CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Menace: You need to get Ronnie from the bus stop. I’ve got unfinished business to deal with. Don’t wait up.
I read Frankie’s message for the twentieth time as if the text will change.
It’s been almost three hours since it appeared on my screen, commanding me to blindly comply.
As if I’m the type to surrender that easily.
She’s left me little choice in the matter, though.
The fifteen I’ve sent in response remain unanswered.
That doesn’t prevent me from trying again.
Me: Tell me what’s going on.
I manage to wait a full minute before my fingers are furiously typing another attempt.
Me: Dammit, Frankie. Answer me!
She doesn’t listen. There’s no evidence that my texts are even going through. Her phone is probably off. That’s why I can’t track her location. The car is still parked at the school where she must’ve left it.
My legs set me in motion, pacing back and forth next to the road. Ronnie should arrive any minute. I need to calm the fuck down or she’ll freak out. That won’t be beneficial for anyone.
Agitation snatches the reins and rips the hat off my head. The urge to toss it flexes my arm. Instead, I exhale heavily and drag a hand through my hair.
It’s probably nothing. I’m overreacting. My mood has been off since I woke up alone after the best night sleep I’ve had in years. Frankie is capable of defending herself. But this isn’t the first time the woman I love stopped responding.
That gives me pause. Love? I don’t love Frankie. And it’s a massive stretch to find any comparison to Nina’s death. My mind is playing tricks. Shit, I need to get myself together.
The squeak of worn brakes alerts me that the bus is here. My mind whirls. When did that happen? I paste on a grin that I hope Ronnie won’t see straight through. She bounces down the stairs with the usual pep in her step.
“Hey, cupcake. How was school?” My knees creak when I crouch to greet her.
“Sooooo fun!” Ronnie runs into my open arms, giving me a much-needed hug. “We learned about the solar system. It’s super duper huge. Like we can’t even see it all!”
“Really? That’s out of this world.” I don’t have to fake my enthusiasm. This is familiar and natural, allowing me to focus on cooling off.
She nods as we begin the trek to the house. “Did you know that Jupiter is the biggest planet?”
“No way! It must be massive.”
“Yep! Where’s Frannie? I wanna tell her.”
This scene, on the other hand, is entirely too familiar. My smile slips ever so slightly. “She’s not home. There’s something she had to do.”
My daughter hums thoughtfully. “Like what?”
“I’m… not sure.” Hesitancy chops my statement into pieces.
“Maybe she’s getting us a present.”
“Why would she do that?”
“To be nice, duhhhhh.”
My eyes narrow at her. “Watch your tone, sassy pants.”
“It’s prissy,” she corrects.
“What do you mean?”
“Frannie says my pants are prissy. I never ever wear sassy pants. That’d be silly, Daddy.”
“My mistake,” I mumble.
Ronnie does a twirl when we approach the driveway. “I can’t wait to see what she gets us.”
“Don’t get your hopes up.” At this rate, I’m crossing my fingers that she’ll be back for bedtime.
“It’s gonna be special,” my little girl continues as if I hadn’t spoken. “Like a pink umbrella or sparkly picture frame ‘cause she loves us.”
“Ronnie,” I sigh. “Don’t pressure her to say that she loves you, okay? She needs to tell you on her own when she’s ready.”
“But she is ready,” my daughter insists.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“Yes-huh,” she insists. “She told me so. Her finger swooped down my nose and tapped my chin. Just like you do it.”
My stride falters and I stop in my tracks. “When?”
“At drop-off this morning,” she chirps. “Frannie was actin’ kinda weird, but I guess she just had jitters in her tummy. Loving someone is a super big deal. My tummy gets flip-floppy too. Oh, and I think she was cryin’ a little bit. But those were happy tears.”
Meanwhile, my stomach plummets to my toes. I break out in a cold sweat. Why would Frankie tell Ronnie she loves her on the same day she pulls a disappearing act? None of this makes sense.
“Are you sure?” I ask in rushed tone.
“Positive!”
Without further information, I’m left to assume the worst. She got spooked. Someone took her. There was a fight and she got arrested. That spiral leads nowhere fast.
I check Frankie’s location again just for something to do. When her dot appears on the map, I almost drop my phone. That blue circle blinks like a beacon. She wants me to find her… in the middle of nowhere.
The area is beyond the outskirts of town. It could be a warehouse or some other large building. Either way, it reeks of that biker gang. Dennis assured me they were taken care of, but it’s not uncommon for a few stragglers to crawl out of an attack like cockroaches.
Now, it’s a question of if Frankie went willingly or by force. The answer will determine how I respond. I also need to know what I’m walking into. Maybe she needs reinforcements.
A frigid chill whips across my face, reminding me that I’m standing still. At least I have a direction to follow. That loosens the strain in my chest. I’m able to take my first decent breath in hours.
“Hey, cupcake?”
Ronnie pauses drawing a stick figure in the snow. “Yes, Daddy?”
“How would you like to visit Paisley and Brody? I need to have a chat with Uncle Dennis.”
Her lips twist. “What about Frannie?”
“She’ll be back soon enough.” Even if I have to haul her home over my shoulder, kicking and cursing.
“And then she’ll be my mommy?”
My momentum putters to a halt. “Did she tell you that too?”
“Yep,” Ronnie states with conviction.
Words fail me, much like my sanity where that woman is concerned.
We’re going to have a serious conversation. I just have to find her first.