by Sophia Gray
So maybe it hadn’t been planned. Maybe something serious had come up. Like what, though? What would keep her radio silent for five whole days? It just didn’t add up. Something was wrong. Call it mother’s instinct.
My growing fear kept me silent, but that never bothered Corinne. She just kept right on talking.
“Sage and Trenton have no money. They planned on staying low key, far as I knew. Couldn’t even afford to go out to dinner or nothing. We, Jack and I, just got back, and I was about to call her, but then I got your messages and thought I’d call you first. You know, your voice goes kinda high-pitched when you’re upset. You sound like a—”
“Try calling Sage,” I urged, even though I figured her calls would go straight to voicemail, too. I didn’t need to know what I sounded like. I needed Corinne to stay focused. “Maybe she’ll call you back, and this will all just be a big misunderstanding. I mean, she didn’t tell you anything to make you think that she’ll be leaving, right? She wasn’t home when I came back from work five days ago, and no one has heard or seen from her or Trenton ever since.”
Actually, I didn’t know for sure about the Trenton bit. Maybe he was hanging around his place. Maybe he and she split, and Sage needed some time by herself.
But still, why hadn’t she called me?
And I was rambling. Corinne tended to ramble all the time. Who knew it would rub off on people.
“Nope,” Corinne said. “I’m sorry. I wish I could be of more help. I haven’t a clue where she might be. Which is kinda strange. I mean, she tells me everything, even told me before she told you that she had gotten back together with Trenton this last time. Anyhow, I’m sure she’s fine—”
“It’s been five days,” I growled, “with no phone calls or emails or anything. No communication at all. With technology making communication easier than ever, I’m freaking out and rightfully so. Sage isn’t like this. She doesn’t check in all the time, but she’s never been gone this long before, and I’m worried.”
“Chill, Victoria.” Corinne laughed, but this was no laughing matter. Couldn’t she see that? “I’m sure she’s fine,” she repeated.
“If you hear from her, will you call me?” I asked, almost pleading.
“Of course. But seriously, stop being so uptight.” A strange smacking sound came over the line. Maybe she was chewing gum. “Get laid or something. You’ll feel better.”
“Right,” I said dryly. Because that was going to happen. I didn’t need to spread my legs. I needed to find my daughter. “Can you call her and then call me right back, please?”
She blew out a breath. “Fine, but you’re making a mole hill out of nothing.”
I frowned. “You mean a mountain out of a mole hill.”
“Nope. A mole hill out of nothing. There’s nothing here. So Sage isn’t answering your calls. Just means she’s busy, that’s all.”
“Just call her,” I ordered, and hung up.
I waited on pins and needs for Corinne to call back. Which she did. Almost immediately. Which meant…
“Voicemail?” I asked without even saying hello first.
“You got it. Still doesn’t mean anything,” she said.
Sighing, I hung up again. This time, I called the police station, but they hadn’t gotten any farther than I had.
“We’ll let you know,” the officer said, the same one who I had been talking to all along, an Officer Steve Jenkins. He was young and honestly didn’t seem to be that competent, or maybe I was being unfair. I couldn’t tell. “As soon as we make any headway, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t organize a search?” I asked, desperate to feel useful, desperate to do anything that might help speed up the process of finding Sage and bringing her home safe and sound.
Ever since I first realized she was gone, I had been plagued by terrible nightmares. I’d see images of her body cut into ribbons, of her being throw into the river, of her being involved in a fatal car crash, of her being cold and scared and alone and terrified. Hell, I was scared and alone and terrified.
“I advise against it, ma’am,” he said calmly. How could he be so calm? “You don’t want to impede our investigation.”
What investigation? I wanted to scream. Were they even doing anything? I knew our small town in the south didn’t have a lot going for it, and that there had been a suspected murder a month ago they still hadn’t solved so they were more concerned with that, and rightfully so, but still. This was my daughter we were talking about.
I basically hung up on the officer and sighed again, wearily rubbing a hand down my face. My stomach was all twisted into knots, and the heavy feeling in my chest wouldn’t go away. I had adopted her to give Sage her best chance at life. I wouldn’t rest until I succeeded.
Running off with Trenton Young wasn’t her best option, if that had been what she’d done. Did she know that? Had she done it anyway? Did she not bother to tell me because she knew I wouldn’t approve? I knew she was nineteen, that she could technically do what she wanted, but she had always kept me in the loop. And she told Corinne everything. If Corinne didn’t know where she had run off to—and Corinne, bless her, couldn’t lie if her life depended on it—that made me fear she hadn’t gone off willingly.
What if she tried to break things off with Trenton and he hadn’t taken it well? What if he had kidnapped her? If he had hurt her at all, he’d better hope I never found him, because when I did, I would make him regret it. I had told the police about her relationship with Trenton, how it was toxic, and they had taken down notes, but I didn’t know if they had followed up on that lead. Should I call back and press? Find out if Trenton had been seen recently?
Regardless of whether or not Sage had gone willingly, I just wanted to make sure she was all right. I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her. One way or another, with or without the police’s help, I would find her.
Now that I had finally gotten ahold of Corinne and she’d turned out to be a dead end, Trenton Young and the Devil’s Horns were my best lead. Her disappearance most likely was because of the damned motorcycle club.
Sage often went to an apartment complex called The Shades to be with Trenton. It was downtown and not at all in a good area, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I grabbed my cell—only about half charged—and my keys and purse and dashed out of the house and to my car. Traffic was brutal, and a car almost rear-ended me. I swore my luck was at a serious low point right now. It took me almost an hour to reach The Shades.
I had never been here before and my heart sunk at the sight of it. It was a terrible building, with peeling paint, broken windows, and graffiti. No lines marked the parking spots, and the cars already parked weren’t in the best of shape with dents or duct tape and plastic to cover up a busted window. Around the side, some of the cars were nicer, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they belonged to drug dealers, because, man, did I smell some strong marijuana and other druggie whiffs as soon as I left my car. I never touched drugs myself, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t recognize the scent of them.
Sage had come here how many times to be with Trenton? The thought made my stomach churn even more. She deserved better. I’d never forget the first time she introduced Trenton to me.
He’d been wearing a wife beater and holey jeans, way down low over his hips. He had tattoos, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—who doesn’t love a guy with some ink? Except his ink left a lot to be desired. If you couldn’t afford to have a decent tattoo artist, it was better to not bother to get inked at all, and Trenton was walking proof of that. I was talking about a misspelling and mousy-looking lion instead of a fierce one. A fierce lion could be hot as hell. His made him look like a punk.
But Sage had been all smiles as she introduced him to me, and like a good mother, I held out my hand for him to shake. Not only did he ignore it, but he walked past me, into my house, and asked where the fridge was because he was hungry.
Sage h
ad given me a sheepish grin and trailed after him. She ended up making him a sandwich, and then he ate it all just as she finished making herself one. He took one look at it, and Sage wordlessly gave it to him, and he polished that one off, too, before she even could eat one herself. The man—he acted more like a kid than a man, but he was twenty-two so it felt weird to think of him as a boy—seemed like he should be back in the fifties. Wanted Sage to wait on him. Acted like he was the important one and she had to do his bidding. Gave her just enough attention for her to not realize what an ass he was.
That night, after he had left, Sage had held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear it,” she said.
“Hear what?” I had asked innocently.
“Your opinion.” She’d crossed her arms.
I had cocked my head to the side. “If you don’t want to hear it, it’s because you already know what I think. And don’t you agree?” I’d so hoped she would agree, but of course she didn’t.
“You don’t know him,” she’d protested weakly.
“And I don’t want—”
“He makes me happy,” she’d said quietly. And damn it all if there wasn’t something in her eye that suggested she spoke the truth. But how? How could someone like that ass of a wannabe man make her happy? “Don’t you want me to be happy?”
“Of course, but I—”
“He takes care of me,” she’d added.
I had wanted to argue that she could take care of herself, but she had been smiling, and her happiness did seem genuine, and he hadn’t done anything nasty or mean or abusive toward her, so I let it go.
Now I was kicking myself for not speaking up more, for not giving her grief, for not doing everything in my power to open her eyes. Yeah, it might have only pushed her away from me and closer to him, but if she realized just how little he obviously cared for her outside of what she could do for him, she might be home right now. She might be with a man I approved of, one who saw what a treasure she was, one who enriched her life. The kind of guy she deserved.
Maybe some of it was my fault. Since I didn’t bother to date a guy more than once or twice, she never had the chance to see a healthy relationship. Maybe her mother’s guys left Sage thinking terrible relationships were the only relationships you could have. Hollywood certainly reinforced that with so many movies about cheaters and broken marriages. Sure they would have a happily ever after at the end, but everyone knew those guys were perfect and complete fairytales.
Okay, so maybe I was a cynic myself, but I did know there was more to a woman’s worth than what she could provide for a guy. I had been trying to reinforce that into her mind for years now, basically since I took her in. The problem was that Sage didn’t see her own self-worth. One time, a few months after the adoption had been made official, I had found her crying in her bed late at night. It took her several minutes to calm down enough to tell me what was going on. Basically, she hated herself because her mother had picked drugs over her. And I wasn’t proud of my response, but I talked a lot of smack about her mom. Her mother had damaged Sage, and I did my best to try to heal her. Sage refused to see a therapist, so I had to be mom and boss and therapist and friend all in one. I did the best I could, but now I was trying to figure out where I had failed her.
There had been only so much I could do, though. After all, I couldn’t live her life for her. She would grow up and make mistakes and hopefully learn from them. God knew I made a lot of mistakes myself.
Hopefully this was all just a mistake, and not one that would cost Sage something dear.
I parked, locked my car, and held my purse tight to me. I wasn’t the kind of woman to own a gun, but right now, I wished I did have one. I’d feel safer if I did.
I kept my eyes peeled, looking all around as I made my way to the front door of the apartment complex. The parking lot was almost full, but I didn’t see Trenton’s car. That didn’t surprise me. I had a strong hunch that he hadn’t been around for as long as Sage’s been gone. I wanted to confirm that, or, better yet, I wanted to find him, and Sage, too.
The stench of garbage, drugs, and body odor could’ve knocked me over as soon as I opened the front door and stepped inside. A shiver ran down my spine. I did not want to be here. Something seemed off about this place, but that just had to be my imagination, right? Either way, this place was the pits.
But what else could I do? What other option did I have? The police hadn’t even been sure I needed to file a missing person’s report yet considering I contacted them as soon as I saw Sage wasn’t home and hadn’t answered her cell. They assured me they were doing everything they could, but they had to be busy with other pressing matters, and honestly, I wasn’t making any major headway myself, and this was my only pressing matter. Yeah, sure, I wasn’t an investigator, but I was the one most desperate to find her.
Sage and I hadn’t even fought recently. We had been on really good terms—mostly because I had kept my mouth shut this time around with her latest re-hook up with Trenton. I had been trying to get her to prove herself at the restaurant. I desperately wanted to promote her to being a waitress, but I also didn’t want to play favorites, and honestly, she didn’t deserve it yet. She just wanted to be a girl, to not have a lot of responsibilities, and I understood that. She had to shoulder a lot and basically had to take care of herself for a long time before her mom ended up in jail. Her childhood hadn’t been ideal, and now she was trying to be a typical rebellious teen. She had never gotten into any real trouble, so I couldn’t complain too much.
Or maybe I had given her too much of a leash because I wasn’t a fit mother. I had a lot of sleepless nights when I first decided to adopt her. I had only babysat for one summer before I started at the restaurant as a waitress and started my way up the ladder almost immediately, making my way up to hostess at eighteen and then to manager by twenty. Two years later, I was the owner. I was a go getter. One day, Sage would be one, too.
I hoped.
I closed the door to the apartment complex behind me and appraised the long hallway lined with doors. Now the only question I had was how to figure out which apartment was Trenton’s.
Loud music blasted from the door on the right. I knocked, but no one answered. They probably couldn’t hear me, so I knocked again, harder and longer this time, but still no one answered. I wasn’t about to try the doorknob because who knew what kind of person or people might be on the other side, so I kept on walking down the hall, knocking on doors.
Always the same result. No one answered.
To say I was getting frustrated would be an epic understatement.
Not sure what else to do, I headed back toward the front door. Maybe I could learn who the landlord was and find out Trenton’s apartment’s number from him. Maybe I could even convince him to use his key to open the door. He had to have a skeleton key, right? Hopefully the landlord was an okay guy. Given the state of the place, he allowed his tenants to trash the place, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were bugs creeping around. If he didn’t care about the building, he probably didn’t give a rat’s ass who he had living inside the walls, so long as he got his money. Well, if he wanted money, I had some squared away. I could give him a Benjamin and maybe then he would be willing to help me out.
Through the window, I spied an old car rolling up. It took the driver a few times to squeeze into a spot and then climb out. It was an older woman. She was the first soul I’d seen since I arrived. Hopefully she would be willing to answer a few questions.
Trying my best not to get my hopes up and failing, I opened the door and walked out to her. “Excuse me. Hi. I’m Victoria Klein. I’m looking for Sage Farron. Do you know her? She’s—”
“The girl of that Trenton Young fellow.” The woman eyed me, tilting her head to the side. Her permed white hair didn’t budge. Her eyes were shrewd, and I found myself a little unnerved to be the subject of her scrutiny.
“Yes. Have you seen her recently? Or him, for that matter?” I held my breath as
I waited for her answer.
“Why you asking? They owe you money or something?” She sounded so disgusted I had to grimace. She didn’t care for Trenton, or Sage, and that made my heart hurt.
“No. Nothing like that,” I said to reassure her. “Sage’s my daughter.”
Her light eyebrows shot up, and she looked me up and down. “You’re not old enough to be her mother.” The disapproval in her tone and her pursed lips that caused thousands of tiny wrinkles to appear left me agitated. She wasn’t the first to cast judgment on me once they learned I was Sage’s mother. They figured I must’ve gotten knocked up at thirteen. I could see it in their eyes, and this woman clearly thought it, too. I hated their judgment, resented their assumptions. Even if I had Sage while really young, what business was it of theirs?