Chapter 27
CHAPTER 27
SAVANNA
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt more accomplished, or proud of something I’ve worked on. Sitting behind the desk at work, staring at the USB in my hand, I could practically burst into happy tears.
I gave myself twenty-one days to finish Nate’s books, but I only needed nineteen. I worked through the past weekend to get there, telling Nate that I wanted to plow through the rest of it because I was so close to being done. Unlike the weekend of our date, he let it be. I think he was starting to get anxious as the deadline loomed closer, but I wasn’t stressed about it. I was on a roll and wanted to keep my momentum going.
It’s also not like I haven’t seen Nate. The days he hasn’t been working at the firehouse, he’s been at the bar, as usual, and he’s very keen on me taking plenty of breaks to keep me from getting burnt out behind the computer. Or so he claims.
I think it’s more like he’s as insatiable as I am, and we can’t get enough of each other.
We weren’t three hours into our day, the day after the party, when he came waltzing into the office, closed the door, and made me come in the office chair with his face between my legs. Since that day I’ve been wearing a dress or skirt to work, the easy access coming in handy more than a couple of times.
I have a feeling the second he finds out I’ve completed everything for the accountant, he’s going to be on me. I’ve kept him at arm’s length all day, refusing to even kiss him because it only leads us to trouble.
Nate isn’t out of the woods yet, though. The bar owes the government a good chunk of money, though it’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. We hit middle of the pack when it comes to best-case or worst-case, which I’m considering a win. I don’t know if he’ll see it that way, but I’ve got a few ideas how we can manage the payment without the bar going belly up. But first I need to deliver the news that I’m finished.
Pushing back from the desk that Nate has been calling mine for the last week, I stretch my arms overhead and smile as I look around.
We talked about what my role would be once I finished this. He offered to make me the bookkeeper, along with the accountant, if all went well with the taxes, as well as returning to serving, and possibly managing the bar when he’s working at the firehouse. He needs someone to take over for Bryn when she’s done with school, and he thinks I’m a perfect fit for it.
I told him I’d think about it, but if I’m being honest, I knew the second he asked me that I would accept. I’ve grown to love this place in the few weeks I’ve been here. There’s a sense of family, and that’s something that feeds my soul. Plus, it allows me to do a few things I love while being around the guy that I’m falling for.
I can’t believe I’m thinking that way after everything I’ve been through. These past couple of weeks have been nothing short of magical, even though I’ve been working like crazy at the bar.
Every night, except the days he’s worked at the firehouse, Nate gets dinner ready, and then takes me to a new location for us to sit outside and enjoy our meal. He told me that I needed to expand my knowledge of Santa Rosé beyond the beach I frequented during the summer. What better way than to have dinner in a new place every evening.
I’ve seen some gorgeous sunsets because of it, and I’ve also learned a lot about him since we’re usually too busy stuffing our faces to have our hands all over each other.
Leaving the USB on the desk, I head to the kitchen, my stomach rumbling with hunger.
Jeremy, the sous chef, catches my eye and grins. “Ready for dinner? Nate said he wasn’t sure when you guys would be eating tonight.”
Being in the back office for the last two weeks, I’ve gotten to know the kitchen staff a lot better. Nate was right when he told me they wouldn’t treat me any differently if we were dating. Not a single person here has batted an eye over the fact, something for which I’m grateful.
“I’m not sure,” I tell him, deciding I feel like taking Nate out to celebrate and go over things. “I think we might end up somewhere else tonight.”
“Ouch, Sav!” Jeremy lays a hand over his chest. “You’re breaking my heart over here. My cooking ain’t good enough for you?”
“It’s me, not you,” I retort with a dash of sass, and he erupts into laughter.
I’m halfway through the door to the front of house, his laughter still ringing behind me, when I freeze in place. Everything disappears from around me. Adrenaline floods my body in an instant, realizing before my mind can process it, that I’m in danger. The whole world slows down, and I feel like I’m trudging through mud as I try to comprehend the sight before me.
Sitting at the bar, two seats down from where Liam and Brody are, is Vincent.
He’s shaved all the dark hair on the top of his head, but his beard remains, perfectly groomed along the sharp lines of his face. There’s no mistaking it’s him, especially with the way my body reacts to him being this close. I can see the tattoo of a bear on his muscled upper arm peeking out from under his black t-shirt. He got it for me, even though I told him not to, saying it was his way of showing me how much he loved me.
It’s only been half a second since I stepped foot into the bar, but it feels like it’s been a century of me standing there, frozen, staring at the man of my nightmares.
Movement catches my eye, time normalizing as the sounds of the bar penetrate my ears. I need to move before anyone realizes I’m standing here.
Anyone other than Bryn, that is.
She’s coming at me, and I use her as cover, grabbing the other half of the door to open it up towards the kitchen which changes my course and puts me back into hiding from the front.
“Thanks,” she says, walking through the open door with an armful of dishes.
“No problem,” I squeak, clearing my throat, hoping she didn’t hear the terrified edge to my voice.
When she doesn’t say anything, I breathe a sigh of relief and force myself to walk calmly back to the office. I feel anything but calm. Terror seizes me, thrumming through my veins at a steady pace. I’m shaking like a leaf, and if I looked into a mirror right now, I know I’d be ghostly white.
I’m moving on pure instinct, grabbing my purse and my keys, thanking God I came in earlier than Nate and drove myself. I head out back, walking through the kitchen, keeping my eyes averted from the guys. From a sideways glance, I can tell they’re all busy with something and paying no attention to me.
Slipping out the door, I bolt towards my car, my hands fumbling with my keys. Now that I’m outside and away from prying eyes, I allow myself to freak out just a little, but I know I can’t fully lose it. I’m not safe and I need to keep my head, but at least no one will see me gulping in breath after breath as I try not to hyperventilate.
He found me. He fucking found me, and now I’m not the only one in danger. So is Nate.
If Vincent had seen me, and Nate knew Vincent was in there, all hell would break loose. Nate has told me as much. And I wouldn’t put it past Vincent to do whatever necessary to hurt Nate if he knew that we were together.
I need to get away from here. As far away from Nate as I can before he gets hurt, or worse. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to him. I knew going into this with him that Vincent finding me was a possibility, one that was made greater with the video of me at the fire, and I still foolishly let myself get involved.
I’ve got my car door open when I hear a groan from behind me. It’s hardly a sound, but it makes me shriek, nonetheless. Whirling around, I find a man collapsed in front of the dumpster I’m parked next to, looking wrecked out of his mind.
This isn’t a patron of the bar. This man looks roughened by the streets, and I realize I’ve seen him a few times wandering around near the bar. The first time I saw him, Nate told me his name was Tony, a known drug user. I had the feeling Nate and his crew have helped him a time or two.
Everything inside me tells me to get in the car and leave. Run. Everything except my heart. My brain is screaming it, my body is yelling at me, but my heart says I need to go back inside and get Nate because this man needs help.
I recall the day I told Nate I didn’t know how I would ever repay him for everything he had done for me. The only thing he wanted was for me to help someone in need. Here I am, faced with a choice, and I know which one I have to make, no matter how much my instincts are telling me to make the opposite one.
Slamming my door shut, I race back into the kitchen, hopeful that Nate is back here instead of up front, but my hope is in vain.
“Jeremy!” I yell at him because he’s the closest. I stop long before anyone would be able to see me from the front if the doors were to swing open. “I need you to go get Nate. Now.”
He stops what he’s doing, concern furrowing his eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”
“Just go get Nate!” I bark.
I think it’s my tone because he doesn’t hesitate again, rushing through the doors to the front where I can hear him. My eyes squeeze shut and my heart drops into my stomach when I hear my name being used, but I don’t have time to worry about that before Nate is slamming his way through the swinging doors into the kitchen.
The concern on his face makes me want to drop to my knees and beg him to forgive me for what my instincts are still crying for me to do.
Run. Run, run, run.
“That Tony guy is out back; something is wrong with him,” I say hurriedly before my legs give out, or he can question what’s wrong with me. I don’t know if I would be able to stop myself from telling him, and I need to keep him from knowing about Vincent.
“Shit,” Nate mutters, shifting into firefighter mode. Grabbing the first aid kit hanging on the wall, he’s heading out the back within seconds of entering the kitchen.
I’m quick on his heels. There’s more movement behind me, and though part of me doesn’t want to look because I’m scared I’ll see my ex, I glance over my shoulder, breathing a sigh of relief. Liam and Brody.
“Savanna, call 911. Tell them what’s going on and that we’re going to need an ambulance to the bar,” Nate tells me as we go through the door. “Where is he?”
I step out, pointing towards the dumpster. Liam and Brody are right behind me, all three men converging on the man still laying there. From what I can tell, he’s not groaning anymore, nor is he moving, which can’t be a good sign.
Pulling my phone out like Nate said, I dial 911. I’m still shaking from the fear of seeing Vincent, never mind the wave of it from seeing the man on the ground, and I fumble my phone before I can hit send. It lands on the pavement with a clatter, causing me to wince before I bend to pick it up.
As I’m standing up straight, I catch Liam looking at me with narrowed eyes, like he knows something is up with me. Paranoia. It has to be because there’s no way he could know.
Finally I hit send and with a hand at my forehead and phone to my ear, I wait until I hear an operator. “911, do you need police, fire, or ambulance?”
“I need an ambulance to the 10-42 bar. There’s a man out back who’s collapsed, and he needs help.”
“Do you know what happened?” the voice on the other end asks calmly.
I watch as Nate and Brody work on the man. “No, but there’re firefighters here, and I think they’re giving him Narcan.”
Confusion from the other end. “Fire is already on scene?”
“No, no,” I huff, frustrated. I can’t think. “I… no, I mean, there are off duty firefighters here. One of them owns the bar.”
“Okay, do you know the address to the bar?”
I open my mouth to answer her, then close it. I should know this because I’ve been using it and seeing it everywhere for the past three weeks, but it’s completely gone. The number, the street, everything is just gone. I’m drawing a complete blank.
The guys are busy with Tony, so I don’t ask, instead turning to look down the alley towards the street to see if it rings a bell. I freeze when I meet the cold eyes of Vincent standing at the mouth of the lane, watching my every move. The phone slips from my hand as the whole world stops.
After more than six months of hiding, he’s found me. I knew this day would come, but I wasn’t ready for it. I don’t know if I’d ever be ready for it.
The panic doesn’t come until something touches my arm. I shriek in surprise, reflex making my feet finally move from their spot as I spin around to confront my attacker.
Except my real attacker is standing seventy-five feet away from me down the alley, and Liam is standing beside me, watching me with a sharpness I’ve never seen him use.
The man might be a playboy and jokester, but the way he’s looking at me right now tells me he knows something is going on, and he’s trying to figure out what it is. I’m guessing this is what makes him good at his job, but it sure as hell isn’t helping me right now.
My phone is at his ear, and he’s talking to the operator without taking his eyes off me.
I swallow hard, chancing a glance back down the alley, nearly sagging when Vincent isn’t there.
No. No, no, no. If I know where he is, it’s easier to stay safe. It’s easier to keep Nate safe.
But now it isn’t just Nate I need to worry about. I think I may need to worry about Liam and Brody too, since Vincent has seen me with all three.
“You okay?”
I look up from the computer to find Nate leaning against the door jamb of the office, observing me with keen eyes.
I love those eyes. So much. I love the way they look at me like I’m the only woman in the world, and how tender they get right after he’s given me a sweet kiss, or how dark they can be when he’s hungry for me. They’re inquisitive and insightful, wise beyond his years.
It kills me that I’m going to leave them, and him, behind. But it’s for the best. I know I need to do it, just like I needed to walk away from everything in Colorado.
“Yeah,” I tell him, lying to his face. I hate myself for it, but I’ve got to do what needs to be done.
His eyes narrow marginally. “It’s okay if you’re not. That couldn’t have been easy to see.”
I’m perplexed that he hasn’t come further into the room, but maybe I’m giving off a vibe that says I don’t want him in here. It would be both true and untrue at the same time. I want him to wrap me up in his arms, but I know that I would cave and tell him everything. I can’t afford that.
“It wasn’t something I could do every day,” I tell him honestly.
He gives me a reluctant smile. “Why don’t you shut it down for the day and I’ll take you home? We can grab something to eat on the way.”
“No,” I say quickly, cringing inwardly at myself. I hope I didn’t tip him off by sounding too forceful. “I’m so close to being done, I just want to get this finished.”
Nate glances at his watch, runs a hand through his hair, then nods at me. “Okay. But if you’re not done in the next hour, I’m not taking no for an answer.” I almost breathe a sigh of relief when he turns to leave, biting it back when he pauses. “Hey, what were you doing out in the alley in the first place?”
I don’t think I will ever find something I hate more than lying to him.
I thought up my lies when I was sitting at my desk after the guys told me to go back inside. I had some time to come up with things that were plausible, but I didn’t want to have to use any of them. Unfortunately, the universe seems good at not granting my wishes.
I shrug nonchalantly though I feel anything but. “My earbuds died. My charger was in my car.”
“Ah.” He nods like it makes perfect sense, which I know it does, but hate that he takes it at face value. The part of me that wants to tell him everything is silently pleading with him not to believe a word. “Tony’s lucky you were there.”
I’m glad one of us was.
“Yeah, I guess so, huh?” I wave a hand to shoo him out. “Go. Let me finish.”
I’ve been waiting for this. Waiting for Nate, Liam, and Brody to come back inside and go out to the bar so I could slip out the back and disappear without them knowing. I grabbed one of the knives in the kitchen to take with me in case Vincent is outside waiting, but I have a feeling he won’t be. I don’t think he would expect me to leave alone after seeing him. There would be no psychological thrill he’s looking for. His favorite thing to do was fuck with my mind until I submitted to him and snatching me in an alley wouldn’t give that to him.
I think.
I hope.
I pull out the note I hand wrote to Nate. He deserves so much more, and tears fill my eyes as I read my writing, wishing things were different. It’s shitty and short. It doesn’t give any kind of explanation, but it does tell him that everything is ready for the accountant, all he needs to do is hand over the USB.
I’m doing this for him. I will not let him put himself in harm's way because of me.
“Hey.”
The sound of a voice startles me, the USB bouncing off the desk when I drop it. I look up to find Liam standing in the doorway, and quickly avert my eyes to the floor where the drive landed.
Shit. I thought maybe Liam and Brody would come into the office with Nate, but I didn’t expect Liam to show up alone. It makes me uneasy because I’m nearly positive he saw Vincent, though I couldn’t swear to it. Even if he did that doesn’t mean he’s realized what’s going on. I know Nate hasn’t shared any of my past with Liam or Brody because he told me as much. I didn’t care at the time, but I’m damn thankful now.
“Hey,” I say back, leaning over to grab the USB from the floor. It gives me a moment to blink the tears from my eyes.
His eyes are narrowed, much like they were in the alleyway as he assesses me from where he stands. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
Rising back up, I bring my eyes to his, putting on my best poker face. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Liam shoves his hands into his pockets, glances over his shoulder, then takes a few steps further into the office. “Nate might have been too busy to notice, but the thing about firefighters is when one of us is busy with one thing, others are looking out at the scene. Assessing, calculating, figuring out what else might happen. Then we do what we need to in order to prevent it.”
My blood runs cold. He’s doing exactly what he just explained to me. Assessing, calculating, trying to figure out what’s going on. He needs to stop before I cave and confess. I can’t. I can’t put any of them in more danger than I already have.
When he continues, he’s matter of fact. “We work as a unit, which is why we’re so successful at scenes. It’s how we’re trained, it’s what we do.”
It’s easier to lie to Liam, but only by a small fraction. “Liam, I’m not sure what you’re talking about. I get how firefighting works. Nate has explained it to me.”
“Something spooked you.” It’s not a question.
The words send a shiver racing down my spine. He’s too close to the truth, and it’s making me uncomfortable. “Yeah, the fact that I saw a guy almost die.”
“I know everyone thinks I’m some dumb fuck boy, but I assure you, I’m not.” Liam stares at me, weighing what I’m telling him, then drops the bomb I knew was coming. “Who was that guy? He was staring at you.”
“Liam, seriously!” I say, throwing my hands up in exasperation to try and get my point across. “I’m trying to finish this accounting stuff for Nate. I’m so close to being done. He gave me an hour to finish or he’s cutting me off for the night. Do you know the stress that will be off his shoulders once I get this done?”
For the first time since coming into the office, Liam hesitates, looking unsure of himself. Glancing at the computer, I can see the wheels switching gears in his mind.
It was my Hail Mary to get him off my case, and to keep him from asking more questions, or expecting answers I’m not about to give. I know how much he worries about Nate. He’s confessed his gratitude to me when we’ve sat at the bar together when Nate hasn’t been around.
He sags as the confidence billows out of him, along with a deep breath. “Okay. Sorry. I just… I’ve never seen you freaked out like that. Not even after Nate pulled you out of a burning building.” He gives me a tight smile. “Seemed like something else was going on, and Nate missed all of it, so I thought I’d ask you straight up.”
I smile back at him, but inside I’m screaming that he’s probably never been more right about anything in his life. “I appreciate your concern. I really do.”
Just like that, the Liam I’ve come to know and adore is back, his expression turning debonair. “Well, you’re one of us now. We take care of our own.”
I wait until he’s gone to let the tears fall, and even then I only allow a few of them.
Between Nate and Liam, I feel like my heart is being ripped out of my chest. I just need to keep reminding myself I’m doing this for them, to keep them as safe as I possibly can.
I wait another five minutes to see if anyone else is going to burst through the office door before I set my note and the USB on the desk, grab my purse, and head out the back door for the second time in the last hour.
This time the coast is clear. There’s nobody overdosing on drugs behind the dumpster, and like I thought, there are no signs of Vincent.
Just to be safe, I weave my way through the streets on my way back to Nate’s house. There are a few things I need before I can disappear, I just need to be quick about it. The hour window that I bought myself is quickly closing, and I know the first place that Nate will look for me is home.
His home. Not mine.