Chapter 11
Sawyer
The drive from town to Savannah, Georgia only took about two and a half hours, but it felt like forever.
While Zane drove, I used the Wi-Fi in his truck to trace the package sent to Anastasia, as well as the calls.
This time, the number was easy enough to track down—for me, though I did break quite a few laws in the process.
What Uncle Sam doesn’t know won’t hurt him. And for Anastasia, the risk of getting caught is well worth it.
While the number is unlisted, meaning it belongs to a burner phone, the area code for the one she received last night leads straight back to the Savannah area.
Guy didn’t even try to mask it this time.
Same thing with the tracking information of the shipment she received.
I took apart the bug, but I won’t be able to do much about that until I get home and try to pull prints.
My guess is there won’t be any, though.
The hardest part of this drive has been keeping it from Anastasia. If she knew we were coming here, she would have tried to stop us. Or, at the very least, tried to tag along. Neither could happen. Not if we’re trying to get a legitimate read off her ex-boyfriend.
Zane and I both step out of the elevator and onto the second floor of the Savannah, Georgia, FBI field office.
We’re both wearing visitor badges issued to us by the front office, only after we said we had pertinent case information for Agent Jack Weathers.
Who, naturally, had not been happy to hear we were there.
I’m honestly surprised he even allowed them to let us up.
The hall is long and lined with offices. Some of the doors are open, some closed. Given it’s my first time in an FBI building, I have to say—not what I was expecting.
Jack steps out of an office at the end of the hall, his grey gaze sharp, stance defensive. This is going to go great. Since Anastasia’s phone hasn’t gone off in my pocket, I can hope he didn’t let her know we were here. Which should give me time to explain why we came here before she finds out.
“To what do I owe this lovely visit?” Jack asks as he reaches out and shakes Zane’s hand. I don’t miss the way he doesn’t bother reaching for mine. Interesting.
“Can we talk in private?” Zane asks.
“Sure.” Jack gestures toward his office, so Zane and I move inside.
He closes the door, boxing us in. If it weren’t for the window just behind the desk, I might have reopened the door.
Jack sits behind his desk. He’s shed his jacket and hung it on the back of his chair, leaving the badge on his waist and the gun holstered at his hip on full display.
“I wanted to know if you’ve had any contact with my sister since—”
“She left me for Sawyer? No, can’t say that I have,” he spits out.
“First of all, she didn’t leave you for me. Second, you’re the one who ended things,” I correct.
Jack glares at me. “We both know why things didn’t work out between us. So, how about you get to the point as to why you’re here before I decide to arrest you on all the digital crimes we both know you’ve committed over the years.”
It’s all a bluff because there’s no proof.
“Someone has been harassing her.”
Jack’s entire demeanor shifts at Zane’s words. Gone is the anger on his face, the frustration about us being here. His gaze widens, and his jaw clenches. He really does love her. Which, of course, makes me feel even worse. “What do you mean harassing her?”
“It started as a late-night phone call, then moved into this.” I reach into my bag and withdraw the Ziploc containing the stuffed orange cat I opened up in the middle of the night.
Jack takes it, studying the stuffed animal with all the suspicion that I’m sure makes him great at his job. “Was it sent to her before or after it was sliced open?”
“Before.” I glance over at Zane for confirmation before I give up the next piece of evidence.
He offers me a nod, letting me know he doesn’t think Jack is behind it, either. And if he’s not behind it, then he might be our best chance at finding out who is before things escalate.
“I pulled this out of it.” I withdraw a second bag from a concealed, lined compartment in my messenger bag that kept it hidden from the x-ray machine they sent it through upon our arrival. This one containing the bug that had been inside the orange cat.
“A bug.”
I nod. “It was inside the cat, with enough stuffing packed around it that it made it hard to feel.”
Jack studies me, then looks down at the bug. “When did she get this?”
“Two days ago.”
“The courier?”
“She said he wore a brown uniform. But that’s all she remembered. It had tracking information that originated here in Savannah.”
Jack glares up at me. “Do I want to know what else you’ve found out?”
“Sure. So long as you don’t ask too many questions about how I came about the information.”
Jack sighs. “I’m assuming you tracked the calls?”
“Most of them bounced off of towers all over the world,” Zane says. “But last night, the unlisted number originated here in Savannah.”
“Unlisted. So a burner?”
“Yes. And a different one each time,” I add.
“Did the caller say anything?”
“At first, no. She said there were a couple calls over a few nights where it sounded like a dead line or breathing.”
Anger flares in Jack’s hard gaze.
“Last night, the caller asked her if she got his gift and said it looked just like ‘Sweet Axel.’”
“Her cat.”
“Yes. Then he told her that they were going to be great friends, and that he’d be seeing her soon.”
Jack mutters something under his breath and runs both hands over his face before leaning back in his chair and studying both Zane and me.
“I’m assuming that you came here because you wanted to confirm it’s not me.
Well, I can promise you that the absolute last thing I would do is hurt Anastasia.
Even though things didn’t work out for us, I love her. ”
I love her.
His words are a punch to my gut even as they flare unwanted jealousy. Lock it up, Maddox. Now is not the time to lose focus.
“Then can you help us find out who would want to hurt her?” Zane asks.
“Did you go to local police?” he asks.
“No. We wanted to talk to you first,” I tell him.
He nods. “I’ll do some digging. See what I can find out. How many times has he called?”
“Once on the first night, twice on night two, three times on night three, and four times the next night. Then, just once after the package was received.”
Jack cocks his head to the side as he processes, but his expression doesn’t give anything away. “Can you send me the numbers you uncovered?”
“I can.”
“Good. Until I find something, she needs protection. Just in case.”
“I’m on it,” I say quickly.
Jack glares at me. “I’m sure you are. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to get local police involved in the meantime.” He stands. “If that’s all, I’ll get looking into this and get back to you.”
“I really appreciate the help, Jack.” Zane shakes his hand.
“I’ll do anything for Anastasia,” he says, gaze directed at me, tone low. “Keep me up to date if you find anything.”
“We will.”
Zane and I leave the office, leaving both the cat and the bug behind. We’d discussed it before we got here and decided that Jack’s resources are far faster than mine. Even as much as I hate to admit it. He’ll be able to pull prints and flash his badge for information.
As soon as we’re in Zane’s truck, he turns to me. “Did she leave him for you?”
“What?”
“Anastasia. Did something happen between you two before he proposed? Or after?”
I could say no. Technically, we haven’t moved out of friendship yet. But I respect my friend too much for that.
“We’re seeing where things go. But as far as I know, she didn’t say no because of me but because she didn’t love him.”
“Hmm.” He looks out the windshield. “I don’t have to tell you what will happen should you break her heart, do I?”
“Is that a threat, Cap?” I ask, a grin on my face.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t have to be. I love you like a brother, Sawyer, but she is my sister.”
“I would never hurt her,” I say, tone serious. “Ever.”
“Good.” Zane puts his truck in reverse and backs out of the spot, then heads toward the highway. “You’ll be the one taking the hit for this trip. Just FYI.”
“Why me? You’re her brother. She could choose not to forgive me.”
Zane laughs. “I’m still letting you take the heat. Let’s see what you’re made of.”
By the time we’re pulling back into the parking lot between my shop and Anastasia’s, it’s just before closing time. Weston’s truck is still parked just outside, and now, so is Ryker’s. Seeing them both here brings me immeasurable relief.
“Good luck,” Zane says as he puts it in park.
“Coward,” I reply.
Zane laughs. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Anastasia’s wrath. I’m happy to sit this one out. Call me if anything comes up or if you hear from Jack.”
“Will do, but my guess is you’ll hear from him first.” I push open the passenger door, grab the bag with my laptop in it, then shut it and head for Anastasia’s shop.
Weston and Ryker are both seated at my usual table, while Anastasia chats with a woman at the register, so I opt to go sit with them for a few minutes.
Anything I can do to buy time for the fact that Zane and I just met with her ex-boyfriend.
“It been quiet around here?” I ask as I take a seat. Unfortunately, my back is to Anastasia, but since both men are sitting facing her, there was no other option.
“Yeah,” Weston confirms.
“I’m actually surprised to see you. I figured Zane would call us because you’d been arrested for assaulting a man with a badge,” Ryker jokes.
“He did threaten to arrest me. Though it was for digital crimes he’ll never be able to prove.” I glance over my shoulder just in time to catch Anastasia smiling at me before she finishes off making the order. “How’s she been?”
“In relatively high spirits,” Weston replies. “We got her apartment door fixed. Both need to be painted, but—”
“I’ll handle that.”
“Garrison said you’d told him to leave them unpainted.”
It’ll give me a reason to hang out after closing. That way, I can convince her to let me sleep in the spare bedroom. “Thanks for fixing the doors.”
“Of course. What did you find out?” Weston asks.
“It’s not Jack.”
“I didn’t think it was,” Ryker says. “I would have been really surprised if I’d been wrong.”
“He wouldn’t hurt her. That much is clear,” I say.
“He going to help?”
I nod at Weston’s question. “We left the stuffed cat and the bug with him. He said he’d be in touch with any information.”
“Good.” Weston nods past me. “Looks like it’s closing time. Have fun breaking the news to Anastasia.”
I groan as he and Ryker stand. “Not you two, too.”
“Hey, not my girl. Not my confession.” Ryker holds up both hands.
“She’s not my—” Except, isn’t she? Aside from the lack of a label on what we are, I do think of her as mine. “Fine. Cowards.”
Weston and Ryker both chuckle as they move behind me and say their goodbyes to Anastasia. Then, with one final wave, they leave the coffee shop.
She flips the closed sign and the lock. “Hey,” she says when she faces me.
“Hey.” I close the distance and pull her into my arms. The hug is simple, something we’ve done countless times before, but there’s an intimacy that wasn’t there before. “You okay?” I pull away.
“No creepy calls or packages, if that’s what you’re asking. Unless he called my phone while you’ve had it?”
“Nope.” I reach into my pocket and pull out the new phone I bought for her while we were out. “I had them transfer all of your contacts and photos to it, but it’s a brand-new number.”
“You bought me a phone?”
“I needed to keep yours. In case he calls again.”
She nods, and tears fill her eyes. “I’m so angry, Sawyer. Who would do this?”
Rip the bandage off. “I can tell you who it wasn’t. But you’re going to have to follow me over to my shop so I can grab a bag.”
“A bag—for what?”
“I’m staying here tonight.”
She stares at me. “What?”
“In the spare room, on your couch, down here at a table, I don’t care. But I’m not leaving you alone.”
“Sawyer, I’ll be fine. I panicked last night, but the truth is, I have locks and a security system.”
“Zane said he could stay if you didn’t want me here.”
“It’s not that.” She closes her eyes. “I don’t want to feel afraid in my space.”
Reaching up, I cup her cheek with my hand. “Then let me stay to put my mind at ease. I promise to be a good boy. I’m housebroken and everything.”
At that, she laughs, and seeing her bright smile warms my heart. “Fine. You can take the spare room.”
“Great.” I grab my laptop bag and start toward the back of the shop. Anastasia follows.
“So, you said you know who it’s not?”
We step out into the parking lot, and I wait for her to lock up behind us—something she never did before.
Then, we fall into step and cross the lot toward my place.
“About that. Zane and I needed to eliminate the one person we thought it might be, so we took a little road trip.”
Anastasia stops in her tracks, and I turn to face her as her hazel gaze narrows on my face. “You did not go to Georgia. Tell me you didn’t, Sawyer.”
“I would. But that would be a lie.” I unlock the door of my shop and push it open so she can move inside.
“Sawyer, you have got to be kidding me!”
A faint noise captures my attention. It’s subtle, but unmistakable. “Move!” I throw my bag, grab Anastasia, and spin her toward the door, shielding her with my body right before a massive explosion erupts at my back, and the entire world goes black.