Page 79 of Soaring Free
“Good morning, Sheriff, what can I do for you?”
“Hey, Theo. Sorry to start your day with a visit like this. It’s probably good you’re here actually, it’s always easier to make these house calls when a loved one is present.” My stomach completely drops and my eyes scan the front yard, looking for any signs of Savannah. I don’t know why she would be in the front yard, but I also don’t know why I slept in the bathroom.
“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” I demand.
“Unfortunately, it’s not great. Savannah is still listed on his medical records as the emergency contact, and even though I know things are messy since all the divorce hullabaloo, but considering the children, she still needs to be notified.” He’s talking like I’m supposed to understand who he is talking about or what the hell he is doing at my girlfriend’s house first thing in the morning.
“What the fuck is going on?” Later I can be proud that I didn’t grab Sheriff Eddie by the collar and shake the man for not spitting it out. I can’t play guessing games before my coffee.
“Shane Williams was found by the cleaning crew in his office late last night and rushed to the hospital.”
My head rears back in shock. “No, he … what?” I shake my head in disbelief. “We just saw him at the festival yesterday. Did he … is he alive? What do you mean he was found by the cleaning crew?”
“He’s alive, as of now, but I’m not sure what his prognosis is. He’s in critical condition, and the next twenty-four hours are crucial according to his medical team. Why don’t we notify Savannah together and I can explain everything we know so far?”
I run my hand down my face. “Did he have a heart attack or something?”
“That’s what the cleaning crew initially thought; he was found collapsed next to his desk at the law firm. But again, let’s get Savannah before we continue this.” He gestures into the house.
“Right, right, sure. I just woke up, but Savannah must be out back or maybe at her sister’s. The girls are with their grandfather, which sounds like may be kismet timing right now,” I say as I step back and let Sheriff Eddie into the house. “Savannah? Baby, where are you?” I call down the stairs before I take them two at a time.
She doesn’t answer me. This isn’t right, something is wrong. I call out her name, louder this time, but she still doesn’t answer.
“Are you sure she’s here? Could she be running an early errand?” Sheriff Eddie asks from behind me.
“I mean, I guess something could’ve come up, but she would have sent me a text or woken me up. Let me try her cell quick.” If I wasn’t concerned before, my worry is off the charts as Savannah’s phone goes straight to voicemail. I try again, in case it was a bad connection or something, but I get same result. She would never have her phone off when her girls aren’t with her, and she wouldn’t just leave me here without saying goodbye.
“Something is wrong. This doesn’t make sense. I’m going to go check to see if maybe she’s with her sister at the guesthouse out back or something. Come on, let’s go around back.” I lead Sheriff Eddie out the back patio. So far, nothing looks alarmingly out of place, although as we walked to the guesthouse, I did think it was a little odd that Savannah’s favorite lavender mug is still sittingon the side table by the couch. She’s usually very particular about that mug and seeing it just left outside doesn’t feel right.
“Hey, Theo. Morning, Eddie. What’s going on, gentlemen?” Walker meets us at the pool, likely headed out the door to the FBI office in Nashville.
“Hey, Walker. Is Savannah in there with Vivian by chance?” Walker’s eyebrows scrunch together as he looks back at the guesthouse then to the main house.
“No, I don’t think Viv’s seen her yet today.” Walker turns and goes up to the patio door, pulling it open. “Savannah? You in here?” Walker calls out but is only met with silence.
“I need to make sure she didn’t fall or something in one of the girls’ rooms or somewhere; I already checked downstairs,” I say as I enter through the kitchen and run back up the stairs calling her name, but Savannah isn’t there. Walker, Sheriff Eddie, and I make quick work of clearing each room in the house. She’s not here, no one is, but I don’t know where she would be. Without wanting to raise the alarms of local law enforcement, I whisper the words “plausible deniability” to Walker and hope he gets the reference to the conversation in Ryan’s kitchen.
“Hey, Eddie. Why don’t we go talk to Viv and make sure she didn’t speak to Savannah already this morning? Theo, call Murphy and make sure she didn’t just go pick up the girls early and then meet us in our kitchen.” I nod as Walker leads Sheriff Eddie out the patio doors. I pull up the app that Liam installed when he put the trackers on her necklace and ring. Savannah’s location immediately displays … and she’s on the patio? What the hell?
I walk out on the patio and this can’t be right, Savannah is not here.
Oh fuck.
No, no, no.
My stomach clenches as my eyes land on the cushion cut sapphire ring sitting next to her lavender mug. Savannah never takes that ring off, she even showers with it on. I check the tracking app and clicking on her name, I see the dot I’m standing next to is labeled as her ring. I click on her name and checkthe additional tracker in her necklace, but the device is listed as offline with the last known location being next to her ring. Liam said these signals were always online and were high tech and nearly foolproof. I pull up Liam’s phone number and wait for the call to connect, but of course it’s just his voicemail. I don’t know if anyone ever reaches the man directly. “Liam, it’s Theo. We have an emergency situation and Savannah is missing. Call me immediately.”
I hang up and stare at my phone, waiting for him to call me back, but praying Savannah calls instead and this panic is all for nothing. But Savannah doesn’t call me back.
Something is wrong. Something is really fucking wrong right now.
Where the hell is she?
Chapter fifty-two
My head is throbbing. It might even require too much energy to open my eyelids. My mouth tastes like I licked the underside of a damn dumpster.How much wine did I have to drink last night?I haven’t been this hungover in years, if ever. I don’t even remember opening a bottle last night, the last thing I remember was making my tea.
Wait.
