Chapter 36
Savannah sat curled on the ivory leather couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders like armor, though it offered little warmth. The vast windows of her D.C. apartment overlooked the city skyline, but the view did nothing for her. It never had.
The apartment was beautiful, objectively so.
Modern, sleek, and filled with designer furnishings and curated art pieces chosen by someone else.
The Senator. He’d gifted her the place years ago when her career began to skyrocket, calling it a token of support for her “art.” But she now realized it had always been a cage dressed up in elegance.
She hated it. All of it.
All of it except for the baby grand piano tucked into the far corner near the window, the one thing she’d chosen for herself. She’d played it late into the night before her tour began. It had been the only real comfort in the echoing hollowness of this life she’d built.
Now, after everything, even the piano felt haunted. Tainted, since he’d worked on it continuously for years.
Her attention was drawn to Sawyer who stood in the kitchen, sleeves rolled up, pouring coffee like he’d done it a thousand times in her home.
Only it wasn’t his home. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
But the way he moved in a comfortable, protective, and grounding manner, it made her chest ache in the best way.
Her phone buzzed on the table. The screen unexpectedly lit up with the name Kandy. Savannah blinked. “Huh.”
Sawyer looked over. “What’s wrong?”
She waved her phone in the air. “It’s Kandy.”
Sawyer groaned making her chuckle. “What does she want?”
“Dunno.” She hesitated, then answered, putting it on speaker so Sawyer could hear. “Hello?”
There was a brief pause, then, surprisingly, without a hint of sarcasm Kandy asked, “Savannah? Hey. It’s Kandy.”
Savannah straightened a little. “Hi. Um . . . what’s up?”
“I just—” Kandy’s voice wavered, just slightly. “What happened to you last night . . . it scared the hell out of me. I know we haven’t always gotten along, but I needed to call. Are you okay?”
Something in Savannah’s chest loosened. “I will be. Still processing.”
“I figured. That’s why I wanted to say something now. Not in front of people. Not through PR. Just me.”
Savannah looked over at Sawyer, who had set his coffee down, listening. “You’re on speaker now. Sawyer’s here.”
There was a pause. Then a half-laugh. “Of course he is. Hi, handsome.”
Sawyer gave a slight smirk. “Hey, Kandy.”
“Listen,” Kandy said, and this time her voice was sincere. “I’ve been trying to figure out what to say that doesn’t come off bitchy or petty. So I’ll just say it straight. You’re good for her, Voodoo. I saw it. I think I always knew.”
Savannah felt her throat tighten.
“I gave it my best shot,” Kandy added, a lightness in her tone now. “But if I had to lose that fight . . . I’m glad it was to someone like Savannah. So take care of her, okay?”
Sawyer’s voice was quiet but steady. “Always.”
“As much as I love a good age-gap story, I just think you’re way too old for me.”
Sawyer laughed. “Right.”
A pause. Then Kandy sighed. “Don’t go disappearing on me, Savannah. We might not be besties, but . . . I admire you. You have this talent I can’t even begin to imagine.” Kandy’s words took her by surprise and she felt her nose tingle as tears threatened. “I’m in your corner now, all right?”
Savannah swallowed the emotion in her throat. “Thanks, Kandy. Really.”
“Don’t make it weird,” Kandy said, and Savannah could hear the smile in her voice. There was another pause, heavier this time. Then Kandy added, “Did you guys hear about Henry?”
Savannah’s brows pulled together. “No. What about him?”
“He was arrested this morning,” Kandy said, voice edged with disgust. “Sexual assault charges. One of the female crew members from the tour came forward. She’d been too scared to speak up before, but after everything that happened with you .
. . she finally told someone. And apparently, she wasn’t the only one. ”
Savannah felt her stomach twist. “Oh, my God.”
“Yeah.” Kandy’s voice lowered. “I always knew there was something off about him, but I didn’t know it was that bad. I’m just glad she spoke up. And that it wasn’t you.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sawyer’s jaw flex, and his expression hardened.
“I wanted you to hear it from me before it leaked everywhere,” Kandy said. “It’s going to be messy. Press, lawyers, statements . . . you know the drill.”
Savannah nodded slowly. “Thank you. For calling. For telling me.”
“Sure thing. Get some rest.”
The call ended, and for a long moment, Savannah stared at the phone, caught between surprise and gratitude.
“She meant all of that, didn’t she?” she said softly.
Sawyer leaned closer, brushing her hand with his. “Yeah. She did.”
And for the first time since everything had fallen apart, Savannah felt like maybe—just maybe—things were beginning to come back together.
“Guess you’re officially Kandy-approved,” Savannah teased.
“I can sleep easy now,” he’d replied, dry as ever, before pulling her into his arms.
But now, the silence was heavier.
The weight of the truth still hadn’t fully landed.
That Brian, the person she’d trusted for years and had advocated for adding him to the tour, had been behind it all .
. . she didn’t know how to process that.
Discovering his computer expertise was just as shocking to her.
No wonder he’d so easily hacked into her iPad.
She hadn’t cried. Not yet. But her body felt wrung out, her mind scraping against disbelief like broken glass.
She turned to find Sawyer watching her.
“He loved me,” she whispered. “And he still tried to blow me up.”
Sawyer didn’t flinch. “He didn’t love you, Savi. He obsessed. That’s not the same thing.”
She nodded, though she wasn’t sure she believed it yet.
Then came a ding from her phone. A message from her mother. She opened it, fingers trembling.
I’ve filed. It’s done. I should’ve left him years ago. I’m sorry it took this long.
Savannah closed her eyes, heart squeezing. One more crack in the carefully polished image of her life. One more secret exposed.
“You okay?” Sawyer asked, putting an arm around her shoulders to pull her close. She handed him the phone. He read it, then nodded. “Good. It’s about damn time.”
So much had happened over the course of twenty-one days. The tour’s glittering legacy was now scorched earth, but Savannah found she didn’t care. Not about the press. Not about the shame or the scandals.
She only cared that she was still here. And so was he. She suddenly realized she wouldn’t change a thing about the past three weeks if it meant she hadn’t been reunited with Sawyer. He was the best thing to come out of all of this.
“I can’t stay in this place,” she said suddenly, voice shaking. “It feels like he’s still watching me here. Like the walls were trained to report back.”
Sawyer glanced around, eyes hardening. “Then don’t.”
She blinked. “What do you mean?”
He looked at her like it was obvious. “Come with me. Back to Bell Creek. Move in.”
Her mouth parted, but no words came.
“I mean it, Savi. I’ve got the space. And I want you there. With me.” He hesitated, then added, “It’s where you’re safe. It’s where you’re home.”
Home.
She hadn’t had one in years. Not really.
“Okay,” she whispered. “Yes. I want that.”
He didn’t reply with words. He just tightened his hold on her, embracing her like he’d made the decision long ago and he’d been waiting for her to finally see it, too.
The rest unraveled naturally. Clothes lost between rooms, kisses trailing across skin, bodies rediscovering each other like a language they’d never truly forgotten.
They made love with the sun streaming through those hated windows, but for the first time, Savannah didn’t feel like a prisoner inside them.
Because Sawyer was there.
And finally, finally—she was where she was meant to be.
By his side. And free.