Chapter One
Riley walkedout of the Sacramento airport and into an oven. The temperature had to be a hundred degrees or more, and even though she didn’t feel an ounce of humidity like she usually did in Boston, she felt as though she were suffocating.
On the flip side, she also felt free for the first time in over a month. Riley had shut herself off from the rest of the world to brood over a breakup that had hit her right between the eyes. She was madder at herself than at the jerk she’d thought had wanted a serious relationship—mad because she hadn’t seen the forest for the trees. Riley was usually tuned in to the signs. After all, her dad had cheated on her mom. But she’d been so preoccupied with work that she hadn’t been focused on her relationship. Her job as a wedding planner kept her busy, especially the month before a client’s wedding.
Regardless, Riley and her ex, John, had never exchanged the word “love.” They’d never expressed their feelings to one another. She couldn’t say she loved him. Her best friend Liza had said Riley’s ego was shattered. Maybe so. But Riley did like John a lot. He had a big heart. He had a great job as a sales rep for a technology company, and he’d treated her well.
Outside Sacramento International Airport, people were in a hurry, darting around others who were hugging loved ones, or dumping their suitcases into cars before they drove off.
Riley texted Liza to say she was standing outside baggage claim. The last they’d talked, which was the night before, Liza had said she would be waiting in the cell phone lot.
Cars slowed to a crawl, and drivers scanned the crowd for their guests.
Riley waited for the ping, alerting her to a text from Liza, but there was nothing, not even the three dots that indicated someone was typing.
Suddenly, she got an eerie chill as though something bad was about to happen, but Riley shook it off. The plane had landed a few minutes early, and she’d told Liza to give her thirty minutes after getting off the plane to get her luggage.
Riley navigated through the waiting passengers and found a quiet spot at the end of the glass building, near the taxicab stands, to lean against. Then she sent another text to let Liza know where she was. While she waited, Riley people-watched, which was something she loved to do. A mom scolded her five-year-old son. A businessman typed on his phone. And two lovers embraced.
Riley sighed. John and she had done that very thing when he’d returned after a week on the road. She missed feeling a man’s arms around her, giving her that sense that someone cared for her in an intimate way.
But as her brother, Ross, kept telling her, “John was never going to get serious with you.”
Again, Riley was mad at herself for not seeing the signs. Some of his actions should’ve clued her in. Granted, he traveled around the country for his job. Showing up late for their date or cancelling on her at the last minute because of a delayed or missed flight wasn’t unheard of. But toward the end, his excuses had piled up until Riley confronted him. When she did, he caved, spilling his guts on how he was seeing another woman who lived in Chicago.
Thinking about that still stung. Liza had recommended that Riley get away from the fast pace of Boston and wedding planning. Riley had debated long and hard. Her job was nonstop most of the year, but busier than ever from May to September. But that August, she had only two clients getting married. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been sweating in over hundred-degree heat, although she had two awesome assistants who could handle the big day for one of her clients while she was away.
Besides, the last time Riley had seen her BFF was over a year ago when Liza was boarding a plane to move back to Northern California. Riley had missed her terribly. They had talked once a week since Liza had left, but as of late, Liza had been checking on Riley since the breakup.
Their plans while Riley was there were to kick back and see the sights of NorCal, maybe tour a winery or two and visit Redwood Cove. Liza had mentioned there was a ton to do in the quaint town like whale watching, great sea life, and zip lining if Riley was into that. But Riley wasn’t one for heights, testing her fate on a thin line, and flying at high speeds over some ravine or canyon or whatever. She didn’t even like roller coasters. She’d been traumatized once when she was a little girl, and since then, no one could coax her onto one; even peer pressure didn’t work.
Nevertheless, Riley couldn’t wait to wrap her arms around Liza. She couldn’t wait to talk into the wee hours of the morning and hear all about Liza’s job at a top-notch fashion company in San Francisco—Stitches, Inc. Liza hardly talked about her job on the phone, although when she did, it was about some new design she was working on and a fashion show or two.
Riley was happy for her. When Liza had lived in Boston, she had worked for a fashion company that was eventually raided by the FBI. Her employer was one of the prominent mafia families in Boston. Liza hadn’t known that when she’d gotten hired, and she’d told the FBI that she had never seen anything illegal.
After the raid, she’d quit and searched for another job for months. Every company she’d interviewed with had been frank with her, saying, “You worked for one of the largest mafia families in the New England area. We don’t want trouble.”
Liza had decided to spread her wings and look at companies around the country, concentrating on San Francisco. Most of her family lived in the NorCal area, but she wasn’t exactly close to her dad. However, she was tight with her cousin Josh who Riley hadn’t met yet.
Anyway, since Riley had made the decision to come two weeks ago, the airlines didn’t have many flights available to choose from among the airports in the NorCal area. So she had to settle on Sacramento and flying out on Thursday instead of Friday like she’d wanted to. Besides, Fridays were a busy day for travel. John had always complained about how airports were packed and flights were overbooked on Fridays.
A taxicab driver wearing a San Francisco Giants ball cap came up to her. “Do you need a ride?”
The baggage claim area was thinning out, and the sun was dipping behind the three-story parking garage across from her.
“No, thank you,” Riley said. “I’m waiting on my ride.”
He quietly went back to his cab adjacent to her.
She called Liza, and the line went straight to voice mail.Odd.
As long as Riley had known the woman, Liza wasn’t the type to be late. That eerie feeling she’d gotten earlier came back with a vengeance. She didn’t have a backup plan, although she could get a rental car easily. In fact, Riley had suggested that she would do just that, but Liza had insisted on picking her up. “The drive will give us more time to catch up,” Liza had said.
Don’t panic.She’s twenty minutes late. She’ll show up.
Someone coughed as they walked past her, snapping Riley back to the present and making her shed some of the cold chill that seemed to be seeping into her veins.
She peeked around the building for no other reason than to take a breath and tell herself nothing had happened to Liza.
