by Natalie Ann
“Screw you,” I muttered to him. “I’m coming, Alice.”
I hustled down the hall and to the reception area where Whitney Arenas stood and then threw herself into my arms. I was so taken aback that I didn’t even know what to do as I stared down at the little girl in the stroller who was throwing a fit.
“I finally found you! I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Trevor.” She stared up at me, and tears began to crowd her eyes. I pushed her back to arm’s length. “I need to speak with you,” she continued.
“You’re not dying, are you?” Alice asked quietly, and I gave her a what-the-fuck look. She slowly sat down, and I spun my head around to see if Davina was watching this shitshow.
“Come on, let’s go inside the conference room,” I said to Whitney, and she grabbed the stroller and went quickly into the conference room I pointed out. I had just closed the door when I turned to her, and she opened her mouth to speak.
I put my hand up to stop her. “Before you say anything, is that my daughter?” I pointed at the little girl staring at me.
Whitney looked suddenly constipated. “What? Don’t flatter yourself, Trevor. I got back together with Wayne after we went out that one time. God, how could you even think that?”
I could not tell her how relieved I was to hear that. “Okay, then why the hell have you been looking for me?”
“It’s Wayne.”
“What about him?”
“He’s been missing for three weeks. The company won’t tell me anything. They said he’s just deep on a mission right now, and he’ll be back soon, but I know something is wrong, Trevor. I know it deep in my gut.”
And that was all she had to say. “Who does Wayne work for?”
“Protag.”
“Shit,” I muttered. Jake had just been filling us in on the problem. “Hold on, I need to go get Jake.”
She grabbed my arm. “Trevor, you have to help me find him.”
“We’ll do what we can, Whit.” I turned for the door, stopping cold when I saw Alice staring down at the floor where Devon was sitting. “Where is Davina?”
“She left,” she said as she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. She jutted her chin out toward the room behind me. “Is she dying?”
“No, Alice! When did Davina leave?”
“About thirty seconds after you went into the conference room.”
“Shit!” I stared at the door, and as much as I wanted to chase after her, I knew that I had more pressing matters. “Look, I need you to watch Devon.”
“What’s going on?”
“Tell Jake to get to the conference room ASAP.” I turned and went back inside to find Whitney giving her daughter a juice box.
A moment later, Jake stopped at the door, glaring down at the kid. “Are we running a fucking daycare now?”
“Shut up, Jake, and get in here.”
He came in, followed by Harvey and Greg, and they all stood near the door staring between me and the kid.
“It’s not mine, okay? This is Whitney Arenas, and she’s married to Wayne who works for Protag. He’s one of the guys missing.”
“You knew about it?” Whit asked as she stood up like a jack-in-the-box.
“Aw, fuck,” Jake growled.
“Fuck, fuck,” the little girl echoed, and Whit glared at Jake.
“Do you mind watching your mouth, please.” Whitney growled at him. “Tabitha, that’s not a nice word. How about truck?”
She went back to her juice box as the men took seats around the table.
“Tell us what you know,” Jake said.
“Not much, they won’t tell me anything. They won’t even admit that he’s missing.”
“Are you serious?” Greg asked. “We’ve known about it for a week.”
“How did you all hear?” Whitney asked as she slipped into a chair on the far side.
“Just through the grapevine,” Harvey answered her. “I can’t believe they didn’t tell you. Dirtbags, that’s low.”
“Do you think you can help?”
Jake and I glanced at one another. “Strangely enough, we were just working on a plan for it. They reached out to us today to ask for our assistance. We plan on sending guys over very soon to see if we can find them and bring them home.”
She put her hands flat on the table. “Please! Bring him home.”
As we sat there, the conference door opened, and Alex walked in on the phone, glancing at the stroller, then me. Why does everyone think it’s mine? He hung up as he took a seat.
“What are you doing back? I thought you were still away on your honeymoon,” I asked him.
“Jake called, told me what was up. We came home early,” he replied. “And I just called Lexi; she’s on her way here to get Devon for you.”
“Thanks,” I muttered as I closed my eyes. So much for the plans that I’d had for today.
Man, if these guys were so quick to judge me on this little girl being mine, what had Davina thought? Jesus, I rubbed the bridge of my nose with two fingers. It was going to have to wait.
Whitney went on to tell everyone what she knew about Wayne’s trip. The last time she’d heard from him, the places he’d been, and the bullshit that the company was telling her.
Her daughter started getting agitated again, and I got her number and ushered her out as Lexi breezed in the door. She looked at the woman and the kid, raising a brow at me.
“Don’t even start,” I muttered before I told Whitney we’d be in touch.
Lexi shrugged and then went to Devon. “Do you mind watching him? I don’t know how long we are going to be busy.”
“Sure, I’ll take him home with me.”
“I’ll have to get the seat base.”
“I have one. I went ahead and bought us the same car seat, and I had Alex install the base in case we needed to take him for you.”
“You are a lifesaver, Lexi.” I kissed her cheek.
“That little girl wasn’t yours, was it?”
“No!” Alice chuckled, and I glared at her.
“Her mother, Whitney, is an old friend of mine. I know her husband. Alex and I were in the same unit with Wayne a few years ago.”
She nodded, and then I told her his diaper bag was at my desk. She shooed me away to go back to the meeting, and I closed the door behind me as I went in.
“So are we doing this?” I asked.
“Hell yeah, we are doing this,” Jake growled. “Wayne is one of us. We aren’t going to leave one of our own over there on his own.”
“How quickly can we get boots on the ground?” Greg asked.
Jake thought about it for a second. “I can probably book flights on Sunday, so Monday boots on the ground.”
Well, there went my whole moving in plan. I sighed, but then again, moving could wait. Wayne’s life and those with him could not.
We talked over details for a good two hours before Alex asked, “We have any backing from local troops?”
“Maybe. I have to make a few more calls,” Jake replied dryly and looked at Alex carefully. “You sure you want to go?”
“Yeah, I’m in,” he stated firmly. “Lex knows this is important to me. She told me to go. I have her blessing.”
“Okay, well, then the five us are shipping out Sunday. Go take care of your business, and I’ll see you all tomorrow. We’ll meet here at oh-eight-hundred and talk game plans.”
“You’re going too?” I asked, surprised.
“Damn straight, I’m going. That man got me home in one piece. It’s my turn to return the favor.”
After we left, I told Alex I had one errand to run, and then I’d be over. He said he’d have dinner waiting for me, and I hightailed it to the real estate office to collect the keys. Margo wished me well and told me she’d talk to me soon. I made sure to tell her that I was going to be out of the country for a little while, but I’d let her know when I was back.
At Alex’s, I found Devon sleeping in a small playpen set up in the famil
y room.
“I just put him down,” she said quietly. “Is Davina going to be watching him while you are gone, or do you need me to?”
“No, I have a nanny starting tomorrow,” I told her softly as the urge to pick up my son and hold him close struck me.
“You found one? You sure you want to leave him with a stranger this soon? I don’t mind watching him for a little while.”
“Devon is going to have to get used to this sooner or later. Tonya, the nanny, will be good. She’s got a lot of experience, even if she is young.”
“Well, make sure she has my number. I will help if she needs anything.”
“I appreciate that, Lexi. I really do. I might need you to check in on her. My stuff is being moved over to the new house this weekend, and I hate that I’m leaving it all to her to unpack, but I don’t have much choice.”
“Don’t worry about it. I can oversee it if you’d like.”
I squeezed her shoulder as Alex walked into the room from the garage carrying Chinese takeout. “Hey, isn’t Davina enough for you? You have to put your hands on my woman now?”
We all laughed, and I didn’t bother to reply. Davina was the last thing I wanted to talk about at the moment. Unfortunately, these two didn’t realize that.
“Speaking of Davina, you two couldn’t seem to keep your hands off each other at the wedding.” Lexi grinned as she took a seat.
“How are things going with you two?” Alex added as he pulled the food out of the bag.
I cleared my throat, not sure what to say right away, and Lexi must have read my face. Her hand shot out to my arm. “Oh, no. Things aren’t working out? I thought for sure you two would hit it off and build something.”
“To be honest, I thought that too, but it seems my past is too much for her to deal with.”
“What?” Alex barked with a laugh. “What past?”
“Well, my weekend with her best friend that ended with me being a father, for one.”
“Yeah, but she loves Devon too. It’s so obvious,” Lexi commented.
“I know she does, but—” I heaved out a heavy breath. “She was in the office today when Whitney showed up. It was almost like an overindulged replay of when she came to tell me about Devon. When I escorted Whitney into the conference room to speak to her about what was going on, Davina bolted.”
Lexi’s jaw dropped as Alex laughed and said, “Did she think that the little girl was yours?”
I hiked a brow, and he chuckled. “Yeah, don’t answer that. I bet she did. Have you tried to talk to her?”
“Yeah, when would I have had the time?”
“Trevor, if you care about her, then you need to find the time.” Lexi squeezed my arm.
“I will, Lex, when I get back. Right now, I need to get myself moved into the house and get Tonya somewhat acclimated to Devon’s schedule. Then I can figure things out with her.”
“You are going to get things figured out, right?”
I stared into Lexi’s bright eyes. “I’m not letting her go, Lex. I’m crazy about Davina, and she will be part of my life.”
Chapter 28 – Davina
I didn’t want to get out of bed the next day. Nor the one after that, or the one after that, but I did. I would have been content to sleep away the days and live in the dreams that I had, rather than the reality that was my life.
Here I had thought that I had Trevor all wrong, and I had been thankful that he’d asked me to wait for him. I had wanted to apologize, ask him if we could talk. See if I could right my wrongs and find out if there would be a future.
Seeing another woman fall into his arms and passionately state that she had been searching everywhere for him, had made my blood run cold. Did he have half a dozen children running around without him?
I could have enjoyed a relationship with him with just Devon, maybe one of our own children in the future. What I couldn’t imagine was opening the door to more children from a multitude of romantic weekend interludes. I just didn’t have that in me.
It was Sunday now, and I padded up to the third floor with my to-go mug of coffee and let myself into Carol’s apartment one last time. Tomorrow I would be handing the keys over to the management office. Last week, two different charity companies had come to collect all of her belongings that I was not keeping. It had been gut-wrenching to watch them leave, but what was I to do.
It was time to let go of the past, and maybe that meant letting go of Devon too. I sank to the carpet in the middle of the barren living room and let myself cry. I cried for Carol, for Devon and myself. I curled up in a ball and ran through a million memories, then rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling. I had no idea how long I had been there when I finally dragged my ass off the floor and walked the apartment one last time.
There were no sounds nor laughter as I stood in her room staring at the spot where the lightning bolt painting had once hung. I had almost kept it, but after the incident with Trevor, I couldn’t bear to look at it. Part of me wished that I had, if only to keep a memory of our night together.
I let myself out of the apartment, locking the door behind me, and headed back to my apartment. A glance at my stove told me I’d been gone four hours; no wonder I was starving. I made myself a sandwich and then curled on my couch.
I unlocked my phone and found a missed call. My heart sped up as I realized that Trevor had called me about an hour ago. There was no message, and I wondered what he was going to try to say about what I had witnessed on Thursday. I tossed my phone to the side, picked up the remote, and found a good sappy chick flick to watch.
That’s how my next week went. I worked during the day, watching stupid romance movies at night, and cried myself to sleep. By the end of the week, I’d had enough of my own self-pity and decided that on Monday, I was going to get back with the program. No more feeling sorry for myself. I was going to work; I was going to force myself to get out of the house, meet new people, have some fun, and move forward with my life. Trevor and Devon were my past.
That’s why on the following Sunday morning, I pulled out the guardianship papers and stared at them. I never had notified the courts that Trevor had taken custody of Devon. I guess that was going to be one of the first things that I did this coming week.
I was getting ready for bed when my phone rang, and I saw a number I didn’t know. Since I hadn’t spoken to anyone in days, I figured it couldn’t hurt to at least talk to a telemarketer for a little while, and I answered my phone.
“Davina!” a woman practically shouted over the phone. “It’s Lexi Miller.”
I jerked back in surprise. “Lexi, what’s going on?”
“It’s Devon.”
My heart tripped over itself as the room spun. “What’s wrong with Devon?”
“We don’t know. Do you still have the guardianship papers that say you have power of attorney over him?”
“Yes, why?”
“Because I need you to get to the hospital so they can work on him. You have to permit them to run tests and figure out what is wrong.”
“Why can’t Trevor do that?”
“Because Trevor is overseas.” I was quiet for so long she spoke again. “Davina, are you there?”
That spurred me into action, and I raced out to my desk. “I’m here. I have the paperwork; what hospital?”
“Rikers Memorial. I’ll see you there.”
She hung up before I could say another word, and I quickly yanked on my shoes, grabbed a sweatshirt off the top of my laundry pile, then collected my purse and the paperwork before I raced out the door. My heart thudded so hard against my chest wall that I wondered if it would break through, and my hands shook so badly I could barely hold my car keys.
In my car, I forced myself to calm down before I put the car in gear, and then I was on the road. Nothing could happen to Devon. “Oh, dear God, please let him be alright. Please!”
As I neared the hospital, my brain started to work a little more. Was Lexi watching Devon while
Trevor was gone? Is that why Trevor hadn’t tried to call me, because he was out of town?
“Forget about yourself, Vina,” I growled as I parked. “This is about Devon, not your broken heart.”
I grabbed my purse and raced into the hospital emergency room, hoping that was where they were. If they weren’t, I’d have to call Lexi back and find out the location. Luckily, she was pacing inside the waiting room. She threw her arms around me as another young woman stood beside her.
“This is Tonya, his nanny.” I didn’t mean to glare at the pretty young woman, but I think it happened anyway because she shifted back slightly.
“What is going on? Where is he?”
“They won’t let us back there because we aren’t family,” Lexi said as she ushered me to the front desk. “This is his guardian.”
I pulled out the paperwork. “I’m Davina Daniels. I have the paperwork to show I’m his guardian.”
She glanced over the paperwork and handed it back to me. “I’ll let the nurse know.”
“What happened?” I asked her, and she waved Tonya over.
“Tonya can tell you.”
“He had been acting really fussy, like seriously fussy. I thought maybe he was just constipated, or not feeling well, but then he just kept crying, and if I touched his belly, it would get worse. He barely peed today, and he hasn’t pooped in two days. I finally called his doctor, and they told me to get him to the hospital. Then I called Lexi.”
“Has anyone tried to reach Trevor?”
“He’s unreachable,” Lexi stated. “They are dealing with a crisis overseas. That’s why you haven’t heard from Trevor. He had to leave last Sunday.”
Had the call from him been to let me know he was going? God, why hadn’t I had my phone with me? Why hadn’t he left a message?
Before I could say anything, the door behind me opened. “Ms. Daniels?”
“That’s me,” I quickly said and approached her.
“Come with me, and I’ll take you back to Devon.” She turned to Lexi and Tonya. “I’m sorry, but you’ll have to stay out here right now.”
They nodded, and I turned to Lexi. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.”