I step closer to the door, not caring I’m eavesdropping.
“No, and there’s no reason to say anything until we’re absolutely positive we’re right.” I feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
Daniel clears his throat. “This is bad, Cole, not only for the reputation of this house, but he knows the details of her file. He could easily leak what—”
A chair scrapes on the floor and makes me miss what Daniel says. Damn it!
“…plus the blackmail, and God forbid The American gets wind of her whereabouts. She’ll be plucked out of thin air so quickly we won’t have a chance in hell of getting her back—not this time. With his reputation, he’ll send her back one limb at a time, using the local news station, just like the last one.”
The walls start to shift as I process his words. Suddenly, the door opens and Daniel stares down at me, horrified. “Savannah!”
Cole appears behind him.
“Mark,” I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, “is-is looking for Cole.” My voice is barely above a whisper.
I turn on my heel and walk down the hallway, each step feeling heavier than the last, Daniel’s words “one limb at a time” bouncing around my head. Then there was the comment about something being leaked. What was that?I sink into my chair at the table.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, dear.” Sue reaches out and touches my hand. “You’re freezing.”
“Savannah.” I turn at the sound of Cole’s voice. He is visibly shaken. “Can we talk?”
Mark peeks his head in the door. “Hey, Logan, I need—”
“Savi, please,” Cole cuts him off.
Everyone is staring at me. I need to get some space to process what I heard. I feel myself shutting down and my walls building up.
“Mark needs you right now,” I say, finding it hard to look at him…or anyone at that moment.
“What if I need you?” he counters, as his mother turns her head back and forth between us. What is he doing? He’s risking his career and his reputation right now.
“Son, deal with Mark.” Daniel rests his hand on Cole’s shoulder. “Give her a minute.”
Cole doesn’t move right away, not until his father gives him a nudge toward the door. As soon as he is out of hearing range, Sue looks at me with an inquisitively arched eyebrow, to which I can merely shrug.
“Savannah,” Daniel starts to say, but I stand. I need some space.
“Excuse me.” I take off toward the door, grabbing a jacket on the way, and head out into the pouring rain.
I don’t know where I’m going, but the forest looks inviting. I walk for a while, weaving in and out of the trees. The sound of the rain on the leaves soothes my aching head. I grow tired of the constant battle with the slippery ground—flats are not made for hiking. The rain starts to taper off as I come to a small clearing by a brook. I tuck my raincoat under me and sit to rest under a tree, finally allowing myself the freedom to cry as I let my brain go over what I heard.
Cole
Cole sits at his desk, watching the live feed into York’s cell. He’s sitting on his bed, strumming his fingers on his thighs. What happened to him? York’s a known ass, but he’d never hurt anyone before. Fuck, what if he had succeeded in raping Savannah? The thought is crippling to him. Cole rubs his face, feeling drained.
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?” his father says from the doorway.
Cole’s hands drop away. “No.” Was he? He cared for her a lot, but love?
His father grins and shuts the door behind him. “Son, I had that same look on my face when I first fell for your mother.”
“I’ve only known Savi for what, a month?”
“Sometimes it only takes one look to fall in love.”
“Yeah, well, I know we shouldn’t even be talking about her like this.”
His father sighs as he crosses the room to take a seat in front of him. “Normally, I’d say no, we shouldn’t be, but I know you’d never step over the line for just anyone. I see the way she looks at you too. It’s not a one-sided feeling. Christ, you could see her relax when you wrapped your arm around her chair at dinner last night.”