Man of the Match: hot celebrity romance (FULL NOVEL)

24. Kidnapped

[RECAP: Matt has gone to visit Cara but her ex-fiancé Declan refused to let him see her and lied that they were back together.]

Fiona didn't consider herself much of a psychic but she'd had a funny feeling leaving Cara alone that morning. She couldn't put her finger on why, but her unease was enough to make her turn down a coffee with a classmate after lectures and head straight home instead.

The flat was silent when she got there. She remembered Cara had had an appointment earlier in the afternoon, but she should have been back by now. Maybe she had gone to the supermarket?

The answerphone light was flashing so she pressed it while putting the kettle on and sorting out some post that had arrived. It was the doctor's surgery.

"We were sorry not to see you at your appointment today. Please give me a call to reschedule and we'll try to fit you in before the end of the week."

Odd. So Cara had missed her medical appointment. She had been quite conscientious about her health since finding out she was pregnant so Fiona was surprised she had missed it without even calling to cancel.

She checked Cara's bedroom in case she was asleep but it was empty. Cara's bag was gone as well as the folder in which she kept her pregnancy information. Fiona remembered seeing it on the coffee table that morning.

Puzzled but not yet overly worried she drank her cup of tea and read a couple of letters, before hearing the door go. "Cara, is that you?"

It was Ann arriving back from classes. "No, isn't she here?"

"She must be out shopping."

Fiona didn't mention the missed appointment. It was still light outside and maybe Cara had bumped into someone in town.

They watched some television, supper came and went, and now it was dark and there was still no sign of Cara. The clock ticked on. Both girls were feeling uneasy now. It was an awkward situation because they usually kept one another informed about their whereabouts, but not always. They were all adults and independent. No one was specifically watching over anyone else.

It was Fiona who finally broke the silence.

"I'm a bit worried about her. She didn't go to the doctor's today, and I don't remember her saying she had anything else to do."

"Me neither. And she's been so sick and tired I would expect her to have come home and gone to bed by now."

They tried ringing round Cara's friends but no one they got through to had heard anything from her, nor had expected to. Ann even tried Declan but his number rang out. They thought it was unlikely that Cara had gone home, given she'd only been at her parents' place the previous weekend. "I don't want to worry her family unnecessarily," Fiona said.

"We should at least rule it out." So they rang, but there was no answer.

They both sat up late that night, watching TV and trying to pretend they weren't as worried as they were. Eventually it got to midnight and Fiona said they needed to make a decision. "We can leave it until morning, or we can put out a call now. I'd sleep better knowing we'd at least tried something. Better to wake up and feel silly when she strolls in for breakfast than having done nothing."

"Let's ring the hospital then. At least that will rule out if she has been in an accident or fallen unwell. No news is probably good news," Ann said.

The hospital had no record of anyone by Cara's name being admitted in the last 24 hours, which was a relief but didn't help their unease.