CHAPTER SEVEN #3
“Everly flipped the fuck out and slapped the shit out of Dad. He’d made a low blow comment about making sure your money was secure, and that none of your hard-earned money would be placed in her hands.
I had to literally pull her off of him. I stupidly jumped to Dad’s defense, saying something ridiculous to the effect that it might be plausible for Saylor to tamper with something after the restaurant scene you both made.
” He looks shamefully over at me, and I wince thinking that Saylor could never have done anything harmful to anyone, much less me.
“But we were too late to right our wrong. Everly got ahold of Saylor’s grandparents, Sharilyn and Alan, after leaving here telling us that we’ll regret standing by Dad.
Everly wasted no time trying to clean out her things from our apartment.
She said she couldn’t be with someone who’d jump to conclusions before knowing all the facts, especially about Saylor.
We both said some really harsh things, so she left.
By the time I was calm and started to think rationally, I couldn’t locate Everly for days.
By then, Mitch woke up and he set us straight as to what really was happening.
” He pauses, rubbing his face with his hands as if reliving those moments.
“Everly’s Dad came down here to help her and Saylor’s grandparents find Saylor but they were having no luck.
When I finally found out where Everly was, I begged on my hands and knees, in front of the entire city, for her to forgive me.
A few days later, she agreed to meet with me, and I’ve been trying to make things right ever since.
She’s put a pause on our engagement until we work through all this. ”
“I’m sorry about all this, Lincoln,” I tell him, seeing how torn up he is.
“It’s not your fault, bub,” he says, grabbing my hand.
“So there’s not a single bit of evidence of where she might be? Nothing?” I ask.
“Everly’s Dad is trying to locate Saylor’s father, to see if they can pull some resources together from their government connections to find a lead.
He’s been out of contact for almost a year, and Tommy didn’t know if he was out of the country or not.
It seems like her dad just disappears all the time.
But I’m not sure they’ll be sharing that with us if they do, seeing how we’re enemy number one at the moment. ”
He has tears in his eyes, and he’s trying hard to blink them away.
I know this is hard for Lincoln. I’d gone with him to pick out her ring just a week before he proposed.
Lincoln was never one to settle down, like me until I found Saylor, but he truly is so happy with Everly and I know she’s the one for him.
“Is that all that’s been going on?”
“When Mitch woke and told us about the threat to Saylor’s life, and how you pulled the scene at the restaurant to draw the guy out, we knew our lives would never be the same.
Even Mom and Dad aren’t in a good place after Mitch uncovered what Dad did at the police station.
I can only imagine what this will cause, now that he knew she was pregnant and left her there.
Grandma almost had a nervous breakdown so Grandpa took her to their place in Montana. ”
God, so many lives have been ruined because of this.
“I hope once I bring Saylor home, we can work on getting your life back on track with Everly. I love you and will do everything in my power to help get you there.”
The door opens and reveals Mitch, Ryan, Dean and another guy I don’t recognize. They have stacks of boxes in their hands, and Tina is behind Mitch wheeling him in.
“Thought you might want an update of what we know so far, sir.” Mitch says at the end of the bed. “This is William, he specializes in security and has a lot of connections in the government.”
I nod and look at my siblings.
“Go home and get some rest. I need to find my wife and baby.”
“Did you know what the gender is of your baby?” Reid asks hopeful, but I just shake my head.
“No, we had an appointment at the end of that week to find out the sex. The baby was being difficult, or really shy, and not showing us anything.” I give a little chuckle, thinking about how we did everything to get it to turn or move, but then frown.
“Saylor should be,” I pause adding the time, “almost eight months now. I bet she knows since we only have a month left.”
Shit, I’ve got a month to find my wife to be there when my child is born. My heart sinks, thinking about not being there to see them born. Will Saylor be alone? The thought causes my chest to tighten and my pulse to race.
Don’t go there, Thorne. You’ll find her.
Reid and Lincoln leave with the promise to be back in the morning. Now it’s time to get down to business.
“First, what is the status of this divorce that my father pushed?”
“Sir, once we heard that your father filed it and the press were all over it, Lincoln put a stop on the filing and had the document sealed from the public,” William says, as he pulls some papers out of a folder and slides them over to my tray for me to see.
So, it didn’t go through. Thank god!
At least that is one problem solved.
“Was there a correction sent to the press?” I ask.
“No, we didn’t know how to proceed, Sir.
You usually never comment on your personal life to the press, and we were waiting for you to wake so that you could make that decision.
We knew you were trying to keep her safe from the threat so we did nothing.
” I’m annoyed, but understand where they are coming from.
I’ve never been one to comment on my private life, but I’m afraid Saylor thinks I really want us to end our marriage.
“What do we know about her whereabouts so far?” I ask around the room.
“Our thoughts are that DA Burt Buttons is the one who was able to get Saylor out of the station without being noticed. We recently believe that he came and offered to help Saylor, to get away from Los Angeles, and away from the person who was truly behind your accident.” William answers.
“Okay, and have we spoken with him? Where did he put her?”
I know that he has knowledge of me being one of Blaire’s clients, and hope that he handled her with care.
He and the police chief stopped me at the station after my meeting with Blaire, to discuss my files being part of the evidence they found in her safe.
My bank account took a hit to keep mine and Lincoln’s name out of the press, and those files were to be destroyed as the money made it to their accounts, the little crooks.
“We think he placed her in Witness Protection,” Dean states.
Witness Protection? Why in the hell would he do that?
“What did he say when you spoke with him? Surely he understands that we’re all on the same page.”
I wait for a response, but it’s slow to come.
Christ, now what.
“We haven’t talked with him.”
“Why the hell not? Shouldn’t that be the first thing to do?” I demand.
“Uh, well you see,” Dean stumbles.
“Sir,” Mitch interrupts the stammering of the firm’s most trusted employee. “DA Buttons can’t be reached now. He is no longer here for us to question.”
“Okay, find out where the hell he is and get someone over there.” This isn’t that hard to figure out. What is wrong with everyone?
“Sir, we can’t communicate with Mr. Buttons.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because he died sir, four weeks ago arguing a case against your brother.”