He came over and leaned down to kiss the top of her head, noting that she’d eaten nearly half of the sandwich. The other half was pretty ruined anyway, from where she’d worried at it earlier.
“Good girl,” he told her. “I’ve got to get back out to work.”
She stood and took her plate into the kitchen, placing it on the counter before turning to him. “I wish I could help you. Not that I’m much help when I can’t walk outside the house. I’m a mess, aren’t I?”
“Yep.”
She snorted then laughed. “I can always rely on you to tell it to me straight.”
He winced. He knew he was often too blunt, but it was hard to change the habits of a lifetime.
“Darlin’, anyone would be after what you’ve been through.”
“I’m sorry I’m not easy to be around at the moment.”
She was worried because she wasn’t easy to be around? What the hell?
“Easy to be around?” He looked astonished. “If that’s the criteria for being in this relationship then it’s a wonder Max has lasted this long.”
She rolled her eyes. “Max?”
“Yes, Max. We all know I’m the easy-going one in this relationship.”
She had to laugh. “Yes, Logan. You’re the easy-going one.”
He grinned. “I like hearing you laugh. I like knowing you’re happy, but this relationship isn’t just about the happy times. We can weather the shit times as well.”
He looked up at the clock. “Colin’s going to be here soon.”
“Colin? What’s he doing here?”
“He, Trace, and Gavin are going to take turns either sticking around here or checking up on the stock and fences for me while Max is gone.”
She bit her lip, looking worried. He slid her lip free. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you on your own.”
“I’m not worried about that. I know you’re close by. I just don’t want to stand in the way of you doing what you need to or inconvenience Colin and the others.”
“You’re not inconveniencing anyone. They volunteered. And did you ever think that it’s me who doesn’t want to be apart from you and that’s why I’m sticking around?”
He could see she was skeptical, but it was partly true. He wasn’t quite ready to leave her, and he could only guess how Max was feeling right now.
“Behave.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” There was a spark in her eyes and relief filled him. He felt he had more of an idea of what was going on with her now. He knew what to do next time he needed to know what was going on with her, he’d simply spank her until she came clean.
Yeah, he could be down with doing just that. Sometimes a man had to do what a man had to do.
Chapter Twelve
“Savannah, how do you feel about dogs?”
“What?”
Savannah stared at Molly dumbly. Crap, what had they been talking about? She had to admit she wasn’t paying as much attention to their conversation as she should be. She was just so tired. Every time she closed her eyes at night, she imagined Max in trouble, that he was injured, or needed her.
It had been three days. How was she going to last much longer?
“Dogs?”
“Yes. Specifically, service dogs. I think a service dog could be a great help to you. They can be a big comfort during a panic attack. They can also be trained to find help if needed, or steer you away from things that might trigger an attack.”
“I like dogs. But isn’t there a long wait?”
“There is. But I have a friend who trains them. I could get in touch with her.”
“All right. Thanks.”
She rubbed her temple.
“Headache?” Molly asked sympathetically.
“Yeah. I think I need to take something for it.” She wanted to end the Skype call so she could curl up on the couch and watch something mind-numbing on television. Molly had had a cancelation, so she’d managed to fit her in earlier today than usual.
“You look tired, Savannah. Are you finding it hard to sleep with Max away?”
She didn’t bother to deny it. “I’m so worried about him.”
Molly nodded. “It must be hard, having no idea where he is or if he’s safe. But you need to try to sleep. Have you tried placing some drops of lavender on your pillow?”
She shook her head with a small smile. “No, Logan would love that.”
Molly shrugged. “I’m sure he’d put up with it if it meant it helped you. I don’t think there’s much your men wouldn’t do to ensure you were happy.”
Was that a note of envy she heard in Molly’s voice? She wished she felt close enough to ask the other woman if everything was all right.
“Try chamomile tea. And there are homeopathic sleep aids you can buy. If things get really bad, I can prescribe sleeping pills, but I’d rather avoid that if possible.”
So would Savannah.
“I better go, my next patient, is here.”
Savannah sat back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling.
She closed her eyes as her head tightened with pain. She should take some painkillers. She went to stand, but she paused, staring at the blank computer screen.
She bit her lip. She’d promised Logan she wouldn’t go looking. Wasn’t like she was going to find anything anyway. But she was growing increasingly stressed. Logan was doing his best to ease her worry by distracting her. And that worked when he was around. It was hard to think of anything else while he was making love to her—in pretty much every room of the house.
Still, maybe she’d just have a little look. Logan didn’t need to know. She opened up a browser just as there was a knock at the front door. With a small shriek, she closed the browser, placing her hand on her chest.
Who the hell was that?
She moved to the front door cautiously, her heart racing.
“Savi? It’s Lila.”
Savannah paused at the familiar voice. A wave of relief made her feel light-headed for a moment, and she had to place her hand against the wall of the passage to steady herself.
“Savannah? Are you all right? Knock once for okay, twice if you’re in trouble.”
Savannah had to grin. “I’m fine. I’m coming.” She paused briefly to check herself in the hall mirror. Okay, a bit wan, but she didn’t look terrible. She peeked out the window next to the door to check no one else was with Lila. She’d never take her safety for granted again. After seeing that Lila was alone, Savannah opened the door with a smile.
“Hey, I didn’t know you were coming over.”
Lila smiled back. Her hands were full of mail and a casserole dish. “I came with Trace. He came over to help Logan for a while.”
Guilt filled her as she stepped back and let Lila inside. She shut and locked the door once more. “I hope it’s not a huge inconvenience to help us out. I’ve tried to convince Logan I’ll be fine while he works, but he's even more overprotective now that Max is gone.”
Savannah led the way into the kitchen as she spoke. Lila set the casserole dish down on the counter with a sigh, placing the pile of mail beside it. “More protective? I didn’t think that was possible.”
“Me either,” Savannah said dryly as she put on a fresh pot of coffee.
“I brought you over some lasagna.”
Savannah placed the dish in the fridge. “Thank you.”
“How are you? You look better.”
“Meaning I looked like shit before?” Savannah leaned against the kitchen island.
“No, of course not,” Lila said quickly. Then she grinned. “Well, maybe.”
“Bitch,” Savannah replied fondly. “So you came to check up on me?”
“I miss you.”
Savannah looked away, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Then she forced herself to look back. Lila was her friend. “I’m sorry I haven’t felt like doing anything with you and Laken lately.”
“We understand, Savi. Laken even more than me. She said to give you time but
to keep telling you that we’re here for you. No matter what.” Lila leaned over and squeezed her hand. “She wanted to come over too, but she’d so busy at the shop she hasn’t had time.”
“I’m glad it’s doing so well for her.”
“It is. She needs help but won’t admit it. She’s trying to do everything herself, but I think Duncan’s about to put his foot down.”
Savannah grinned. “Laken’s going to take that well.” Duncan might be Laken’s Dom, but she didn’t appreciate being told what to do outside of play.
“Sparks will fly.” Lila waggled her eyebrows. “So, we’ve got a few hours to kill while Trace helps Logan, how about we find some stupid movie to trash and devour some ice cream?”
“Sure. I hope I’ve got some ice cream.”
Lila placed a hand on her chest, pretending to be shocked. “What? You don’t have ice cream? Say it isn’t so. Don’t you have stock in Ben and Jerry’s? I thought the delivery truck stopped here each week.”
“Oh, shut up, I don’t eat that much ice cream.” She searched through the freezer and found a tub of Chunky Monkey. “Jackpot.”
“Awesome. Just don’t tell Trace. The guys think I eat too much junk food. They’ve banned it from the house.”
Savannah winced. “Bet that’s going well.”
“Oh, it is. So I made them lasagna too. Only I made theirs vegetarian. With lentils.”
Savannah had to laugh. “You didn’t.”
“I’m going to be in trouble when I get home.” Lila winked, not looking worried in the least. And she shouldn’t be. Her men worshipped the ground she walked on.
***
Savannah sorted through the pile of mail as the lasagna heated in the oven. She’d asked Trace and Lila to stay for dinner, but even though Lila seemed to want to stay—probably regretting sneaking those lentils into their lasagna—Trace said he had jobs to return to on their ranch.
Logan was in the office, working his way through some paperwork. It was something Max usually took care of, but Logan said he didn’t want them to get behind.
She frowned as she came across a plain envelope. It had her name written on the front, but no address or postmark. She quickly opened it, her heart racing as a piece of paper slipped out. There was just one word typed in bold on the white paper.
Whore.
“Two husbands. Except they’re not really your husbands, are they? Not legally. Tell me, how many men have you opened these legs for?”
He cupped her mound and squeezed. Oh, God. Oh, God. Nausea bubbled in her stomach as she sobbed.
“Don’t. Don’t.”
She felt so helpless. Where were Max and Logan? Would they find her?
The asshole ran his finger up and down the slit of her pussy.
“No! No!” she screamed.
He just grinned.
“You are beautiful, aren’t you? No wonder men are taken in by you. Little do they know the truth, that you’re nothing more than a filthy whore.”
“Savannah is there any mail . . . Savannah? What’s wrong?”
Logan came up behind her. “Fuck! What the hell is this?” He picked up the piece of paper. “Where did you get this?”
“It was in the mail.” She pointed shakily at the envelope it had come in. “I just opened it. Who-who would send that?”
Logan picked up the envelope, studying it.
“Did he send it? Is it from him?” Her legs went limp, and Logan quickly drew her against him, turning her, so her face was sandwiched against his chest. She could barely breathe he was holding her so tightly, but she didn’t care. She trembled, her heart beating so hard she felt ill.
“There’s no postmark or address. Someone put this directly in our mail box.”
“He’s after me again. He’s been near the house.” Maybe she had seen something the other day. And then there were those phone calls. What if they weren’t prank calls?
“I’ve had phone calls,” she told Logan.
“What?” he barked out. He pulled her back, holding her upper arms in a tight grip. “What do you mean, you’ve had phone calls?”
“I didn’t tell you because I thought they were just wrong numbers.” Now, she wasn’t sure.
“Savannah, what calls? What happened?”
“Nothing. I answered the phone, and no one said anything. There was just silence. I figured it was a wrong number or maybe some kids messing around.”
“You should have told us.”
“I know. There’s something else. I know it’s just my imagination, but . . ”
“What is it?”
She swallowed heavily. “The other day I thought someone was watching me from the bushes on the side of the house.”
“What?” Why was this the first time he’d heard about this? “You saw someone out there?”
“No, I didn’t see anyone. And that’s why I figured it was my imagination and I didn’t say anything. Didn’t want you guys to think I was losing it.”
“That wasn’t your decision to make. You tell us everything, even if you think it’s your imagination. Everything. Understood?”
She nodded.
He looked around worriedly, as though expecting someone to attack at any moment.
“Logan, it was my imagination.”
“Maybe. But I’m going to call Jake. Get him out here to look at this. Savannah. Savannah, look at me.”
She forced herself to meet his gaze, trying to remain calm.
“It’s not him.”
“How do you know?”
“Because there’s no postmark or address. Someone put that envelope in our mailbox. It’s not Stanton. He’s in jail.”
He was. He couldn’t have put the envelope in their mailbox. Relief momentarily flooded her before the anxiety returned. “But if it’s not Stanton who is it?”
“I don’t know. That’s why we’re going to call Jake.”
He took hold of her hand and led her into the study, setting her down in Max’s chair as he called Jake. It was a short conversation before Logan hung up the phone. “He’ll be here in twenty.”
She glanced up at Logan, blanching as she saw pure fury on his face. He fairly vibrated with it. When he saw she was watching, he tried to smile reassuringly. At least that was the look she thought he was aiming for. His eyes retained that unadulterated rage.
He crouched and reached for her hands, engulfing them in his large ones. “Shit, you’re freezing. I’ll get you a blanket.”
“No.” She grabbed hold of him, then realized how desperately she was clinging to him. “I’m all right.”
No, she wasn’t. She wanted to puke, to cry, to scream. But she knew Logan was a hairsbreadth away from losing it, and she had to stay calm.
He watched her carefully. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She attempted a smile but knew she’d failed when his gaze narrowed, and his hands tightened on hers.
“I know.”
“I mean it, Savannah. You’re safe now.”
She wasn’t safe anywhere. Once she’d thought she was but she didn’t think she’d ever feel completely safe again.
Logan ran his hands up and down her legs. “Whoever is doing this, we’ll catch them.”
She wanted to ask how. But she didn’t want him to think she doubted him. Logan felt a lot of guilt over what had happened, over not protecting her even though there was no way he could have prevented what had happened.
“Why would someone do this?” she whispered. Hadn’t she been through enough?
Logan looked away, and she watched as he clenched his jaw, the muscles in his neck working overtime. When he glanced back, she saw that his lips were almost white with tension. “I don’t know, but when I find them, they’re going to pay for scaring you.”
A buzzing noise made her gasp. Then she recognized the noise. “It’s the lasagna.”
“I’ll get it,” Logan said, standing. “Wait here.”
She resisted the urge to
call him back. He was only in the next room. She wasn’t alone. A knock at the front door made her jump, and she couldn’t hold back a small whimper.
Pull it together, Savannah.
She wasn’t alone. Logan was here. No one would hurt her again. She wasn’t going to let that happen.
How would you stop them?
She glanced over at the gun cabinet. There was one thing she could do.
“Savannah? Savannah?” She startled and looked up to find Logan and Jake standing there.
Logan looked furious still. But Jake seemed thoughtful as he studied her then the locked gun cabinet. Damn it, the last thing she needed was the too perceptive sheriff giving her a lecture on taking matters into her own hands. It wasn’t like she intended to go around shooting people, but maybe she’d feel more secure if she knew how to fire a gun. If she’d been carrying when Stanton took her maybe she could have defended herself.
And maybe you would have gotten yourself killed.
That thought brought her up short. She rubbed her forehead. “Sorry, my mind was a hundred miles away.”
“Understandable.” Jake gave her a sympathetic nod. “Why don’t you both show me this note?”
They walked into the kitchen, Savannah coming up last. The smell of cooked lasagna filled the air, but her stomach lurched, making her feel ill.
Jake placed a glove on his hand before he picked up the note and envelope.
“Think you’ll get any prints?” Logan asked. Then he grimaced. “I wasn’t thinking. I touched it.”
“Me too,” Savannah admitted.
“It’s okay. There might be nothing on here. But best to be certain. We’ll need prints from the two of you to eliminate them.” He placed the note and envelope in a clear bag. “You haven’t noticed anyone hanging around? Has anything else happened?”
Logan glanced over at her. “Savi said she’s had a few odd phone calls.”
“They could have just been wrong numbers,” she said hastily. She didn’t want Jake to think she was jumping at shadows. There was something about the sheriff that had always slightly intimidated her. He was so calm and capable. Nothing ever seemed to rattle him. And she had the ridiculous urge to seem strong in front of him.
Saving Savannah (Haven Book 3) Page 14
