There is no answer. She climbs the rest of the stairs without so much as a glance in my direction. My eyes shoot to the ceiling where exposed pipes jut out in every direction. Her footsteps travel across the floor above and I follow their sound.
In the next minute, the front door to the house opens and closes, her car engine roars to life, and her tires screech on the pavement.
31
WARREN
Islept all of one hour last night. Maybe not even that long, if I’m being honest.
It took everything in me to stay in this bunkhouse as long as I did, walking around and practically pulling my hair out. I’d convinced myself to calm down one moment, trying to believe that this wasn’t as big of a deal as I was making it. The next, I was going over the worst-case scenarios.
Gage was the most apprehensive about her not coming back to the bunkhouse. We both checked the cameras in front of her house again, but each time her car was still out front. It’s driving me insane, but at least we know she’s there.
I left to do chores before the sun was up. Busying myself didn’t help at all. I went into my office at the business and checked off everything on my to-do list that I could with what little focus I had left.
Now the sun is almost directly overhead, and I’m driving across town to catch Savannah on her lunch break. I’m trying my best to be respectful. But if she claims that she wasn’t given enough time to think things through, then I’m hauling her overmy damn shoulder and parking her ass in the passenger seat of my truck until she talks to me.
There’s a ding overhead when I open the glass doors to the law firm. I probably should have changed out of my work clothes, dirty as they are, but I couldn’t be bothered to care at the moment. I lift the brim of my straw hat when Donna greets me from the front desk.
“Warren? I’m surprised to see you here today,” she says while tilting her head.
“I was hoping to catch Savannah before she left for lunch. Is she still at her desk?”
She purses her lips and gives me a confused look.
“Savannah isn’t here today,” she says.
It’s rude to walk away, but I don’t give it a thought. I walk straight out of the lobby and toward the offices. I don’t stop when I see that her desk is empty, heading for Henry’s door.
Without knocking, I open it and see him shuffling a stack of papers. His head snaps up when he hears me, and he instantly smiles.
“Good, I’m glad you’re here. Have you heard from Savannah? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her since she missed an important meeting this morning. Emma stepped in and everything was fine. But be a champ and have her get back to me if you don’t mind. I need her on that case.”
My jaw flexes and I bite down on my molars.
I’m not a genius at sniffing out sketchy situations. But in this moment, I finally let the bad thoughts win. I knew in my gut that something wasn’t right and I should have listened to it.Fuck. I should have gone over to her house. I should have questioned this whole situation more than I did and never given her space.
Savannah cares about this job as much as anything in the world. If she was alright, she never would have not shown upwithout a simple communication to her boss that she risked everything to impress.
Maybe nothing’s wrong, but I refuse to ignore my instincts any longer.
“Warren? Are you okay?”
Sharp breaths force their way in and out my nose while my hand fists at my side.
“I’ll let you know if I hear from her,” I say. “Please call me if she comes in or calls the office.”
“Is everything okay?” Henry stands from his desk and his expression turns concerned.
“I’m not sure,” I admit through gritted teeth. “Can you just call if?—”
“Of course,” he blurts out, no doubt noticing that I’m losing my ability to stay calm.
I nod and spin on the heel of my boot, leaving his office in a rush. As I take long strides past the sea of cubicles, Emma steps in front of me. She smiles and flutters her lashes, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and popping out a hip.
“Are you busy for lunch today?” she asks. “I’m craving?—”
I don’t let her get another word in edgewise.
