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Pushing my phone into my pocket, I take a deep breath as I climb out of the car. I glance up at the impressive building in front of me. Despite working here for the past five years, I’m still in awe at how beautiful this building is. Bull Street Library is the largest of three libraries in Savannah. It’s a grand old building with large stone steps leading to imposing pillars outside the main entrance. Inside, ornate staircases take you through four floors of books, conference rooms, and computer suites. Although I love working here, my boss can be difficult, and I have no idea how he will react to me wanting time off with no notice.
“Ready?” Sawyer asks from next to me.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He follows me across the parking lot, and we silently climb the stairs to the entrance. Once inside, there are more steps to the children’s section on the second floor. When we reach the top, I turn to Sawyer. “I’ll go and see Dana first, then I’ll find Mr. West.”
“Mr. West?”
“My boss.”
Pushing open the double doors, I walk through the low stacks of books and past the brightly colored carpet, Sawyer following behind me. I reach the check-out desk and smile seeing Dana sitting behind her computer. She jumps up when she sees me, quickly making her way around the desk.
“Hallie, sweetie, how are you?” She pulls me into a hug, and I hug her back tightly.
“I’m okay.” She pulls out of the embrace, her eyes searching mine.
“Really?” I shrug, and she gives me a small smile. “It’s okay not to be okay.” Her gaze flicks behind me, and I pull out of her embrace, turning to Sawyer.
“This is Sawyer. He’s deployed with Max and staying with me for a few weeks while he gets over an injury. Sawyer, this is Dana.”
“Hi, Dana. Good to meet you.” He holds his hand out, and Dana takes it.
“Good to meet you too, Sawyer.” She looks between us, a strange expression on her face, and I wonder if she’s figured out Sawyer isn’t who I’ve said he is. Despite being close to her, I’m not ready to admit I have a close protection officer.
“I’m going to be off for a while until this blows over. I hope that’s okay?” I hear the uncertainty in my voice, and I’m sure Dana hears it too.
“Hallie, of course, it is. Don’t even think about work. Take as long as you need.”
I smile gratefully, noticing from the corner of my eye that Sawyer is moving toward the window overlooking the front of the building.
“I need to see Mr. West. I wanted to stop by—”
“Hallie, we need to get out of here,” Sawyer calls from the window, interrupting me. I walk toward him when he jogs over to me and grabs my hand. “Is there a back entrance to the library?” I don’t answer as fear creeps up my spine. “Dana, is there another way out?”
She nods. “There’s the back stairs through the staff room. I’ll show you.”
Sawyer squeezes my hand as he tugs me along with him. We pass through the staff room until we come to the stairs.
“Who’s out there, Sawyer?” I ask, my voice trembling.
“The press. I don’t want you to have to deal with them.” He turns to Dana. “Where do the stairs come out?”
“At the back of the building. You’ll have to walk back past the entrance if you’re parked out front, though.”
“That’s okay. I’ll think of something.”
“Take care, Hallie. If there’s anything you need…” Dana trails off, pulling me in for another hug. My hand drops from Sawyer’s as I hug her back.
“Tell Mr. West I’ll call him,” I mumble.
“I will. Don’t worry about him.” She gives me a sad smile as I pull out of her embrace.
Sawyer takes my hand again, and we jog down the flight of stairs. When we reach the ground floor, he pushes on the emergency exit door, and suddenly, we’re outside. He moves me to his right side, his arm going around my shoulder as he shields my body with his. We walk around the side of the building, and I look up, seeing reporters and television crews setting up by the entrance.
“They’re going to see me,” I mutter, panic overwhelming me as my breathing speeds up.
“No, they’re not. Keep your head down and stay close.” I drop my eyes to the sidewalk and focus on my breathing as I let Sawyer lead me back to the car. As we get closer to the entrance, I hold my breath. Before I know it, I’m climbing into Sawyer’s car.
As he gets in the car, I finally allow myself to look up. The large stone steps leading up to the library’s entrance are full of reporters, television crews, and cameramen. “Shit.”
