18. Kane

“Do you anticipate any issues?”

This was the final hurdle in securing our deal, the final change to make everything watertight and then we would finally be able to move forward with production.

My lawyer, Dennis Troutman, was an elderly man in his late fifties with the most wiry-looking glasses I had ever seen in my life. Many had looked down on me for choosing to work with a man who did most of his work pro bono, but it was that kind of outlook on life that I valued. And I created a fund at his agency that allowed him to take multiple cases at no cost. All he needed to do was call and I would top up the account.

Always helping the little guy.

Dennis pushed those wiry glasses up his slightly bulbous nose and nodded, then he glanced at Martin Sticks, Sawyer’s lawyer, who nodded in agreement.

“We’ve dug deep,” Martin said, glancing between me and Sawyer. “What you’ve chosen is secured and I’ve already begun the filing.”

“Thank goodness,” Sawyer muttered from the couch, where he was reclining nursing an iced drink. “I was beginning to worry we were dead in the water when you found out about the patent infringement.”

“You were never dead in the water,” Dennis assured. “We simply had to take things from a different angle. Given the nature of the medication, we could have gotten away with the original patent and dealt with conflict later.”

“No,” I cut in immediately. “We need to do this right. Once we announce the details of this, every Tom, Dick, and Harry will be trying to get a piece, so we need to make sure everything is watertight.”

“It is.” Dennis smiled at me, wrinkling his nose and pushing his glasses comically high into his bushy eyebrows. “All we need is your signatures.”

“Then the rest will be up to the Government,” Martin added.

“I foresee no problems there,” Sawyer remarked sarcastically, sending me an amused glance.

I rolled my eyes in turn, then accepted Dennis”s pen. “Where do you need it?”

“Just here.” He slid the tablet toward me with several pages highlighted with yellow tabs. I scrawled my signature on each one, switching at the press of a button.

Hurried footsteps on the other side of the door pulled everyone’s attention. After a short knock on the door, Liam entered Sawyer’s office with a light smile. His hair was ruffled in all directions, and there was a glimmer of confusion in his eyes.

“Hey guys, sorry I’m late.” He balanced a light pink box in his hands with the name of a local bakery scrawled on the side.

“If you brought breakfast donuts, we’re already finished,” Sawyer said, accepting the tablet when I passed it to him.

“Donuts? Oh! No, no, this cake belongs to Callie. She left it at my place and it’s supposed to be for her mother’s birthday today, but she’s not here.”

“Yes, she took the morning off,” Sawyer said, glancing at his watch. “But she should be back shortly.”

“Fuck,” Liam murmured. “I tried calling her but she wasn’t answering. I feel bad that she left the cake.”

“Must have had a good reason,” I challenged lightly, meeting Liam’s gaze.

He smirked immediately. “She may have lost a sense or two. I’m just that good.”

“Give it here.” Sawyer stood and held out his hands for the cake. “I’ll put it in the fridge while you put your Charlie down on these documents.”

“Alright.”

Sawyer and Liam swapped places, and Liam began signing immediately, which caused Dennis to rise slightly up in his chair.

“Uh, sir. Don’t you want us to go over anything first?”

“No need,” Liam replied. “I trust these guys.”

It was unexpected, but a warm sensation swelled in my chest when I heard those words. We’d all been separated for so long that I had quietly, painfully assumed that things would never recover. We would remain business acquaintances forever.

Here, Liam was acting like we were in the old days when we were just three idiots with big dreams.

The rest of the meeting ran smoothly and by the time early afternoon rolled around, Dennis and Martin said their goodbyes and left with everything in order.

Sawyer lingered near the drinks cart, pouring another glass of water from a crystal pitcher while Liam sat with one leg bouncing rapidly.

“She’s not back yet,” Liam murmured, glancing over at Sawyer. “Is that normal?”

Leaning against the window, I stared out at the city and basked in the warmth of the sun pouring in through the tinted glass.

“It’s her mother’s birthday,” I pointed out. “Cut her some slack. She probably just lost track of time.”

“I don’t mean it like that.” Liam’s leg continued to bounce. “I just meant that… she left without waking me up this morning. We had such a good night last night but there was something?—”

“What something?” Sawyer cut in immediately.

“We spent some time at the park with Marie and it was all happiness and light, but then she got a text or an email or something.” Liam’s hands twisted together over his knees. “Her mood shifted after that and even though we had fun, it’s weird that she just up and left.”

When I turned around, Sawyer’s phone was already in his hand. He pressed one button and held it to his ear.

“Did you ask her about it?” I asked Liam, walking over to him.

“Of course I did but she was a closed book. I’d wanted to ask her again over breakfast…” Trailing off, he sighed. “It might be nothing but I just can’t shake this strange feeling that something is wrong.”

“She’s not answering her phone.” Irritation bled into Sawyer’s voice and he stared down at his phone, dark brows pulled close together.

A beat of silence passed between us where the same thought echoed around like sonar.

Was something wrong with Callie?

“Do you know what facility her mother stays at?”

“Yes,” Sawyer answered immediately.

——

The building looked quite cozy when we arrived forty minutes later. Calle still wasn’t answering her phone and we had left Crane Enterprises with another assistant under strict instructions to call Sawyer the moment Callie arrived.

Logically, I knew her phone could have died, or there could have been a hundred reasons why she was late and ignoring calls. None of that shifted the sour worry in my thoughts.

“Excuse me.” Liam reached the desk first and faced down with a perky young woman who looked rather alarmed to be faced with three tall men.

“Can I help you?”

“Yes, we’re looking for Callie Everheart and her mother.”

“Everheart…” The woman turned to her computer. “Are they staying with us?”

“Her mother, Sarah Everheart, is a patient here,” Sawyer said.

“You know her mother’s name?” I asked him quietly.

Sawyer sent me a glance. “I know everything about her.”

Not everything, I thought quietly. If he did, trying to find her wouldn’t be this hard.

“I’m sorry,” the woman said, glancing up at Liam. “I’m not finding anything on the system for an Everheart. Are you sure you’re in the right place?”

Both Liam and I glanced pointedly at Sawyer, who stepped forward. “Positive. I sent flowers here last year.”

“Everheart?” Another woman, much older and more stressed-looking than the first, appeared from the back office. “She doesn’t reside here anymore.”

“What?” Sawyer straightened up like a bolt. “What do you mean?”

“She was moved to a different facility at the request of Callie’s husband.”

Husband?!

An uneasy silence filled the car as we drove to the new facility”s address. Callie still wasn’t answering her phone, and our desire to get in contact with her was growing urgent.

“Did she ever mention a..?” I asked softly from the back seat.

“No,” Sawyer replied tightly, his knuckles white on the steering wheel. “Not a word.”

“Me neither.” Liam slouched in the front passenger seat and tossed his head back and forth. “I never saw a ring, either.”

Callie was married.

Wasn’t that just a fucked up turn of events? I wouldn’t pretend to understand her motivations, and it didn’t change the enjoyment I felt spending time with her but she had told me that she belonged to no one.

I hoped it was an unhappy marriage. But if it was, then why did he have the power to move her mother?

The new facility was incredible, and the security was infinitely tighter. None of us were willing to name-drop, and since we weren’t allowed in, we had to guess whether or not Callie was even here.

“This place looks fucking expensive,” Liam said with a low whistle.

Indeed, it did. It was far more than Callie could afford, I knew that much. A place like this was for people who had oceans of cash, and Callie definitely didn’t.

“What now?” I asked, leaning forward. “Do we go back to the office and see if she is there?”

A weak plan, but we were out of ideas.

Or so I thought.

“She has a best friend,” Sawyer said, starting to drive again. “Bianca. She tells that girl everything. Can you call her?”

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that?” Liam snorts.

“My phone. Her number is in there.”

“You have the number of her best friend?” I asked, eyes wide.

“You don’t?” Sawyer met my gaze in the wing mirror, his eyes slightly challenging.

Touche.

“Hi, hello, I’m sorry,” Liam said into the phone. “You don’t know me but my name is Liam Hall. I’m trying to get in touch with Callie Everheart, and I have it on good authority that you’re her best friend? She didn’t turn up for work and she isn’t answering her phone. We’re pretty worried.”

Liam fell silent as the voice on the other end buzzed, then he made several listening noises. Sawyer slowed the car down at a junction and we waited to see if Bianca had anything that could help us.

“That’s amazing,” Liam finally said. “Thank you so much.”

“Well?” Sawyer barked.

“Dude, let me hang up the damn phone.” Liam tossed the mobile back to Sawyer. “Bianca says there’s a cafe Callie likes to go to when she’s feeling low. It’s the only place she can think of that Callie would go if she’s skipping work.”

“Did she say anything else?” I asked, settling back in my seat as Liam entered the cafe’s address into the GPS.

“Only that she knew who I was and wasn’t going to ask how I got her number. Which, by the way, how did you get her number?” Liam eyed Sawyer.

After a beat of silence, he answered. “Emergency contact.”

“I’m sure that’s a violation.” I snorted in amusement.

“I don’t care.” Sawyer’s voice tightened. “As soon as you suggested something was wrong with her, I took all necessary steps to ensure that we would have the best chance of finding her.”

“Also you sent flowers to her mom last year?” Liam drives his elbow lightly into Sawyer’s ribs. “Just how long were you smitten with this girl?”

“You’ve known her for five minutes,” Sawyer snapped. “And look how quickly you fell for her. Both of you. Do you really have to ask?”

He had a point. There was some gravitational pull around Callie that made it impossible to stay away. So impossible that I broke all my usual habits and fucked her in the bathroom of a club. I’m usually a wine, dine and fuck on silks kind of guy.

The quaint little cafe was tucked just off an alley and very much out of the way of everything else. Regular foot traffic was minimal and I was certain I’d walked past here several times and never noticed the place. It was quiet and soft, with light green cloth over the tables and daisies dotted around in flower pots.

More flowers hung from the ceiling, and the floral scent, which mingled with the scent of baking and coffee, made me feel as if we’d teleported miles away from New York City. We were somewhere else, somewhere soft and quiet.

I could see why Callie came here if she wasn’t feeling great. Despite the calmness, every table was filled with someone. People with their heads together whispering quietly or writing their life stories on laptops with headphones drowning out even the most peaceful of noises.

We spotted Callie immediately. She was hunched over her table away at the back, absently stirring the drink in front of her. Judging by the stains around the edge of the cooled drink, she had barely touched it.

“Callie,” Liam said as we reached her.

Her head snapped up. Her brown hair spilled over her shoulder like silk as her eyes widened and her lips parted.

“What..?”

“Come with me, Callie,” Sawyer said, his tone clear.

That was not a request.