Wade tried to push the thick blanket away. Somehow he’d managed to cover his face and now it felt like he would smother. But it was heavy and his arms were tired. No, it wasn’t a blanket. His eyes wouldn’t open. He tried again. And again. Finally, he saw a sliver of light.
“Dr. Savage?”
He tried to speak and couldn’t get past the dryness in his throat. The wave of nausea took him by surprise and he simply lay still.
“Wade? Can you wake up?”
He felt something slip between his lips. A straw? He sipped and the cool wetness slid down the back of his throat. “Yes,” he whispered. “Give me a minute.”
“He’s coming back to us.”
“Where’s my son?” The smooth bass voice was filled with concern. And fear?
Wade’s sense sharpened. His dad? Why was he here? Where exactly was here? The fog shifted and his mind started to clear. He’d been trying to get in his car and felt the sting in his lower back. A person with a knife? Then blackness. Or was it all a dream? He had no memory of anything from then until now.
A chill sliced through him and he struggled against the lure of the darkness once more. The smells and sounds hit him. He was in a hospital? He heard his father’s voice. “Wade? Son? Wake up and tell us what happened. Who did this to you?”
He finally managed to pry his eyes open. Glanced left, then right. Yes, a hospital. “I don’t know.” He licked his lips and took a deep breath. “I knew someone was there. I could feel it.”
His father frowned and exchanged a look with someone on the other side of the bed. Wade turned his head and let his eyes land on a beautiful woman. Straight blonde hair, concerned blue eyes. Smooth complexion, oval face. Beautiful. Intriguing. “Who—?”
“My name is Olivia Edwards. I . . . found you in the parking lot of the radio station.”
“Found me?” He licked his lips.
“Where was Ms. McKay?” his father asked.
“Who—” But his father wasn’t talking to him. He had his laser intense gaze on Olivia’s face. Wade let his eyes drift shut, then forced them back open.
“I don’t know. She’s still missing.”
What were they talking about? Who was missing? He tried to form the words to ask, but couldn’t seem to wake up any further. He drifted, their voices still echoing in his head.
When reality intruded again, Wade forced himself to wake up. He rolled to his side and pushed his eyelids up. His gaze landed on his father seated in the one available chair, head back, light snores filling the air. Wade rubbed his eyes and sat up, the bed crinkling beneath his weight.
His father stirred. “Son?”
“Yeah.”
His dad leaned forward. “You going to stay awake this time?”
“I think so.” His head felt less clogged and foggy. He reached for the cup on the table near him and chugged back the rest of the lukewarm water. “How long was I out this time?”
“About thirty minutes.”
“What time is it?”
“Six in the morning.”
Wade’s stomach growled in agreement. “I need to check on Amy.” His twelve-year-old daughter with more than just a penchant for worry. He reached for his phone and couldn’t find it in its usual spot, clipped on to the side of his belt.
His dad held it up. “Amy’s fine. She doesn’t know anything about what happened. Martha’s going to take her to school just like any other day.”
Martha, his sister-in-law and live-in nanny for Amy. Wade thought. What day was it? Oh right, Friday. “She’ll wonder why I don’t come down for breakfast.”
“Martha plans to tell her you had an errand to run and will see her when she gets home.”
Even though he worked until three in the morning, he was always up at six-thirty to eat breakfast with Amy before she went off to school. “I guess she’ll have to be all right with that.”
“She’ll be fine. It’s not the first time you haven’t been there for one reason or another.”
“I know, it’s just that that’s our time and I hate to miss it.”
“Can’t be helped. Have you gotten any more packages?”
And that was that as far as his father was concerned. Deal with stuff and move on. Wade grimaced and sighed. “Yes.”
“What?”
“What does it matter?”
“Six weeks, son. This has been going on for six weeks.”
“I know, Dad. I’m aware.”
“And who knows how long she was watching you before then? Learning your habits and—” His father blew out a hard breath and dropped his head in his hands.
Wade winced. His dad was right. At first it was just small things like a teddy bear with some of his favorite chocolate candies. He’d mistakenly thought Amy had gotten them for him for his birthday and had them delivered. But she’d claimed no knowledge. Neither had his sister-in-law. Or his father.
Next it had been a box of his favorite soap and aftershave, followed by two tickets to the concert he’d mentioned wanting to see. All things he’d talked about on his radio show.
Innocent gifts. Thoughtful gifts. Or they would be if they were from someone he knew. Coming from a stranger who obviously wanted to stay anonymous was a bit creepy. Okay, a lot creepy.
He looked into his father’s frowning eyes. “This past Monday I got home from the office to find expensive matching baseball jerseys for me and Amy.”
“Jerseys?”
“Atlanta Braves jerseys.”
“Your favorite baseball team.” His dad shook his head. “This is getting too bizarre.”
“No kidding. One of my callers was worried about her marriage. I suggested doing something her husband enjoyed. She said he liked baseball so I talked a little about the Braves and how Amy and I enjoy going to the games every so often. I told her we got a lot of talking in during the drive there and even during the lulls in the game and that it was a good bonding experience. She seemed to like the idea.”
“And someone sent you jerseys.” His father seemed to have trouble wrapping his mind around it.
“Yes, but that’s not the scary part.”
“What is?”
“The size was perfect. Not just mine, but Amy’s too.”