“Thank you.”
I was flattered, not just by her compliments. It was the look on her face. She was clearly impressed and it made me feel like the hero they kept calling me.
I really hadn’t done what I did for fame or fortune. Not that any fortune had come my way. I didn’t seek fame and hadn’t been thinking about anything like that when I saved those people.
It was in my nature, which was one of the reasons why being a math professor or teacher really hadn’t been my destiny.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
“Oh there she is!” She hopped up and down in the cutest way I’d ever seen a grown woman do and waved as a flood of children came out of the school.
Teachers were swarming out at the same time, their eyes and voices sharp on the kids, bringing safety to the children and order to the chaos.
We really should have moved the truck out of the area a long time ago and now we were trapped there until all the school buses and children who were being picked up by car were gone before we’d really be safe leaving. The truck was big and there was no chance I was taking any risk with these tiny little kids.
Besides, Greg was inside speaking with the Prinicial. We couldn’t leave without him. I leaned back against the truck, folding my arms over my chest and crossing my ankles, watching the kids run around while others were in a straight line, dancing or playing where they were but not leaving the line. I was pretty impressed by them.
Savannah looked back at me, smiling. “See you... at home.” She laughed.
“See you,” I replied, grinning back.
As I watched her walk toward Alana, my heart did an unexpected flip. The day had been full of surprises, but this... this felt different.
It felt like the start of something I hadn’t seen coming.
Chapter Four
Savannah
The phone on my desk rang just as I stepped into the elevator. I glanced back, hesitating for a split second before the doors closed. No chance I was going back.
I’d been the last one in the office, staying an extra half-hour to finish research for an article Mya wanted in tomorrow’s paper. The daycare had agreed to watch Alana for an additional hour or so—thank goodness for their flexibility.
The elevator hummed softly as it descended, the low murmur punctuated by the distant echoes of voices. The moment the doors opened, I stepped out and merged with the small group filtering out of another car.
A few of them glanced my way, surprised, as if they hadn’t expected to see anyone else still there. I gave a polite nod, keeping my pace brisk as I passed the security guard behind the glass. He nodded back, his eyes tracking my movement in silent acknowledgment.
As I approached my Nissan in the darkened parking lot, my personal cell vibrated in my pocket. The unexpected sound made me jump, my heart stuttering for a beat. Frowning, I pulled out my phone and saw an unfamiliar number. Reno City Police? My fingers tingle as I answered.
I tried to calm my thumping heart. It was hard to breathe normally.
“Hello?”
“Is this Mrs. Roger Landry?”
Irritation sliced through me. “This is Miss Savannah Gilson,” I corrected sharply, disowning the name like a venomous snake. “I used to be married to Roger Landry, but I’m not anymore. Why are you calling? What happened?”
A thousand scenarios churned through my mind. Had he escaped? Had he gotten in a fight in prison that left him severely injured or dead? If so, would I feel relief or horror if something had happened to him?
The wedding, the way he’d made me laugh, all of it felt like memories from another life. Before the drinking started. Before he shattered my world.
“We’re calling to inform you that your hus….ex-husband was released at nine a.m. this morning.”
The words slammed into me, stealing my breath. I stood rooted to the spot, the keys slipping from my grip to land in my lap as I sank into the driver’s seat, door ajar.
“Mrs….I mean, Miss Gilson?” The detective’s voice tugged me back from the fog.
“I’m here,” I said, my voice hollow, suddenly petrified with fear.
