Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
“Savannah, I’m so sorry this is happening,” she said. “No news yet. They’re looking. West asked me to get you set up in his office.” She pushed back her chair, signaling another officer to man the phones.
“They’re going to find him,” she said.
I just nodded.
“Do you want anything? Coffee? Something to eat?”
I shook my head.
“All right, Just wait here. They’ll bring him straight to you as soon as they find him. Everybody’s looking for him,” she reassured as she disappeared back down the hall.
The clock on the wall ticked slowly, minutes melting into an hour, then two. I sat beside Finn, my head on his shoulder, our fingers threaded together, both of us frozen. I couldn’t talk, couldn’t think. I just wanted my baby. And Finn. I couldn’t have done this with anyone else. Even my mother, as much as I loved her. I needed Finn. His strength. His love. Knowing he was just as worried as I was.
It wasn’t the time to talk. I could barely breathe, much less have a conversation—especially the most important conversation of my life. But I knew. I’d known before Scarlett’s call, before Finn had dropped everything to get me to the school, before he’d faced down the headmaster.
I was in love with Finn Sawyer. Completely, totally, head over heels in love with him. I was going to say yes. Of course, I was. There was never another answer. It was always going to be yes. I was just working up the courage.
Now, only a few hours after thinking I was a great big chicken, I understood that I hadn’t known what fear was. Fear was my son going missing. Fear was not knowing where my baby was. Fear was losing Nicky.
Telling the man I loved that I wanted to spend my life with him? That wasn’t something to fear. That was life. That was love and the promise of the future we’d have together. As soon as we had Nicky back, I was going to tell him. As soon as we had Nicky back.
When it had been so long that I was ready to jump up and scream, my phone rang.
“West?” I asked in a rush after seeing the name on the screen.
“We don’t have him yet, but we know where he is, and he’s safe.”
“What? He’s safe? Where is he?” I pulled the phone from my ear and turned on the speaker. “I put you on speakerphone so Finn can hear. Where is he?”
“At a gas station outside of Winston-Salem. We think they were heading to Richmond. He’s safe, Savannah. I have an officer on the way to pick him up.”
“What happened?” Finn asked. “Are you sure he’s okay?”
“The local deputy on the scene said he’s fine, just shaken up. You’ve got a smart little guy there. Nicky told her he had to pee and said he was going to wet his pants. She stopped at a gas station, and the second they were inside, he pulled free, ran to the cashier, and told her he was being kidnapped. He actually gave her my name. How did he know to do that?”
“We, uh, we talked about it,” I said, the words coming out in a gasp, breathless with relief. “We talked about what to do if he got lost, how to ask grown-ups for help, who to call. And he remembered.”
“He did,” West agreed. “He has good instincts. The cashier pulled him behind the counter and called 911. Lydia argued and demanded Nicky back, but the cashier said she’d let the police figure it out. Hold on a sec.”
The line went silent, the timer on the call counting up. After a minute, West was back. “One of my officers just got there and confirmed it was Nicky. He’s in good shape. Ate a candy bar and drank two slushies. Officer Tucker’s bringing him back to Heartstone Manor.”
My heart rate slowed down just a little. He was okay. “Can I talk to him?” I asked.
“I’ll have him call you from the car once they get on the road. But I promise he’s okay. Shaken up, scared. But he’s okay.”
“What about Lydia?” Finn asked.
West let out an angry grunt. “No. When the cashier pulled Nicky behind the counter and said she was calling the police, Lydia took off. Unlike the school, the gas station had decent cameras, so we know which direction she was headed and the car’s make, model, and tags. They’ll get her.”
“Thanks, West,” Finn said.
“You talked to Griffen or anybody?” West asked.
“No,” Finn said. “We’ve just been sitting here. Too worried to talk to anyone.”
“I told them not to bother you,” West said. “Figured you wouldn’t want to talk. But Griffen’s livid. Hawk told him what went down at the school. I’ll be surprised if Montgomery has a job tomorrow. Your great-great-something grandfather built that school, and even your father kept up with the tradition of hefty donations. Griffen’s raising hell with the board. They’ll fire Montgomery in a heartbeat rather than risk pissing Griffen off.” West laughed. “Wish I could listen in on that phone call. Montgomery has always been an ass. Listen, I have to go. You head home, and you’ll be hugging Nicky before you know it.”