The Arrangement

Chapter 1 - Vianna-2

“Not in a week,” Corinne answered. “Sorry. I’ve been out of town. Jack and I went to the beach, and we found this cute little cove and—”

“That’s all right,” I cut in. I really didn’t need to know what exactly happened in that “cute little cove.”

Sage’s best friend had no filter. Corinne tended to go into great details about everything, and that included her s*x life. I didn’t care to hear about that at all, and she wasn’t the best of influences on Sage, but at least she had never broken a law—outside of s*x in public places—and she had never been in jail, so she had that much going for her. Considering I hated her boyfriend, I figured it was one of those pick your battles type deals. I was all right with Corinne if it meant Sage would stop being with Trenton. Not that that had worked in my favor.

“Did she tell you about where she would be going?” I asked in a rush. “Did she have a trip lined up and she forgot to tell me?”

“Nah.”

My heart sank, and my knees went weak. I sank to the floor, my phone still plugged into the charger. Corinne had been the last person for me to get ahold of. She had been my last chance at finding them. Well, outside of Trenton. I had really thought and hoped she had been with Corinne, or that Corinne would at least know where she was.

So where the hell was she? Where had she gone? Why hadn’t she told Corinne? She shared every detail with her best friend. Why start to keep secrets from everyone now? Maybe it hadn’t been a planned trip. Sage could be a little impulsive at times, just never to this extent before. She always left me a voicemail or a physical note to let me know where she was. Her mom had disappeared too many times on her so that was one thing Sage had almost prided herself on. Even if she was going to a party she knew I wouldn’t approve of, she would still let me know she was going.

So maybe it hadn’t been planned. Maybe something serious had come up. Like what, though? What would keep her radio silent for five whole days? It just didn’t add up. Something was wrong. Call it mother’s instinct.

My growing fear kept me silent, but that never bothered Corinne. She just kept right on talking.

“Sage and Trenton have no money. They planned on staying low key, far as I knew. Couldn’t even afford to go out to dinner or nothing. We, Jack and I, just got back, and I was about to call her, but then I got your messages and thought I’d call you first. You know, your voice goes kinda high-pitched when you’re upset. You sound like a—”

“Try calling Sage,” I urged, even though I figured her calls would go straight to voicemail, too. I didn’t need to know what I sounded like. I needed Corinne to stay focused. “Maybe she’ll call you back, and this will all just be a big misunderstanding. I mean, she didn’t tell you anything to make you think that she’ll be leaving, right? She wasn’t home when I came back from work five days ago, and no one has heard or seen from her or Trenton ever since.”

Actually, I didn’t know for sure about the Trenton bit. Maybe he was hanging around his place. Maybe he and she split, and Sage needed some time by herself.

But still, why hadn’t she called me?

And I was rambling. Corinne tended to ramble all the time. Who knew it would rub off on people.

“Nope,” Corinne said. “I’m sorry. I wish I could be of more help. I haven’t a clue where she might be. Which is kinda strange. I mean, she tells me everything, even told me before she told you that she had gotten back together with Trenton this last time. Anyhow, I’m sure she’s fine—”

“It’s been five days,” I growled, “with no phone calls or emails or anything. No communication at all. With technology making communication easier than ever, I’m freaking out and rightfully so. Sage isn’t like this. She doesn’t check in all the time, but she’s never been gone this long before, and I’m worried.”

“Chill, Vianna.” Corinne laughed, but this was no laughing matter. Couldn’t she see that? “I’m sure she’s fine,” she repeated.

“If you hear from her, will you call me?” I asked, almost pleading.

“Of course. But seriously, stop being so uptight.” A strange smacking sound came over the line. Maybe she was chewing gum. “Get laid or something. You’ll feel better.”

“Right,” I said dryly. Because that was going to happen. I didn’t need to spread my legs. I needed to find my daughter. “Can you call her and then call me right back, please?”

She blew out a breath. “Fine, but you’re making a mole hill out of nothing.”

I frowned. “You mean a mountain out of a mole hill.”

“Nope. A mole hill out of nothing. There’s nothing here. So Sage isn’t answering your calls. Just means she’s busy, that’s all.”

“Just call her,” I ordered, and hung up.

I waited on pins and needs for Corinne to call back. Which she did. Almost immediately. Which meant...

“Voicemail?” I asked without even saying hello first.

“You got it. Still doesn’t mean anything,” she said.

Sighing, I hung up again. This time, I called the police station, but they hadn’t gotten any farther than I had.

“We’ll let you know,” the officer said, the same one who I had been talking to all along, an Officer Steve Jenkins. He was young and honestly didn’t seem to be that competent, or maybe I was being unfair. I couldn’t tell. “As soon as we make any headway, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Are you sure I shouldn’t organize a search?” I asked, desperate to feel useful, desperate to do anything that might help speed up the process of finding Sage and bringing her home safe and sound.

Ever since I first realized she was gone, I had been plagued by terrible nightmares. I’d see images of her body cut into ribbons, of her being throw into the river, of her being involved in a fatal car crash, of her being cold and scared and alone and terrified. Hell, I was scared and alone and terrified.

“I advise against it, ma’am,” he said calmly. How could he be so calm? “You don’t want to impede our investigation.”

What investigation? I wanted to scream. Were they even doing anything? I knew our small town in the south didn’t have a lot going for it, and that there had been a suspected murder a month ago they still hadn’t solved so they were more concerned with that, and rightfully so, but still. This was my daughter we were talking about.

I basically hung up on the officer and sighed again, wearily rubbing a hand down my face. My stomach was all twisted into knots, and the heavy feeling in my chest wouldn’t go away. I had adopted her to give Sage her best chance at life. I wouldn’t rest until I succeeded.

Running off with Trenton Young wasn’t her best option, if that had been what she’d done. Did she know that? Had she done it anyway? Did she not bother to tell me because she knew I wouldn’t approve? I knew she was nineteen, that she could technically do what she wanted, but she had always kept me in the loop. And she told Corinne everything. If Corinne didn’t know where she had run off to—and Corinne, bless her, couldn’t lie if her life depended on it—that made me fear she hadn’t gone off willingly.

What if she tried to break things off with Trenton and he hadn’t taken it well? What if he had kidnapped her? If he had hurt her at all, he’d better hope I never found him, because when I did, I would make him regret it. I had told the police about her relationship with Trenton, how it was toxic, and they had taken down notes, but I didn’t know if they had followed up on that lead. Should I call back and press? Find out if Trenton had been seen recently?

Regardless of whether or not Sage had gone willingly, I just wanted to make sure she was all right. I was bound and determined to get to the bottom of what happened to her. One way or another, with or without the police’s help, I would find her.

Now that I had finally gotten ahold of Corinne and she’d turned out to be a dead end, Trenton Young and the Devil’s Horns were my best lead. Her disappearance most likely was because of the damned motorcycle club.

Sage often went to an apartment complex called The Shades to be with Trenton. It was downtown and not at all in a good area, but that wasn’t going to stop me. I grabbed my cell—only about half charged—and my keys and purse and dashed out of the house and to my car. Traffic was brutal, and a car almost rear-ended me. I swore my luck was at a serious low point right now. It took me almost an hour to reach The Shades.

I had never been here before and my heart sunk at the sight of it. It was a terrible building, with peeling paint, broken windows, and graffiti. No lines marked the parking spots, and the cars already parked weren’t in the best of shape with dents or duct tape and plastic to cover up a busted window. Around the side, some of the cars were nicer, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they belonged to drug dealers, because, man, did I smell some strong m*******a and other druggie whiffs as soon as I left my car. I never touched drugs myself, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t recognize the scent of them.

Sage had come here how many times to be with Trenton? The thought made my stomach churn even more. She deserved better. I’d never forget the first time she introduced Trenton to me.

He’d been wearing a wife beater and holey jeans, way down low over his hips. He had tattoos, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing—who doesn’t love a guy with some ink? Except his ink left a lot to be desired. If you couldn’t afford to have a decent tattoo artist, it was better to not bother to get inked at all, and Trenton was walking proof of that. I was talking about a misspelling and mousy-looking lion instead of a fierce one. A fierce lion could be hot as hell. His made him look like a punk.

But Sage had been all smiles as she introduced him to me, and like a good mother, I held out my hand for him to shake. Not only did he ignore it, but he walked past me, into my house, and asked where the fridge was because he was hungry.

Sage had given me a sheepish grin and trailed after him. She ended up making him a sandwich, and then he ate it all just as she finished making herself one. He took one look at it, and Sage wordlessly gave it to him, and he polished that one off, too, before she even could eat one herself. The man—he acted more like a kid than a man, but he was twenty-two so it felt weird to think of him as a boy—seemed like he should be back in the fifties. Wanted Sage to wait on him. Acted like he was the important one and she had to do his bidding. Gave her just enough attention for her to not realize what an ass he was.

That night, after he had left, Sage had held up her hand. “I don’t want to hear it,” she said.

“Hear what?” I had asked innocently.

“Your opinion.” She’d crossed her arms.

I had c****d my head to the side. “If you don’t want to hear it, it’s because you already know what I think. And don’t you agree?” I’d so hoped she would agree, but of course she didn’t.

“You don’t know him,” she’d protested weakly.

“And I don’t want—”

“He makes me happy,” she’d said quietly. And damn it all if there wasn’t something in her eye that suggested she spoke the truth. But how? How could someone like that ass of a wannabe man make her happy? “Don’t you want me to be happy?”

“Of course, but I—”

“He takes care of me,” she’d added.

I had wanted to argue that she could take care of herself, but she had been smiling, and her happiness did seem genuine, and he hadn’t done anything nasty or mean or abusive toward her, so I let it go.

Now I was kicking myself for not speaking up more, for not giving her grief, for not doing everything in my power to open her eyes. Yeah, it might have only pushed her away from me and closer to him, but if she realized just how little he obviously cared for her outside of what she could do for him, she might be home right now. She might be with a man I approved of, one who saw what a treasure she was, one who enriched her life. The kind of guy she deserved.