Chapter Thirty-Six

Then where the hell did she go?” Lucas shouted to his cook, Rosa. He knew it wasn’t her fault Amy was gone, but he had no one else to take his fear and anger out on.

He’d come home, eager to hold his wife and tell her how he felt. The roses were clutched to his chest. He’d opened the door and called out to her. When there was no answer, he hadn’t felt panic; he’d just headed up the stairs, where he figured she was taking a nap.

She’d been more tired lately, and he’d been worried about her health as well as that of his son or daughter.

He quietly stepped into their bedroom and looked around. He frowned slightly when she wasn’t there, but he figured she was in the bathroom. She wasn’t there, either.

As he turned to walk back out to grill Rosa with more questions, his eye caught a glimmer of light from the table. He saw her ring sitting on the table, atop a piece of paper. Instantly, he was furious. She’d left him. He felt it. She’d told him she loved him, and yet, still she’d walked out on him. He’d drag her back, no matter where she’d gone.

She wasn’t going to make a fool of him and leave him alone and vulnerable. She’d lied to him. He was sure she had taken all she could get her greedy hands on in the process of leaving. This whole time, she’d just played him.

He slowly picked up the paper and looked blankly down at it, not wanting to know what she’d written, but unable to stop himself from reading.

Lucas,

I love you so much more than words could ever say. I know that wasn’t part of our arrangement, but I couldn’t help it. I thought I could do this still, even knowing you can’t ever love me, but I can’t. I can’t stand by while you act so cold, and I can no longer live here, while you’re leaving me to be in the arms of another woman. I know you love our child, and I won’t try to keep her from you, but I have to get away for the sake of my own health. I’ll contact you after the baby is born, and we can arrange something then. I’ll return the car just as soon as I can get things worked out. I hope you find whatever it is that you’re looking for.

Amy

He read the note about ten times, not understanding what was going on. He wasn’t cheating on her. Why would she think he was? He went from anger to confusion in the space of a heartbeat.

He calmed down and re-read the note. He needed to find out what was going on and not just jump to conclusions.

He slowly walked down the stairs, almost as if he was in a trance. He walked into the kitchen where Rosa was cooking. “Hello, Mr. Anderson. You’re home early,” she said, as if nothing was wrong. This attitude made his temper come to the forefront again.

“Have you seen my wife?” he asked with a bite to his voice. She turned toward him, with her brows puckered. “She left a while ago,” she said, perplexed, as if he should know this.

That was when he’d shouted at her, demanding to know where Amy was. He’d immediately felt bad and calmed himself down.

“I apologize, Rosa. It’s just that Amy’s gone, and all I have is this note,” he said as he thrust the note in front of her.

She scanned the piece of paper, and then her breath hitched as she re-read it. She looked at Lucas with suspicion on her face. He knew Amy had become friends with Rosa and the two of them spent a lot of time together.

“I didn’t cheat on my wife,” he said. He didn’t need to explain anything to her, but he didn’t like the censure he saw in her eyes. She immediately looked down, as if she knew she’d been glaring at her boss.

“It’s not my business,” she said.

“Can you tell me where Amy has been today?” he asked.

“Didn’t you see her, Mr. Anderson? I packed her a lunch, and she was bringing it into your office. She said she wanted to surprise you with a romantic lunch because you’ve had to work so late every night. She was very excited when she left. She came home much sooner than I expected she would, but I assumed she’d just forgotten something, because she was only here for about fifteen minutes, and then she rushed back out the door without saying another word.”

Lucas suddenly sank down into the chair next to him. His legs wouldn’t support him any longer. “No,” he cried out with such devastation in his voice that Rosa put her hand on his shoulder.

He knew Amy must’ve come by the office when Laura was in there. If she’d been there at the wrong moment, it might have looked like he was having an affair. He slowly got to his feet. “I have to make some phone calls,” he said as he walked out of the room.

An hour later, he again cupped his head in his hands. He’d spoken with his security guards and found out that, yes, she’d been there at noon and had left within five minutes. She’d been there only minutes before they’d escorted his unwanted visitor out.

So she thought he was having an affair. It seemed to him that her not trusting him was a little convenient. Why had she not marched in and asked what he was doing? He assumed she was thinking she’d found him in the arms of another woman so she could get past the prenuptial agreement and take him for all he had.

She thought wrong.

He called up the banks to find out how much she’d taken. After another half hour, he hung up the phone and once again felt shame. She’d taken nothing. He’d put a trace on all the credit cards to find out where they’d been used and found she’d not used any of them.

Not only had she not used any of them today, but she hadn’t used them once since his mother and she had furnished the house. There were zero purchases. Why had he not paid attention to any of that? He never noticed she hadn’t been out shopping or gone anywhere, for that matter.

He wandered into their bedroom, feeling an aching need for her to be there. He liked going baby shopping with her. She was so excited about each new purchase. He thought back over those trips and how they’d pass through the malls, and she never even looked at the jewelry stores or the many fashion boutiques.

He looked into the small jewelry box his mother had given to Amy and noticed the few pieces he’d picked up for her were still in there. She’d taken nothing but a few clothes and the car, which she said she’d return.

The car!

He was suddenly jumping to his feet and running back into the office. He’d been feeling hopeless about how to possibly find her, since she wasn’t using the credit cards, when he realized there was tracking on the vehicle. He always added it on in case of theft or an accident.

Within moments, he had the vehicle located. He glanced at his watch. It was eight in the evening. He called his pilot and told him to get the jet ready. They’d be heading to Eugene within the hour.

Lucas jumped in his car and dialed his father as he drove toward the Seattle airport. Joseph listened as Lucas explained everything that had happened.

“Get her back, Son. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” his father said.

“I’ve been so stubborn and stupid, Dad. I love her, but was afraid if I gave her my heart, she’d have everything. I finally realize it doesn’t even matter, because without her in my life, I have nothing anyway,” he said, his voice choking.

His dad gave him a moment to compose himself and then let him know he and his mother would be there for him if he needed anything.

“Thanks for everything, Dad. I’ll be home soon,” Lucas promised before hanging up.

He felt a little better after talking with his father. He knew how much his parents loved Amy. He couldn’t have a single conversation with them without hearing them praising her for one thing or another. Amy could often be found at their house during the day, working on something for the baby.

Amy and his mother had finished the nursery together. They’d sewn curtains and made beautiful stencil designs on the walls. He’d asked one day why she didn’t just go buy the items, and she’d looked at him like he was a child. “It means so much more when they come from the heart. When our child grows up, she’ll know that her grandma and mom loved her so much they wanted to make her first room the best place ever,” she told him.

Lucas reached the airport and was in the air within thirty minutes. “The flight will only take about forty minutes, Mr. Anderson,” came the pilot’s voice over the intercom. His attendant brought him a much-needed drink once they were airborne.

He arranged for transportation to his wife’s location to be waiting for him the minute he landed. He stepped off the jet and into a waiting town car. He gave the driver the address and was horrified when he reached the hotel where she was staying.

He knew she was there because her car was sitting out front, looking completely out of place.

“Would you like for me to wait?” the driver asked.

Lucas handed him several bills. “No, thanks. I have other transportation,” he said as he walked to the front doors.

The clerk behind the filthy counter looked Lucas up and down in awe. “You looking for a room?” he asked, looking past him. Lucas figured the man was looking for the cheap hooker he assumed Lucas had with him. Lucas wasn’t full of himself, but he also knew the guy didn’t get clients like him there — ever.

“My wife checked in here earlier today. I need to know which room she’s in. She’ll be checking out,” Lucas said with authority.

“I can’t give out information about my customers,” the man’s voice shook, as he didn’t quite meet Lucas’s eyes.

Lucas was ready to grab the weasel of a man by the shirt and throw him against a wall, but he knew if he remained calm he’d get his way more easily.

Lucas placed a hundred-dollar bill on the counter, and he saw the little man practically drool. “Amy Anderson’s room, please,” was all he said as he kept his fingers on the bill.

“She’s in room twelve,” the man said without any further argument. He handed Lucas the key and snatched the bill off the counter before the rich man could change his mind. Without another word, Lucas walked out and didn’t stop until he reached door twelve.

He stood listening and heard nothing, so he inserted the key, and the knob turned easily. He started to push the door open when a chain halted him. He peeked through the crack and saw her lying on the bed, shivering in her sleep, curled into herself with her hand protectively over her stomach.

Lucas pulled the door back toward him a few inches. Then he gave it a quick shove and the chain snapped without much effort. He was aghast at the lack of security in the building. Amy didn’t even wake as he stepped into the room.

The smell of the place was enough to turn his stomach. He needed to get her out of there fast before there was any lasting damage to her and their child.

He sat on the side of the bed and gently shook her. With a gasp of alarm, Amy jerked awake and sat up, her eyes round with terror.

“Oh, thank goodness it’s only you, Lucas,” she said as her breathing slowed back down. Considering the area of town she was in, as well as the sleazy man at the front desk, he understood her uneasiness.

Once her initial fright was over, she realized where she was, and that he was there with her. She looked at him with worry in her eyes.

“How did you get in here? How did you know where I was?”

“There’s tracking on your car, Amy, and before you start shouting about me spying on you, there’s tracking on all our vehicles. It’s a safety precaution in case any of them are stolen.” He held up his hand as he tried to delay the fight. “I know you have a lot to say about what you think has happened, but I’m really uncomfortable with having you and my child in this flophouse. I’ve reserved a suite at the Valley River Inn, only a few miles from here. Let’s head over there, get some food, and have our talk,” he said with his usual calm, commanding voice.

He didn’t wait for Amy to say anything. He just gathered her things, which were pretty minimal, considering nothing was unpacked. He walked her bag out the still-open door and placed it in her car.

When Amy still hadn’t said anything or budged, he walked into the room, scooped her up in his arms as if she weighed nothing, and gently deposited her in the front passenger seat of the car. He placed a couple of more hundred-dollar bills on the nightstand with a note that said “For the lock,” and then he quickly pulled out of the slum motel’s parking lot.

Lucas programmed the hotel address into his GPS and was at the Valley River Inn within ten minutes. There was hardly any traffic that night, making it quick and easy. Amy said nothing on the drive over. She sat in the passenger seat with her head turned away and her arms crossed.