Just This Night

by Mari Madison

  I walked over to the van, hands on my hips. “Javier! What are you doing here?”

  He looked up, his face filled with guilt. “Beth, I’m so sorry.”

  “Sorry about what? Why aren’t you at the concert with your wife? What’s going on here?”

  He gave me another miserable look, then gestured to the van. I peered inside, my eyes widening at what I saw.

  Make that who I saw.

  None other than Joy Justice herself.

  Oh no.

  I looked back at Javier. He winced. “She evidently overheard us talking about the interview,” he told me in a whisper. “And then she went and told Richard it was her interview. That she’d set it all up all by herself.”

  “What?” I cried, now horrified beyond belief. “But she can’t do that!”

  “She already did,” Javier said with a shrug. “And Richard’s over the moon, of course. An exclusive interview with the infamous Dante Alvarez, the night before he turns himself in.” He made a face. “They’ve been promoting the shit out of it all night long.”

  Oh God. I raked a hand through my hair. Why hadn’t I told Richard myself, before she could get to him? I was just so nervous that it could fall through and I didn’t want to disappoint him. But now . . .

  I glanced over at Mac. He was on the phone for some reason. Probably Victoria giving him a hard time again. So much for backup. I returned my gaze to Javier, who was still looking guilty as hell.

  “I need to talk to her,” I determined. The photographer shot me a concerned look.

  “Be careful. She’s acting crazy, even for her. I think she believes this story will convince the owners to renew her contract. And she will stop at nothing to get it.”

  “Right. Well, she’ll have to get through me first.”

  I sucked in a breath, firming my resolve. I stalked over to the van’s passenger side door and whipped it open. She looked down at me, raising an eyebrow.

  “Are you going to make a scene?” she asked in a patronizing voice.

  “What are you doing here?” I demanded. “This is my interview.”

  “Not anymore it isn’t. Richard assigned it to me.”

  “Only because you lied to him and told him you set it up to begin with.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “You mean like you lied to Alvarez the first time around and said you were me?”

  My face flushed. God, how did she even know that?

  “You turned that interview down,” I reminded her. “You told Richard you didn’t want to do it.”

  “And now I’ve told him I do. And he’s agreed. So you can feel free to jump back into your truck and head home.” She paused then added, “Do make sure to tune in at eleven though. It’s bound to be an amazing exclusive.”

  Anger and frustration burned through me like a wildfire. “I can’t believe I actually looked up to you,” I growled. “I can’t believe I actually wanted to be like you!”

  She sniffed. “I can’t believe you actually thought you had the chance.”

  I started to back away, not sure what to do. What to say. But then, something inside of me roared. I thought of Stephanie, wrongfully fired and working as a waitress. Of all the other unnamed girls who suffered a similar fate. I couldn’t let her get away with this one more time. If not for me, for them.

  I squared my shoulders. “Bullshit,” I spit out. “That’s complete bullshit.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. And you know it’s true. You act all high and mighty—but I know you’re scared to death. Of me and all the other young, talented reporters coming up through the ranks. Biting at your heels. You could have been a mentor. You could have taken us under your wing and showed us the ropes. But instead, you went and sabotaged us. Because you couldn’t handle the idea of someday being replaced.”

  “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You know, Joy, funny thing. You tried to ruin my life. You almost killed me. And yet, somehow I can’t help but feel sorry for you,” I said. “I mean, all you’ve done, all you’ve accomplished, and yet still, it isn’t enough for you. You still have to go and ruin other people’s lives and hurt other people’s chances to get ahead. Seriously, are you really that goddamned insecure? Do you really need the spotlight that badly—that you’re willing to sell your soul just for a few more precious minutes of airtime?” I shook my head. “You know, I told you back at the station that I wanted to fill your shoes someday. But looking at you now? I think I’m going to set my sights higher. Not that that will be very hard.”

  She stared at me, her face bright red and furious. She opened her mouth to speak, but suddenly stopped, looking behind me. I whirled around to see Mac was standing there. And the look on his face made me freeze.

  Something was wrong. Something was really wrong.

  “What is it?” I asked.

  “Can I talk to you for a moment? Alone?”

  “Um, sure.” I glared at Joy. “Stay right there,” I commanded. “This is not over yet.”

  Joy rolled her eyes, but thankfully didn’t move from her seat. She had to wait for Javier and probably didn’t want to go wandering off in this dark, creepy place alone. Which bought me a few precious minutes—but only a few.

  I couldn’t lose this story. After all she’d done to me, she didn’t deserve to win.

  I walked a few feet away with Mac, then stopped. “What is it?” I asked. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Look, I’m sorry. But I need to go.”

  “What?” I cried. “We’re just about to walk into the interview!”

  “I know, I know. And I’m sorry,” he said.

  “Did you get another call from Victoria?”

  “Actually . . . it was from my neighbor,” he said in a voice I’d never heard him use before. “About Ashley.”

  He trailed off and my blood ran cold. “What about Ashley?”

  “He said . . .” Mac looked as if he was having a hard time breathing. “He said his kids just came home and told him they saw her wandering around outside. By herself. They tried to get her to come home with them, but she refused. She kept crying and saying she needed to find her daddy. My neighbor went to where they’d found her, but by that point she was gone.”

  My blood ran cold. “Oh God. But Victoria . . . ?”

  “He said he knocked on our door, but there was no answer. I just tried to call her, but her phone went straight to voice mail.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I called the police. They’re on their way over to check things out but . . .”

  “Get in the car,” I commanded. “Let’s go.”

  His face tore. “No. You need to stay. We’ll get another photographer out here. Or maybe Javier can do it if you get rid of Joy. I know how much this means to you and your career. You can’t just—”

  “Okay, you need to shut up right now,” I scolded him. “Your daughter is missing. Do you think I give a damn about some stupid news story? Get in the car. I’ll be there in one second.”

  “But . . .”

  I didn’t wait for him to finish. Just stalked over to the van and looked up at Joy. “Congratulations,” I said. “He’s all yours. I’ve got something more important to do.”

  She stared at me. “What could possibly be more important than this?” she asked in an incredulous voice.

  I looked at her sadly. “So many things, Joy. So very many things.” I turned to head back to the truck. “Unfortunately someone like you would never understand.”

  forty-nine

  MAC

  Beth insisted on driving to my house, which was good since I wasn’t quite sure I’d be able to see the road at this point. The police assured me they were on the case and a quick post to my neighborhood’s Facebook page had everyone else out searching as well. I’d tried to call Victoria at least ten more times, praying she’d answer and tell me it was all a mistake. That Ashley was safe and sound and cuddled in her bed.

  Bu
t every call went straight to voice mail, causing my fear to spike.

  Please be okay. Please be okay.

  Guilt wracked my insides, pounding at me without relent. What had I been thinking, leaving her alone with her mother? Trusting that Victoria had, indeed, changed. That she really wanted to make good and be a family again. To be a real mother who wanted to parent her child even when the parenting wasn’t fun.

  I thought back to the phone call she’d made when I was still at the station, telling me something had come up and that I needed to come home. At the time I thought she was just mad that I was working with Beth and was trying to manipulate me into feeling guilty. I never believed she’d actually take off and leave a sleeping four-year-old alone in the house. That was beyond crazy, even for her.

  My hand squeezed into a fist. What a fool I’d been. Here I was, trying my best to be with Victoria for Ashley’s sake. And now, because of Victoria, Ashley could be in danger.

  And Beth had lost her big story. My heart wrenched as I glanced over at her tense face, staring out the windshield as she drove and I wondered what was going on in her head. This had been her dream night. And because of me, it had turned into a nightmare. Her one chance at stardom, and now she’d been forced to turn it over to her enemy. To let Joy Justice have the last laugh after all.

  It wasn’t fair. It was so not fair.

  After what seemed an eternity, we finally pulled into my neighborhood. I jumped out of the car before Beth could even put it into park, screaming Ashley’s name. A few neighbors approached, saying all the right things, giving me all the empty comfort. But I could see the suspicion in the backs of their eyes. Why had I let my four-year-old wake up alone?

  I felt like the worst dad in the world.

  “Ashley! Please, baby girl! Can you hear me? It’s Daddy!”

  Beth popped out of the car and joined me in calling my daughter’s name. Her voice, rising in chorus with the others sounded like sweet music, and suddenly I was so grateful she had not let me talk her out of coming along. Here she was, missing out on the biggest night of her career, and yet from the look in her eyes, I could tell she wasn’t even thinking about it. Her thoughts were completely on my daughter.

  Because she loved Ashley, I realized with a start. She may not have been related to her or even known her for all that long. But she loved her all the same.

  Whoever said blood was thicker than water was a goddamned fool.

  We split up to cover more ground and I headed to the nearby park, where I had taken Ashley on the swings a few times before, still yelling out her name. But the park was empty. The swings abandoned. No sign my daughter had been there at all.

  And so I forced myself to head over to the adjacent neighborhood pool, my heart firmly lodged in my throat as I stepped closer to the water. I knew in my head this would have been the first place the neighbors and police had looked—not to mention there was no way she would have been able to scale the fence to get inside. Still, I had to be sure. And the relief I felt as I looked down into those dark but empty waters came in a rush.

  But that relief was short-lived as a cold wind blew across my skin, causing me to break out into goosebumps. I’d heard on the weather report that tonight was supposed to drop to below freezing and I doubted Ashley had had the foresight to grab a coat. I imagined her out there, all alone and shivering, dressed in some thin princess nightgown and bare feet—it was almost too much to bear.

  Anger surged inside of me again. Anger at Victoria for leaving my daughter alone. Anger at myself for allowing her to care for her to begin with. All this time I’d been trying to do the right thing, for Ashley’s sake, and yet somehow I’d done the absolute wrong thing instead. Ashley didn’t need a mother like this in her life. Not the kind of mother who was more concerned with her own selfish interests than her daughter’s well-being. Sure, Victoria was able to play the good mommy game for the short-term. When it suited her needs. But in the end, she would always do more harm than good.

  “Mac!”

  I startled at Beth’s voice, breaking through my tormented thoughts. My head jerked up, trying to identify where it was coming from.

  “Mac!” She called again. “Over here!”

  I dashed through the woods, heart pounding madly, barely able to breathe as I ran toward the sound of her voice. Branches scratched at my face, and I almost ate it on a large root half sticking out of the ground, but somehow I managed to keep running until I reached her.

  She was standing over a small ravine. Some kind of drainage ditch it looked like. I looked down, seeing nothing at first, then glanced over at her and saw her white face. Without a word, she pointed down into the pit.

  And then I saw it. The crumpled little body at the bottom.

  “Ashley!” I screamed. “Ashley, baby!” I started to climb down into ravine.

  Beth grabbed my arm. “Be careful,” she said.

  But I was beyond the careful stage now. I was running on pure adrenaline and nothing was going to keep me from my baby girl. Half running, half sliding, I made my way down the ravine, dropping to my knees in front of her. She looked so pale. So still. For a moment, I wasn’t sure she was breathing.

  “Ashley?” I croaked out, in barely a whisper. “Baby?”

  And then, slowly she rolled over, her eyes fluttering open, unfocused at first, then locking onto my face. I watched as they widened in recognition and her lips curled up into a huge grin.

  “Daddy!” she cried in a voice hoarse from too many tears. “I found you!”

  “Yes,” I agreed, this close to squeezing the life out of her. My whole body was still shaking and I could feel tears well in my eyes. “You found me, princess. You found me.”

  Ashley smiled sleepily. “I’m not a princess,” she said in a sleepy voice. “I’m your little girl.”

  I reached down, scooping her up into my arms. I thought about all the times I joked she was getting so big and so heavy. Now she felt as if she weighed nothing at all. Cradling her to my chest, I tried to climb back up the ravine. It was steep and slippery, and for a few moments I thought I wouldn’t make it. But finally I managed to find my footing and get to the top.

  Once there, I dropped to the ground, panting heavily. Despite the cold temperatures, my whole body had broken out into a heavy sweat. And now I was freezing.

  But that didn’t matter. In fact, nothing mattered anymore. Nothing besides this beautiful baby girl in my arms. My baby girl.

  Ashley looked up at me, smiling at me as if I was her hero. I knew I didn’t deserve this kind of worship. And maybe when she was older, she’d resent me for it all. But right now, I had to take it. It was all I had to hold onto in a world that had almost gone mad.

  “I came looking for you, Daddy,” she told me. “I woke up and no one was home. I thought maybe you had gone outside. But then I got lost.” She let out a small sob. “I thought I was lost forever.”

  I pulled her close to my chest, tears streaming down my cheeks. “I’m so sorry, baby girl,” I whispered. “From now on, you’ll never wake up alone again.”

  “Hey!” Ashley cried, looking up. “Is that Beth? Is she finally here for our playdate?”

  I looked up. Beth was hovering over us, looking a little nervous. I smiled up at her, then reached out with my hand, taking her own. Then I pulled her down to our level and grabbed her in a big hug. The three of us squeezed one another as tightly as we could. And it felt better than any feeling I’d ever had before.

  “Family hug!” Ashley exclaimed.

  And she was right. It was a family hug.

  Because we were a family.

  fifty

  BETH

  No sooner had I helped Mac get Ashley safely back in bed, than I got a surprise text from News 9. Someone had evidently called in sick and they needed me to come back to fill in for the broadcast.

  I groaned in annoyance, showing the text to Mac. The last thing I wanted to do right now was to deal with work—after all that had h
appened tonight. To go back to the station, just in time to see Joy’s triumphant Alvarez interview air. I could already imagine the sounds of everyone gushing over her and telling her what an amazing reporter she was, how intrepid she must have been to capture the elusive Alvarez on tape—and just before he turned himself in, too. Maybe she’d even score what she was after—a new contract from the board—so she could continue to make my life a living hell just a bit longer.

  But what else could I do? I’d lost my big story, but I needed to keep my job. And so I said good-bye to Mac, promising to call him the second I got off air. He had a lot to deal with as well: the police, his neighbors, his still missing wife. And me hanging around would only complicate matters further.

  “Beth!” Ana cried as she caught me walking through the newsroom fifteen minutes later. “Richard wants to see you. Now!”

  I nodded weakly and changed course, skipping my desk and heading straight to the news director’s office. As I walked by, I peeked into Joy’s office, but found it completely dark. Maybe she was still out on the interview. Or maybe she was helping edit the piece. I sighed. In the rush of adrenaline to go find Mac’s daughter, I had barely cared about losing the story, my entire thoughts on Ashley. But now that Ashley was safe and sound, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of disappointment settling in my stomach. The knowledge that my big story now belonged to someone else.

  But I knew, in my heart, if I had to do it over again, I would have made the same choice. And, at the end of the day, I didn’t regret a thing. There would be other stories. Other news. But the people you loved were irreplaceable.

  “There you are!” Richard cried as I stepped through his office. “Finally.”

  I cocked my head in question. “What’s going on?”

  He looked agitated and upset. Not the type of expression I would have imagined on his face during what had to be one of the most triumphant nights of his career.