Chapter 35 #2
I could see the three little dots pop up and then disappear. After an agonizingly long wait, her text came through. One word.
Sage
Maybe.
Frustrated, I texted Ellis and made sure he knew I’d murder him slowly if he let her out of his sight. Not that I needed to. He was literally being paid to keep her safe, but he’d also do it just because he knew what she meant to me.
“You going to punch me before Wade comes back or what? Let’s just get it over with.” Parrish was already picking up the file and paperwork he’d brought with him. “I’m sorry if you’re pissed.”
The urge to hit him rose, and resisting it wasn’t easy. “Wipe the smirk off your face. You’re supposed to follow orders, not take the guy to the police station,” I grumbled.
He shrugged. “Well, this gets you an extra in with the soon-to-be brother-in-law, right? I did you a favor. And the guy wasn’t really good for it anyway. He’s not the real problem. The flower guy is the problem.”
“I don’t think Wade’s going to be my brother-in-law anytime soon.” It wasn’t easy to admit that marriage was something that I might have wanted, but I’d already fucked it up. Again.
“Is she still pissed about Catherine?” His brow furrowed. “You explained, right? That shit wasn’t your fault. That woman is crazy.”
“I told her, but there’s been a lot going on. She’s a little overwhelmed. I think the whole thing with Catherine was the last straw, you know?”
Parrish didn’t seem to really get it, but I wasn’t going to explain my relationship, or lack of one, to him. He seemed like he wanted to say something else, but I waved him off. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about it.
Wade opened the door just in time to save me from having to make more small talk. “Come on, you two. We can talk more in my office before I finish booking him and get started on the paperwork.”
I knew we had to go over the plan to figure out how to find the stalker. Wade had his police resources; we had Redhawk, but we needed to talk to Hattie. Everything seemed to be spiraling out of control, and my connection to Sage felt like it was bubbling underneath my skin.
Parrish and I ran Wade through the facts of the new delivery and the background information we’d pulled up, watching his mouth tighten.
“Hell.” He pulled out a Jolly Rancher and twisted the plastic. “I didn’t know anything about her family before she came to live with us. She definitely doesn’t.”
“She didn’t seem to.”
He nodded tightly. “We were all mandated to go to therapy when we were kids. When Sage got to the Holts, she had a lot of nightmares. Sleepwalking out into the garden and shit. We’d find her out there covered in dirt.
It was one of the reasons that Maggie got her into plants and growing things.
It really seemed to help her. I don’t think Maggie or Levi knew anything about the home invasion either.
Most of us were placed with them from the state, but I think Sage was different. ”
Parrish handed him the file on the Gavell family home invasion as I tried to reason out why Sage might have been sleepwalking, covered in dirt.
“Do we tell her about this stuff?” Wade looked at the paperwork, jaw ticking. “What about the rest of the family? If this stuff is all connected?”
“Well, Alan was definitely from that time period, but Sage seemed hesitant to revisit anything from her past. We can see if she’s interested in learning more, but she should have control over that,” I said cautiously.
Wade knew the Holt family better than I did, so I hesitated to make a suggestion, but opening the door to more trauma for Sage wasn’t my first choice.
“I know it’s hard to keep things from the family, but she needs to be the one to want to hear the information about what happened before she came to Maggie and Levi.
We should respect that as much as we can. ”
“I agree.” He closed the manila folder. “My sister is strong, and I know she could handle it, but it has to be what she wants.” He swallowed.
“Knowing about what came before isn’t always a blessing.
” He tapped the folder again, and I wondered who he was really talking about.
“What’s the plan then to find the person sending the flowers and creepy notes? ”
“We’re calling in everything we have. All the favors. I’ll talk to Hattie about calling in some of her former squad members. We don’t want to leave stones unturned.”
“I thought we weren’t telling family.” Wade frowned at me.
“Well, Hattie is going to have to be the exception. She has access to a team, and I believe they’re willing to work independently and discreetly. They’ve done it before. I could go around her and contact them myself.” I frowned. “One of them will only work with Hattie anyway.”
He gave Parrish and me a rough nod. “If that’s what you think. My sister’s safety is all that matters. Ellis is going to be with her?”
“Absolutely. He won’t leave her side,” I confirmed. “He has our standard close-protection orders.” Parrish gave a little chuckle next to me that indicated he knew that maybe that wasn’t exactly true.
“I’d feel better if you were with her, too.” He gave me a critical look, and if I were a different man, I would have shrunk in my seat, but I forced myself to stay still under his gaze. “Why aren’t you?”
“She’s upset with me right now.” It galled me to admit it. “Catherine showed up at the house.”
Wade’s mouth tightened into a line. “Sage probably hasn’t told you, and in another time, I would let you figure shit out on your own with her,” he trailed off, tapping his wrapper on his desk. “But she had a really bad breakup a few years ago.”
Grinding my teeth together, I kept my mouth shut, trying to hold back the fury while thinking about someone mistreating her.
“Asshole had this ex-girlfriend who kept showing up, and eventually he got back with her. The thing was, I think Sage really loved the guy, and he’d been pretty convincing about his intentions, but as soon as the ex came back into the picture, that was it.
” He held up his hand when I moved to say something.
“I know your situation is nothing like that, but I just want you to understand where her head’s at. Fix your shit.”
“Got it.” I was working on it for sure, but fixing things with Catherine wasn’t exactly an easy ask because she was like a fucking tornado. Unpredictable and destructive.
He gave me a back slap as he ushered us out of the office. It was nearly time to pick up Opal from school, and damn if I didn’t want to see my little girl.