As soon as he could, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward the building. “Stephanie. Oh, Lord, Stephanie,” he called out as he surveyed the damage. The building simply wasn’t there, and the man who had stepped inside had vanished. Craig’s whole body was shaking. He’d left Stephanie here when she’d begged him to take her with him. He’d thought he was doing the right thing, and now she was gone—the way Sam was gone. That had been the worst thing that had ever happened to him. This was a thousand times worse. He heard a siren in the distance. The fire department and probably the cops. Instinct told him to get the hell out of there before the authorities arrived. Quickly he backed away and ran down the block to the spot where he’d left his car. * * * “SHE’S IN THE CAR. We’re on our way,” the man in the backseat said into his cell phone. He listened for a minute, then said, “We expect to be there in forty-five minutes.”
