Sadie
MONDAY MORNING, I awoke to the shrill peal of my cell phone. I’d kept the sound on in case Ryder called and it would appear four a.m. was the earliest he could. Probably a good thing, considering I’d been awake until past midnight worrying. “Hello,” I rasped, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
“Hey, baby,” Ryder said. “Just landed.”
He sounded wrecked.
“Flight go okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. Can’t talk, though. We’re heading straight to Scottie.”
“Okay, honey. I’ll keep praying.”
“Thanks. I’ll call when I can.”
“Okay.”
“You okay?” he asked.
I smiled. Even when he needed to go, he was taking time to make sure I was good. “Yep. Just sleepy.”
“Go back to sleep. I’ll call soon.”
I nodded. “Okay. Stay safe.”
“I will, baby.”
He hung up and I took a few minutes to pray for him and Scottie before succumbing to sleep again.
* * *
Ryder
Ryder followed Cameron through the Savannah airport and into a taxi waiting at the curb. Cameron gave the driver the address and Ryder pulled a bottle of water out of his bag, taking a swig. “How far’s the place?”
“Not far,” Cameron said as he studied his phone. “Dalton’s meeting us there.”
“You’re sure she’s there.”
“As sure as I can be.”
Ryder didn’t respond. There was nothing he could say. Cameron couldn’t control whether or not Scottie had been, or might be moved between the time he’d found out her location up till now. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans, attempting to keep his worry buried.
The taxi pulled up to a nondescript building in a rundown area Ryder assumed was on the outskirts of Savannah, and after Cameron paid, they climbed out and headed inside. The cavernous room was dark and empty, and for all intents and purposes, appeared to be abandoned. Ryder followed Cameron toward the back where Cameron paused long enough to enter a code into a panel hidden behind a brick facade. A hidden door popped open and Cameron glanced at Ryder. “This way.”
Ryder followed him down a long hallway where, after Cameron entered another code into another panel, they were admitted into a room that looked like an FBI war room.
A man about Ryder’s age walked toward them. “Cam, you made it.” His southern accent, along with his voice, was deep.
“Hey, Dalt.” Cameron shook his hand. “Dalton Moore, Ryder Carsen.”
Ryder shook the man’s hand, forcing down the desire to demand to see his sister. He knew there were protocols. Knew he had to be patient... even if he didn’t like it.
“So, we’ve got a lock on your sister, and we’ll get her out, but we’ve hit a snag. There are about ten other young women with her, so we don’t want to barge in guns blazing until we know we can get them out safely.”
“Damn,” Ryder breathed out. “You’re sure she’s in there?”
“Yeah, man. Visual confirmation.”
Well, that was something at least. Ryder dropped his bag on the ground and paced the room while Dalton’s team of six men and one woman did whatever the hell they did.
Cameron stood in the corner with Dalton and studied a computer screen as Ryder walked from one end of the room to the other like an idiot unable to help. He was completely impotent and it pissed him off. His phone buzzed and he glanced at the screen, his mood lifting to see a text from Sadie.
Hey, honey. Woke up suddenly. Hope you’re okay. Remember, you got this. I believe in you, so does Scottie. Be at peace, sweetheart.
Ryder closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking her words to heart. Beautiful didn’t begin to describe her and he smiled inside at her sweetness.
“Ryder?” Cameron called.
“Yeah.”
“Ready?” he asked.
Ryder nodded.
“We’re driving, but getting out a block away,” Cameron informed him.
“Okay.”
“You’ll stay in the car,” Dalton ordered, before leading them around the corner then through a battered wooden door.
“Hell no.”
“He’ll hang back,” Cameron argued. “Won’t you, Ride?”
Ryder scowled, but gave a nod. He agreed somewhat loosely. If anyone came between him and getting his sister to safety, he would not hesitate to put them down. He fisted and unfisted his hands as he followed the men into the black SUV. He desperately wanted to hit something... or someone, but he was stuck for the moment. They drove in tense silence for less than five minutes, pulling behind a brick building, the area around it vacant.
“Stay with the vehicle,” Dalton ordered, as they climbed out of the SUV. Before Ryder could so much as argue, Dalton led his team around the corner, disappearing from view.
Gunfire came from within the building. Unarmed, Ryder wasn’t sure what he could do, but he had to do something. Damn it! He needed to find Scottie. What if his sister became collateral damage? What if she was shot in the fray?
Screw it, he was goin’ in. Hugging the house, he slid through the ratty screen door, nearly tripping over a body. Bending down, he checked for a pulse. Nothing. He was relieved that the dead man wasn’t one of Cameron or Dalton’s men, so that was at least one less threat. Lucky for him, the shithead had a gun. Ryder took it and crept toward the dark hallway. It was eerily quiet between rounds of gunfire coming from deeper within the house. He could hear creaking from above him, along with scuffling of feet and a din of men yelling between gunfire.
Ryder inched along the hallway, circumventing trash (including needles and food) on the ground. He stalled when he heard female voices on the other side of the wall. He stopped in front of a door that was slightly ajar and gripped his gun tighter. Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob, planted his feet, and aimed into the room.
“I can’t move, Molly, I think my leg is broken. But as soon as you can, go.”
“No, Scottie, I won’t leave you,” a young voice argued.
“You have to. You have to get help.”
Glancing inside, he observed a window barred by iron allowed a little light into the room, but not much. A scream bounced off the walls and he stepped further into the room.
“Shhh,” Scottie hissed. “Molly, quit screaming. Please.”
“Scottie, it’s me,” he said.
A whimper and another “shhh” from Scottie.
“Scottie?” he said again, heading to what he assumed was a closet door. “It’s me.”
“Ryder?”
“Yeah, honey. Come out.” He reached for his phone, engaging the flashlight and sweeping it around the room before pulling open the closet door. The light fell on his sister, and he swore. Her face was so swollen, had he not heard her voice, he might not have known it was her.
With a groan of pain, his sister burst into tears and reached for him. He fell to his knees and pulled her into his arms. “You came for me,” she sobbed.
He stroked her hair. “Baby girl, of course I came for you.”
“I thought you hated me.”
“Never. I could never hate you, honey.”
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I was stupid. I should have listened to you.”
“I forgive you, baby girl. I’ve got you.”
She continued to sob, and Ryder pulled her close. “We need to get you out of here, sissy. I need you to pull yourself together for a minute. Can your friend walk?”
“Molly, her name’s Molly.”
Ryder nodded. “Molly, can you walk?”
“Yes,” the little girl rasped.
“I can’t, Ride,” Scottie said.
He took a deep breath, shoving his rage deep inside. It wouldn’t help them right now. He needed to get her out of there and to the hospital. “Your leg is broken?”
“Feels like it,” she said.
“How many people are here?” Ryder asked. “Do you know?”
“Usually there are three or four,” Scottie said.
“Okay, honey, I’m gonna lift you. Then we’re getting the hell out of here. Molly, you need to keep up.”
Ryder lifted Scottie easily in his arms, an indication she’d lost weight, which pissed him off even more as he moved as quietly as possible back the way he came. Molly’s tiny hand gripped his jeans and he felt her hold on as he tugged her with them.
The gunfire had stopped for the moment and they made it out of the house without further incident. Walking quickly out to the front of the house and to where the cars were waiting, he got the girls to safety.
“I’m going to be sick,” Scottie warned, and Ryder set her down and held her hair back.
“Ryder!” Cameron bellowed.
“Here,” he called back. “I’ve got Scottie and another girl.”
As Cameron and Dalton approached, Ryder heard Dalton let out a series of curses and then give Cameron a blistering about his “buddy” and his issues with boundaries.
Cameron talked Dalton down and Ryder focused back on his sister. He held onto his anger as they loaded the girls (thirteen in total) into ambulances. He rode with Scottie and Molly (barely eleven years old) while Dalton and Cameron debriefed the local law enforcement. He held onto his anger while his sister whimpered in pain as she was poked and prodded by the doctors, and he held onto it when he was informed that not only was her leg broken, she had a fractured eye socket and three ribs that had been broken days ago and not treated.
Without warning, one of the nurses made an urgent call for a doctor while another stepped in front of him. “Sir, we need to take your sister into surgery.”
“What’s going on?”
“As soon as I know anything, I will come and find you. A nurse will bring you some forms to sign,” she said, gently. “Please. Let us help your sister.”
He was shoved out of the room and left to pace the hallway alone.
* * *
He’d been in the waiting room for almost an hour when his phone rang and he answered without looking at the screen. “Ryder.”
“Hey,” Sadie said. “I’m sorry, are you in the middle of stuff?”
Ryder let out a deep breath. “No, baby. It’s over. We found her.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so glad. Are you bringing her home?”
“Not right now. She’s in surgery.”
Sadie gasped. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, they shoved me out of the room and took her into surgery.”
“What do the doctors say?”
“I don’t know, Sadie. I’m waitin’ for them to find me.”
She sighed. “Sorry, honey.”
“Mr. Carsen?”
Ryder glanced up to see a nurse standing at the edge of the waiting room. “Sadie, I need to go.”
“Right. Of course. I’ll check in with you later.”
“Thanks, baby.” He hung up and rose to his feet. “I’m Ryder Carsen.”
The nurse smiled. “The doctor asked me to update you. Scarlett has hemorrhaged after a miscarriage, but surgery is going very well and the doctor is confident there won’t be any permanent damage.”
“She was pregnant?”
“Yes. About six weeks along.”
He crossed his arms in an effort not to hit the wall. “Shit.”
“We’re going to take really good care of her.” The nurse squeezed his arm. “I’ll come and get you when she’s in recovery.”
She walked away and Ryder settled himself into a waiting room chair. It was gonna be a long wait.
* * *
Sadie
I hung up and flopped back onto my mattress, messing up the bed I’d just made, but I didn’t care. I didn’t like the way Ryder sounded. Defeated. Angry. Sad. I didn’t have time to dwell on the phone call though, because my doorbell rang. I checked the peephole. Reese stood on the doorstep, waiting. I pulled the door open. “Hi, Reese.”
“Hey, Sadie.”
“I need to go to the airport.”
“Come again?” he asked, walking inside.
“Ryder found Scottie, but she’s in surgery, so I think it’s bad. I think he’s going to be stuck in Savannah for longer than expected.”
“Babe, I don’t know that that’s a good idea.”
I shrugged. “I don’t care.”
“When’s the flight?” he asked.
“I haven’t booked one yet.”
“You’re tellin’ me you’re goin’ but you haven’t booked a ticket.”
“No, but I will.”
“Sadie, you can’t go to Savannah.”
“I’m going, Reese. I’m a grown woman and you don’t get to make that call.” Reese swore, looking ready for a tirade, but I held my hand up. “You’re not going to scare me off this road with your gruff facade, buddy.”
“Damn it, Sadie, if I let you go to Savannah, Ryder’ll lose his shit.”
“No he won’t.” I crossed my arms. “He found Scottie, so the dangerous part is over. His sister’s really hurt, Reese. He needs a friend.”
“Cam’s there.”
“He needs me.”
Reese dropped his head back and stared at the ceiling. I was pretty sure he muttered the F-word a few times to the sky, but I chose to ignore that fact and headed to my room to pack. I heard him talking on the phone as I grabbed a bag from my closet and threw it on the bed, then I stepped to my doorway and called, “Don’t you dare tattle on me, Reese!”
He swore again and then my front door opened and closed and I was left to my own devices. Instead of packing, I opened my laptop and searched for a flight. No matter how big and frightening Reese was, if I had a ticket in hand, he couldn’t object.
I started calling random airlines until I found one that had a flight.
Fifteen minutes later, I had the last seat (in first class which was going to put a dent in my savings but was worth it) on the red-eye out of Portland.
My front door opened again and Reese’s heavy footsteps clomped down the hallway. “You decent?” he called.
“Yes, of course I’m decent,” I called back.
He stepped into the room and handed me his phone. “It’s Ryder.”
“Really, Reese? You tattled? Of course you tattled. What are you, like six?” I snapped.
Reese shook his head and left the room, but I didn’t miss his slight smile.
“Hey, honey.”
“What’s this about wanting to come to Savannah?” Ryder asked.
“I don’t want to come. I am coming. I arrive in the morning.”
“You got a flight?” he asked, surprised.
“Yes. It was the last seat on the plane.” I bit my lip. “I really want to be there with you, Ryder. If you don’t want me, I’ll cancel it, but it was really expensive, and I think I’m past the refund point, so…”
I heard him sigh. “Baby,” he whispered.
I blinked back tears as my heart broke a little. He didn’t need me. I was useless to him. “It’s okay. I’ll cancel the flight.”
“No, don’t,” he rushed to say. “God, Sadie, you have no idea how much I need you right now, but I don’t want you to feel pressured into coming. You sure you’re okay with being here for this? It’s not a good situation.”
“Yes, of course I’m okay with coming.” I forced myself not to do a happy dance. “I can see this might take some time for you to really get, but I’m here for you, honey. In the good times and especially in the bad.”
“You’re amazing.”
In that moment, as I heard the relief in his voice, I knew I was in love with him. “I don’t know about that, but I’m happy for you to think it.”
He chuckled quietly. “Text me your flight info and I’ll pick you up.”
“No, I want you to focus on your sister. I’ll grab a cab to the hospital.”
“Not up for discussion, Sadie.”
“Your sister needs you.”
“And I need you, so I’m picking you up.”
I sighed. “Okay. But if something happens and she needs you more, text me and I’ll take a cab.”
“Sure,” he said, unconvincingly.
“I have a while until I have to be at the airport, so if you need anything, let me know, okay?”
“Yeah.” I heard relief in his voice as he added, “Sadie?”
“Hmm?”
“Thanks, honey. You have no idea...”
I laid my hand on my chest to calm my heart. “I think I do.”
“I hope so.”
“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“’Bye, baby.”
He hung up and I took a minute to revel in my brilliant plan.
“You done?” Reese asked.
I jumped at Reese’s question. “Um, yes.” I handed him his phone. “I’m not happy you went behind my back, just so you know.”
“Don’t much care,” he retorted.
“I’m picking up on that,” I grumbled.
“Look, Sadie, I’m not tryin’ to be a dick, but Ryder and I are tight. You, I don’t know, so if he wants you to stay put, you’re gonna stay put.”
“To clarify, you’d kidnap me?”
He swore again and the leveled me with a stare. “No, I would not kidnap you, Sadie, but I might hack into the airline’s ticketing system and cancel your ticket.”
I gasped. “You wouldn’t!”
“If Ryder wanted you to stay put, I would.”
“Well, FYI, he doesn’t want me to stay put.”
“Yeah, he told me.”
“Right.” I squared my shoulders in an attempt to brush off his coldness. “Well, I need to pack, then clean, then catch a cab, so for now, you’re off duty.”
He shook his head. “I’m taking you to the airport.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Yeah, I actually do.
“You must have stuff to do between now and ten tonight.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna grab some lunch.”
My stomach rumbled and I covered it with my hand.
Reese raised an eyebrow. “You want me to pick you up something?”
“Where are you going?”
“Probably Chinese.”
I swallowed. Wow, that sounded so good. “Would you mind?”
“Not a problem, Sadie. What do you want?”
I led him back out to the kitchen where I grabbed paper and a pen and jotted down my order. I tried to give him money, but he refused it and walked out the door.
Relief covered me when he left. I liked Reese, sort of, but he put me on edge. I knew he was wholly loyal to Ryder, so I didn’t feel unsafe, but I also didn’t like feeling as if I were being monitored. His whole “report back to Ryder” thing needed to stop. Better yet, Ryder’s need to have him watch me needed to stop. As soon as Scottie was home safe, I planned to have a conversation with Ryder and sort it out.
Reese drove me to the airport two hours before my flight. I’d never been on a plane, and even though I watched a lot of movies and television, I still didn’t really know what I was doing. I wanted all the time I could get to figure things out.
“You got your boarding pass?” Reese asked as he drove.
“I have it on my phone. I hope.”
“You didn’t check?”
“Yes, I checked, but since I’ve never done this before, I am leaving room for my ineptitude,” I snapped, sarcastically. Good lord, he seemed to forget I was a relatively intelligent grown woman.
“Babe,” Reese ground out and then grumbled something else under his breath and I was glad I didn’t know exactly what he said. My stomach churned and I felt suddenly like an errant child at his disapproval. I had begun to despise “babe” when said by Reese (and Ryder, for that matter), because it was usually said with an irritating tone, and said to admonish rather than endear.
Reese drove into the short term parking and I frowned. “I thought you were dropping me at the curb.”
“Sadie, you don’t know what the hell you’re doin’.”
“I’m sure I can figure it out,” I snapped.
He took a deep breath and I noticed his jaw lock briefly. “I’ll walk you in, make sure you make it through security, then we’ll be all good.”
“I’m not a child, Reese!”
“I’m aware, Sadie, but you are Ryder’s woman and he’s asked me to make sure you’re safe.”
“Have you ever considered you don’t get paid enough to babysit me this closely?”
“Every moment of every frickin’ day.”
(He didn’t say ‘frickin’’... he used his standard F-bomb)
I crossed my arms and stared out the window as we maneuvered the parking lot.
After we parked, Reese held out his hand. “Phone.”
“I’m sorry?”
“Give me your phone.”
“Please let me see your phone, Sadie,” I directed.
He scowled at me but didn’t adjust his attitude, so I slapped my phone into his hand.
“Do you know what you’re doin’ with this?” he asked.
“I pull up the boarding pass, rub my phone under my arm... three swipes... sneeze on it, then hand it to the flight attendant.”
His lips twitched slightly as he handed the phone back. “You don’t hand it to the flight attendant, Sadie. You have it ready for the security people then hand it to the gate attendant.”
“Got it.”
“You sure?”
“Holy mother of God, Reese, I’m not an idiot!” I let out a frustrated squeak. “I will give Ryder some leeway when it comes to his protectiveness and occasional tendency to be a bully. I know he does it because he cares about me and he’s seen the worst humanity can offer. But you don’t get to do this with me. I will figure this out.”
“Right,” he said, and climbed out of the car, leaving me in my seat without so much as an acknowledgement he’d even heard me.
I stowed my anger, mostly because it was only affecting me at the moment and, after he grabbed my bag, I followed him inside the building.
He walked with me to security. In fact, he walked as far as he could before he had to step out of the line. I chose to ignore him the rest of the way, but I knew he waited until he couldn’t see me anymore... he probably did it just to irritate me. I might find him sweet if he wasn’t such a jerk.
I made it onto the plane without incident and forced myself to forget about Reese and his overbearing nature.