Saved (A Standalone Romance) (A Savery Brother Book)

by Naomi Niles

  “I think I need to start leaving it to the young guys.”

  “Young guys?” He wiped his brow, then took a swig of the ice cold water. “Man, you look as young as some of the guys that work around here. Shit, if you were to go out there right now and tell one of them to take their shirt off, there probably wouldn’t be a difference between you two. Now I see why all of the younger women flock to you. You're built like someone their age.”

  I laughed as I took a sip of water. I did what I had to do to keep my body in shape. I knew I was getting older, so I had to do what was necessary to keep my body in shape before I lost control of it. I tried to make it to the gym no less than three times a week, and I’d kept that routine for the past two years. I was impressed with my physique, but at the same time, I knew I had to keep up the hard work for it to remain. “Yeah, I worked for this, Brian. You know? Oh, and cutting down on the honey buns and crap like that helps a lot.”

  He smiled and tapped his stomach, “Well, shit, I am good with this keg I’ve got here. You can keep your six pack on your stomach, and I’ll keep mine in the fridge where it belongs. We both win.”

  A knock on my office door blended in with my laughter. I pulled myself off the couch and quickly grabbed a shirt from the top of my shelf. “Uh, one second,” I said as I quickly pulled it down over my head. When I got to the door, our secretary stood on the other side sandwiched in between two detectives. My brow wrinkled to the middle of my forehead. “Something wrong, Amber?”

  “Um,” she nervously glanced at the detectives. “These men said that it was urgent that they spoke with you. Privately.”

  I looked at Brian as he stood up from the couch. “Say no more, boss,” he said as he excused himself out of the room. “You um, you let me know if you need anything, alright? I’ll be just down the hall in my office.”

  “Yeah, alright, Brian. Gentlemen,” I escorted them into my office. “Please, have a seat.” I closed the door behind them as the two men walked inside. They stood tall, at least a few inches above me, dressed in slacks and short-sleeved T-shirts. Their badges gleamed in the sunlight as they walked by the window. One of them took a seat on the couch as the other stood near my desk.

  “Alright, officers, what can I do for you?”

  “Sir, I am Detective Strasberg, and this is Detective Miller,” he said with a solemn voice. “We have been trying to contact you this morning via phone. Your office and your cell.”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I got caught up doing yardwork this morning. Our regular lawn maintenance guys all caught the same bug, so I had to go out there and take care of the work myself. I apologize, but what seems to be the problem?” I immediately thought of Sarah. Maybe she had partied too hard, gotten herself in trouble, and now needed me to bail her out.

  “Well, sir, this is concerning your daughter.”

  “My goodness.” I laughed and walked to my desk to grab the car keys inside the drawer. “What has she done now? Is she in trouble? I know that she can get kind of reckless at times. A young college girl who likes to party. Which jail is she at? She couldn’t have done anything that bad, right?”

  The seated officer folded his hands in front of him as he looked up at the other. The standing officer shoved his hands into his pockets and shook his head slightly as a downcast expression reflected from his countenance. “She is not in jail, Mr. Zimmer.”

  My heart dropped like a bag of bricks. “Not in jail? Then where is she?”

  He sighed, hesitating to say anything else. The silence nearly sent me into a coma as I barked again, demanding a response. “Officer Strasberg, where is she?”

  “She is at the morgue, sir. Your daughter was killed in a car accident early this morning.”

  It didn’t seem real. Detective Strasberg’s face began to darken right in front of me. In my mind, everything in the room faded out like the end of a movie. The detective’s lips moved, but I couldn’t hear any words leaving his mouth. My keys dropped from my hand and hit the floor that seemed to move right beneath me. Suddenly, I lost balance, and the last thing I saw was Detective Strasberg’s arms reach out for me as I plummeted to the ground.

  Chapter Four

  Caroline

  I woke up with my books open on the bed next to me. I fell asleep studying all night, and I still felt like I didn’t know half of what I needed to know to pass the test. When I grabbed my phone to look at the time, I had all kinds of notifications from my social media networks. Sarah tagged me in videos of her drinking, dancing, and partying all night with our friends. She is such a jerk; I said with a smile as I scrolled through the pictures.

  On second thought, I should’ve gone with her last night, especially since I felt like I didn’t know any more about accounting than I did last night. After I had scrolled through the pictures and videos of Sarah having fun with Johnathan and Bradley, I closed my books and hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. We had the same class together again this morning, so I knew she would be in there bragging about how much fun she had and how much of a loser I was for staying home.

  Professor Morgan stood in the front of the room with a light green, polyester vest, black slacks and a white long-sleeved shirt. He lowered his glasses as I walked by him. “I trust that you and your friend will allow me to flawlessly navigate through my lesson today without any interruptions.”

  I bashfully responded, “Yes, Professor Morgan, we will. I am sorry about yesterday. Really, I am.” He nodded his head, and afterward, I tucked my tail and walked to the back of the room as I felt his eyes incredulously staring a hole into the back of my head. I took a seat and settled in as two students behind me chatted about the party from last night.

  They replayed different scenes in their minds as I shook my head, thinking Sarah had something to do with the fact that they were sitting right behind me. I couldn’t wait to see her just so I could get past the initial mockery that I knew she was going to throw my way like a snowball. I glanced at the time just as Professor Morgan started his lecture. “Hello, everyone. I trust that you all have talked to each other and gotten everything out by now so I can get through these next two hours without interruption.”

  The class hushed to silence as he stood in front of the room. “Great,” he said, “I shall begin.” As seconds turned into minutes, and minutes fell into an hour, Sarah’s seat was still vacant beside me. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent her a text.

  “Where are you at?! Are you still asleep!? Wake up! You’re going to blow your chances of getting an A in this class!” I slid my phone back onto my desk, waiting patiently for her response. She was probably hungover and still in bed. Every time I saw her on social media, she had a drink in her hand with a glassy-eyed look on her face. I knew she drank more than she wanted to. I sent her another text and waited for her response, but there was still nothing sent back to me.

  I decided to text Johnathan to make sure she left the party safely. “Hey, Johnathan. Good morning. Did Sarah make it home alright?”

  “Good morning, sweetie. Yeah, she left with Brad, I think. Shit, I was fucked up, and I still am, so I don’t remember.”

  “Alright.”

  “What are we doing today? I can come by your dorm later on if you aren’t studying this time around.”

  “LOL. Don’t remind me that I made that decision last night. I wished that I would’ve come with her, but I guess it is too late now.”

  “There will be more times. I’ll see you later. Oh, and Sarah is probably in bed asleep because she had a lot to drink last night. Her hangover is probably kicking her ass right now.”

  “LOL. Thanks. I’ll check on her after class.”

  I slid my phone back into my purse and leaned back in my chair as Professor Morgan went on with his lesson. His monotone voice nearly put me to sleep, and before I knew it, he was wrapping up the lecture, and I hadn’t retained a thing that he had spoken to us. I grabbed my phone to check if I had any messages from Sarah, but my p
hone was still void of any of her responses.

  “Alright, class, I don’t want to tell you that there will be a quiz about what I said, so I won’t tell you. But, just know that there might be a pop quiz. You enjoy the rest of your day. I’ll see you all next week.”

  I gathered my purse and headed out of the classroom as I sent another text to Sarah. “Oh my God, if you don’t wake up, I am going to come over there right now and douse you with a glass of ice-cold water! But seriously, if you are hungover, I will bring you some coffee. I heard coffee helps drunks like you…lol.”

  I headed to the café to grab a bite to eat and a cup of black coffee to help ease Sarah’s hangover. As I stood in line, Meghan walked past me and did a double take once she saw me standing in front of her. With a look of concern on her face, she walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. “Are you alright?” she asked, standing close to me.

  “Alright?” My eyebrows wrinkled together before I flashed a curious smile at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. A little bummed that I missed the party last night and if I could do it over, I think I would’ve gone, but other than that, I’m good.”

  She paused as if she’d seen a ghost standing behind me. “Um, Meghan? What is wrong with you?”

  “You didn’t hear? Sarah was killed in a car accident after the party.”

  I didn’t know how to take what she said. It was as if she had spoken a foreign language and my mind could not process her words. I stood still in line as the person ahead of me moved forward, creating a gap between us. I looked down at the coffee that warmed my hand, remembering that I texted Sarah earlier this morning. “No, no,” I said, laughing it off. “No way. I just texted her this morning. She is hungover in her bed right now. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about?”

  I closed the gap in line as Meghan walked beside me. “Yes, I do.” There wasn’t a smile on her face. “I read the news this morning. She passed away in a car accident on her way home.”

  “No,” I said, still in disbelief. “I think you’ve got something confused. Sarah is at home in bed right now. I have this coffee for her,” I said, holding the cup higher, “and I am about to give it to her.”

  “Caroline, she is–”

  I raised my voice. “No, Meghan! She is not!” The chatter around us hushed to silence as students looked in our direction. I was tired of her telling me something that I knew wasn’t true. Meghan took a step away from me and nodded her head. Her eyes watered as she turned her head away from me, and moments later, she headed out of the café. “The nerve of her,” I said as I placed the coffee on the counter and grabbed my cell phone to send Sarah another text.

  I started to worry a bit once I saw that she didn’t respond to any of the five texts I sent her before now. “Sarah, is everything alright?” A sickening feeling shot to the pit of my stomach as I moved ahead in line and she still didn’t respond. I paid for my things, then quickly rushed to the bookstore to grab one of the morning papers. I grabbed it from the shelf, then sat down at one of the small tables to read through the pages.

  “Um, ma’am,” the cashier at the bookstore said. “You have to purchase it if you’re going to read it.”

  I waved her off, “Yeah, yeah, OK, whatever.”

  “Ma’am? Ma’am…”

  Her words faded in my mind as I scanned the school paper, looking for any news of Sarah’s so-called death. No way, I said to myself as I flipped through the pages. Before long, my eyes fell onto a small story in the right corner of the back page.

  “A fatal accident occurred last night just off campus. One student crashed her vehicle into a pole. She is believed to have died on impact; further information about this story is not yet available.” I closed the newspaper as my mind drifted onto Sarah. No way, I thought as I stood up, laughing. No way. Accidents happen all the time, that doesn’t mean it was her. I don’t believe it.

  I left the newspaper on the table, grabbed her cup of coffee, then rushed to her dorm room. I knocked impatiently a few times while I called her cell phone. “Sarah, stop it! This is not funny! Open the door!” I banged harder, but there was still no response.

  A few minutes later, the resident advisor approached me in the hallway. “Can I help you?” he asked while I stood in front of the door, banging incessantly.

  “My friend is in there, and I think something is wrong with her. She partied last night, and I’ve been calling her back to back, and she hasn’t been responding. I think she might be in trouble.” I looked at him as tears welled up near the bottom of my eyes. I wiped them away before they had a chance to fall. “Are you the RA? Can you open her room for me?”

  “I can’t just go opening her room. I don’t know if you know this person.”

  “Oh my God,” I showed him my phone. “She is my best friend. Look at all of these pictures. Sarah Zimmer is my best friend and has been for my whole life. She is in there, and I need to make sure she is alright! I’ve been texting and calling her all morning, and she hasn’t responded. Please!”

  He tapped his foot on the floor as if he was contemplating whether or not he should let me in. “Oh my God, you are standing here wasting time!” I banged on the door. “Sarah! Sarah, open the door! Please! I am worried about you, Sarah!”

  “Alright, alright,” he said. “Just wait here. I am going to get my key, and I’ll be right back.”

  “Thank you!”

  He came back a few minutes later and popped his key in the door. I quickly pushed it open as soon as it was unlocked, then rushed inside. Sarah’s bed was made up as if she hadn’t laid in it all night. Her room was spotless, and there was no sign that she had been there at all since last night. I shook my head, hoping that my mind was playing some kind of unnatural trick on me. “Um, she doesn’t look like she has been here,” the RA said as he stood beside me.

  Shaking, I looked down at my phone to call her again, but before I could, her name popped up on my screen. A feeling of life rushed back into my heart as I quickly answered the call, “Sarah! Sarah, what the hell is wrong with you?! Where are you at?! I’m in your dorm, and I’m worried about you!” There was no response for a few moments. I looked at my phone to make sure she was the one who called me. “Sarah? Are you there?”

  “Ma’am,” he said solemnly. This is Detective Strasberg. Can you come down to the Tempe Police Department? It is urgent.”

  Chapter Five

  Harrison

  I laid in my bed all night without getting a wink of sleep. My head throbbed as I tossed and turned on my mattress, not able to find a comfortable position to sleep in. All I kept thinking about was my baby girl. She was so close to starting her life. Just months away from graduating, then heading out to California to pursue her career.

  I glanced at the graduation picture she took just a week ago. She sat in her cap and gown, smiling with the whole world ahead of her. I never thought that I’d be the one burying her. In my mind, she would bury me when the time came. Just beside her picture, the clock on my nightstand read 5 am. Her funeral was later that day, at 1 pm, and ever since she was killed in a car accident, I’d been working like crazy at the office.

  Brian would tell me to go home, but I couldn’t. It was the only way I could cope with the thought of Sarah not being here anymore. I had to keep my mind on as many different things as I could in order to keep from drowning in my own tears. I pulled myself out of bed and hopped in the shower, then headed to the office. It was almost 7 am when I showed up, and nobody was scheduled to be there until 10 am.

  I grabbed some of the layouts for some contracts we just picked up and went over them with a fine-tooth comb to make sure we had the manpower and equipment we needed to get the project done. As my phone sat on top of my desk, I imagined that Sarah would call as soon as the clock switched to 8 am. I felt my eyes bubbling with tears before I shoved my phone off my desk. The screen cracked when it hit the ground, but I didn’t care. Right now, that was the least of my worries, and I would crack every pho
ne I found if it meant that my daughter would come back in my life.

  Before I knew it, hours had passed. I spent my time pacing the office, drinking coffee, and going over assignments until I knew the layouts like the back of my hand. Brian knocked on my door and let himself in as I sat on the couch with my leg propped on top of the other one as I stared out the window. Dark cumulus clouds rolled through the sky like dingy cotton balls as a faint thunder growled from above. “Boss? How long have you been here?”

  “Maybe three hours or so. Just had a lot of work that I needed to get done today.”

  “A lot of work? Boss,” he closed the door behind him and placed his briefcase on the table, “I said I would handle all of the business for you this week. I know you are going through–”

  “I am fine,” I said, interrupting him as I stood to my feet. I walked to the small mirror and straightened my tie. “Besides, there is a lot to do here, you know? I don’t want to put that all on your plate. We just fired the accountant last week, so I have to make sure all of our numbers are still adding up until we can fill the gap.”

  “Boss, I got my associate’s in accounting. I told you I could handle that for the time being and I know the contracts. I know what we need. I just don’t want you to overexert yourself. I think you should be resting right now and take the time to grieve.”

  I stopped fixing my tie and spun around towards him. He stood by my desk with an expression full of concern. I knew he meant well, but it was just the wrong time. “So, you know what I need? You think you are in a position to tell me what to do?”

  He stumbled over his words. “No, boss, I didn’t mean it like that. I was just saying–”

  “You were just saying the wrong fucking thing, that’s what, Brian. I didn’t ask for your help! I didn’t ask for any of this shit, but for some reason, you feel the need to give it to me! I’ll tell you what, Brian, the next time you think you can tell me what to do, remember who fucking writes your checks, alright? Think about that shit before you come in here trying to tell me what to do! You got that?! I can handle myself, and I don’t need you or anybody else telling me what I need to be doing right now!”