Page 126 of Whenever You Call

She stilled, her hand on the door before she glanced over her shoulder with a smile of her own in place. “I love you.”

I felt like a different man to the one I’d always known as I watched her walk away. The road to this had been unconventional but I wouldn’t change a thing. I couldn’t live without her now. She’d shown me how I hadn’t been living at all before she came into my life.

A few minutes later, Hannah pushed the bedroom door open, another frown in place. “I don’t believe it. She’s up before us?”

“Lazy bug?” I raised both brows. “Seriously?”

“I know.” She turned to make her way downstairs, me following closely behind her.

I wasn’t sure what it was, whether an instinct kicked in after having done the job I’d done for so many years, but as we snaked down the spiral staircase and landed in the foyer, a chill ran down my spine—one of dread as I caught sight of the key box on the floor. Bending to pick it up, I glanced at the lock on the door, seeing the key stuck in there as though it had never been taken out. I placed the key box back on the side table, turning to follow Hannah, only to see her walking back toward me already, any happiness she’d had this morning long gone.

“The patio doors are still locked from last night,” she said in a rush of breath. “But she’s not in the kitchen or the living room.” She started moving with more urgency, heading to several rooms around the house I hadn’t been into before.

I saw the cinema room, the underground gym, and the laundry room. I saw a playroom big enough to house pink electric toy cars Bella would have been able to sit in, but I’d never seen her use. We searched them all, our cries of her name getting stronger and louder with every room we went into, only to find it empty.

“Does she do this a lot?” I asked Hannah, that feeling of dread growing stronger.

“Never.”

We charged back up the stairs. “Let’s not panic. She’ll be playing hide and seek or something. She’ll probably be outside, hiding in the trees.”

“She can’t get outside, Logan. The doors were locked all night.” Hannah ran into three of the spare bedrooms, including the one we’d slept in, calling out her daughter’s name everywhere she went. “Bella!”

“Bella!” I cried with her.

When we came to the last door upstairs, I reached out to turn the handle, only for Hannah’s hand to land on top of mine, stopping me from opening it.

“She won’t be in there. It’s locked.”

“Maybe she—”

“No, Logan,” her voice was firm, and goosebumps became visible on her arms. “It’s been locked since Cole died. She doesn’t even know where the key is.” Hannah turned and walked away, leaving me behind.

I had a million questions to ask about what was beyond that door, but instead, I banged on it several times and leaned into it. “Bella, if you’re in there, you need to come out, bug. This isn’t funny. I know you probably didn’t mean to, but you’ve got Mommy worried.”

I waited as long as I could and prayed for her response, but nothing came.

That’s when my blood turned to ice, and I charged down the stairs at full speed, calling out her name as my cries mixed with the desperate pleas of her mother.

Despite the patio doors being locked, we pushed them open and searched the backyard anyway, and my relief poured out of me like I’d taken a blow to the stomach when I saw the pool clear.

That’s the problem with seeing so many accidents—so much death that could be avoided. You started to see it everywhere before you even knew what was going on.

Hannah’s body slammed into mine when we came together after running around the pool. Her tears were visible now, her skin ashen as she pressed her fingers into my chest and let her eyes roam wild around the backyard.

“Where is she, Logan? Where’s my daughter?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll find her.”

“This is all my fault.”

“No, it’s not.”

“It is. I’ve been so pre-occupied with…”

“What?” I looked down at her, unable to miss the way our heartbeats mixed together like two crazy drum solos, fueled by a drug called fear.

Hannah took a moment to press her forehead to my chest, but no sooner had she done it, she pushed herself off, her eyes meeting mine with anger I hated to see.

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