“When did he try to come and get her?”
“He just left. He wasn’t happy about it.Tried to make a scene but left when he realized he wasn’t getting past our security.”
“Thank you,” I said, my voice trembling. “Thank you so much. I’m coming to get her now. Please don’t let him anywhere near her if he tries again.”
“Of course, Miss Gilson. Alana is safe here—we won’t let anything happen to her. We run a secure daycare. You never have to worry about your child while she is with us.”
That was one of the reasons I’d chosen Little Tykes. They came highly recommended and one of the workers went to my church. She was thought highly of there, as well, working in the Kids Korner on Sunday.
“I’ll be there in twenty minutes, Sally. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. See you soon.”
I hung up, my hand still gripping the receiver as if it were a lifeline. My sweet, innocent Alana. The thought of Roger even trying to see her made my skin crawl.
Staring at the screen. I had to make a decision. I couldn’t let this continue. I got up from my desk, thoughts racing through my head how I could make this situation workout for both Alana’s safety and my benefit.
I pushed back my chair and marched to Mya’s office. She was flipping through a folder when I knocked lightly on her door.
“Savvy?” she said, looking up. “Come in. What’s wrong?” She closed the folder on her desk and gave me her full attention.
That was one of my favorite things about her. She listened without judgement and only gave advice after asking if you wanted it. Except when it came to telling me to make friends with my handsome neighbor.
The moment I stepped inside, her warm smile vanished. I sat down, my knees feeling weak. “Mya,” I began, my voice cracking. “Roger went to Little Tykes. He tried to see Alana.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Savannah, that’s—oh my gosh. Are you okay?
“No,” I admitted, shaking my head.
“What can we do to help you with this situation? Do you want some time off? Do you have any leave coming to you?”
“I don’t feel safe. Not with him out there, knowing where we are. I need to do something—take some time off, maybe work from home. I just... I can’t focus.”
“You don’t have to explain,” she said, her tone gentle but firm.
“Take the rest of the week off. I’ll file for your leave, and if you want to work from home after the weekend, we’ll set that up.”
Relief flooded me, and I managed a small smile. “Thank you. It’s so good to have you as a friend and a boss. I think I will be able to focus more on my work knowing Alana is with me. I just don’t want to be away from her right now. I feel vulnerable when she isn’t around.”
She grinned. “Hey, you’re a great employee and an even better friend. Now go get your little girl—and maybe see if your firefighter neighbor wants to grill you a steak tonight.”
I laughed, the first real laugh I’d had all day. “You always know how to make me feel better.”
“That’s what friends are for.” She laughed and waved me off.
The parking garage was eerily quiet. Shadows stretched across the rows of cars, and the faint hum of distant engines echoed around me. I clutched my keys tightly, my thumb poised over the alarm button.
Every horror movie I’d seen where something happened to someone in a parking garage flooded my brain the moment I stepped off the elevator.
Each step felt heavier than the last, the stillness amplifying the sound of my heels against the concrete floor. My pulse pounded in my ears. Any car door could open, any shadow could move. Was Roger here? Was he waiting?
He could pop out from in between any of these cars. He was getting around somehow, maybe a rental. I hadn’t recognized the car he’d been driving when he visited me at eleven at night. I wondered if maybe his step-father was loaning him a vehicle.
I didn’t know much about Roger’s family. He stayed away from them and in so doing kept me away as well. I guess. Maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he’d been talking to them the whole time and lying to me about it.
I wouldn’t have thought him capable of such deception while we were dating. Even after we were married. It was hard to believe he was nothing like I thought he was.
Now he was a cold, bitter, spiteful man and I hadn’t even done anything to him. I wasn’t the one who robbed those places or shot that man.
