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But I didn’t know if we’d get Hannah first. There was only one way to find out, and I had to wait too long for the answer. My already frayed nerves were close to snapping as I showered and dressed quickly, anxious to get back to the office and meet with Bethany. We planned to finish the documents. I felt impatient to do anything that would pass the interminable time.
Being back at Paragon offered no relief. “Ms. Taylor,” Stephanie said, following me into the office, “do you want some help packing up?”
I looked around my office, which I hadn’t touched. “I think I’m going to…wait.”
Eddie was overseeing the company-wide packing, getting ready for the move to San Jose. Gabe and I hadn’t even signed a contract yet, but I wasn’t worried about it. In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about the future at all, even though I had to imminently deal with a move and starting a new company. I could only focus on the next seventy-two hours, during which I might or might not be reunited with Hannah.
Stephanie reached out and tentatively rubbed my arm. “Is there anything I can do?”
“No, but I appreciate it. Just continue acting normal—I appreciate you keeping things on an even keel around here. I’m not capable of it at the moment.”
“Everybody understands,” she said. “In fact, we’re all in awe that you’re able to be so calm and to keep things moving forward. But we’re used to that—being in awe of you.”
“I hope I can figure out something for us all to do, now that we’re…saying good-bye to the patch.” I could barely bring mysel
f to say the words out loud.
“You will. Everything’s going to be fine once we get your sister back.”
I nodded at her, touched by her kindness.
After she left, I went and stood by the windows, looking out at the grounds. I put my hand on the glass, as if I could touch the view.
And then I went back to my desk to finish winding up my company.
Gabe texted me intermittently throughout the day. They hadn’t seen any activity at the house they were watching, but the surveillance site was set up and the men had settled in.
There was nothing to do but wait.
I texted Ellis Eden, who reported that Wesley was still in stable condition. They were running more tests on him today, before they decided how to proceed.
The morning dragged. Bethany sat perfectly still, plowing through a pile of equipment-description documents. I paced some more, returning to the window occasionally, watching the sun as it made an excruciatingly slow path across the sky. We barely spoke.
Halfway through the day, Bethany went out and grabbed lunch. She pushed a container filled with peanut noodles, stir-fried vegetables, and crispy tofu toward me. “Any news?”
“Not yet. They have the house set up and the surveillance equipment’s assembled, so now they’re just waiting. As far as I know, they haven’t seen anyone else coming or going.” I pushed the food around in its container.
“Please eat that—it’s from Okayama. They make the best bento box in San Jose.”
“Thank you.” I took a bite and chewed listlessly, Bethany watching me.
“So…what’s the plan? If Levi actually pulls this off, I mean?”
I groaned. “I know you like to vet the people around me, but honestly, you don’t need to give Levi such a hard time.”
Bethany shrugged, her platinum hair swishing over her shoulder. “I have a feeling he’ll rise to the occasion. I know men like Levi—they don’t appreciate being challenged. But if someone calls them out, they like to make a big show of being right.”
“So that’s why you’ve been so hard on him—trying to shame him into being a hero?”
She rolled her eyes. “Enough about Mr. Musclebound and Brooding. Let’s get back to the point: if they rescue Hannah before the closing, are we still going through with it?”
“I don’t want to sell if we don’t have to, but I can’t let myself think that far ahead. I don’t want to get my hopes up, and worrying about what’s going to happen with Paragon seems wrong because I should only be thinking about my sister.” I didn’t want to put the cart before the horse, and I didn’t want to jinx Hannah—I had to keep my eye on the more important prize.
She nodded. “I get it. This waiting thing sure sucks.”
I took a bite of bitter-tasting broccoli. “Tell me about it.”
“But if we don’t get Hannah, what happens then?”
