31
HAWK
I waketo sunlight slicing across the bed
Mmm.Dani…
I turn, reach for her.
And then I jerk upward.
Dani.
She’s gone.
“Baby?”I rise and walk to the bathroom.
She’s not there.
I walk around the house, stark naked, my pulse pounding.Where the hell is she?I head back to the bedroom to put some clothes on so I can go outside.
That’s when I see it.
The note.I grab it and sit down on the bed.
The handwriting is small, hurried.Three lines.The ink is smeared where a tear fell.
God.Her tears break me.
Don’t worry about me.
I will be fine.
I meant it when I said I love you.
The room tilts.My pulse stutters.I fold the note into my fist until the paper creases.I don’t read it again.I don’t need to.Those three sentences are burned into my brain for life.
God, what have you done, Dani?
I grab my phone and call her.The line goes straight to voicemail.
I try a text.
No dots.
My hands jitter as if I’ve been holding a rattlesnake, and I dial Vinnie before I can think better of it.
He answers on the second ring.“Yeah?Where’s Dani?She’s with you, right?”His voice is hurried.
“No,” I say frantically.“I mean, she was.We were together last night.We fell asleep…” I stop to inhale, inhale, inhale…
“Stop it,” he says.“You’re hyperventilating.”
“Don’t you think I know that?”I try to calm myself.Right.Like that’s possible.
“Check your security feeds,” Vinnie says.“I’ll check mine.”
I nod, knowing full well he can’t see me.
