explain the open window. And these men were likely the ones that did it.
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    He recognized the one man's voice from earlier outside Misty's window. And, as he studied the