Read Online Vanished (The Saved Series, A Military Romance) by Lorhainne Eckhart - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Lorhainne Eckhart
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go through what she did and not have trauma is unlikely. Some can hide it. Sometimes you bury things, hide them so no one around you knows, and for years you get by. Then bam, something will happen to trigger it.”
“So what , are you a shrink now?” he snapped.
Someone knocked on the door right before it popped open. “Hello? Oh, hey there, Terri. Didn’t know you were here,” Mary-Margaret said. As she stepped inside, her gaze drifted from Eric and his disheveled appearance to Terri, standing so close they were touching. She frowned.
Eric didn’t think he could take anymore , so he handed Mary-Margaret his son and said, “I need to get cleaned up.”
“Any news?” she said to Eric, but it was Terri who replied, “No, nothing new.”
Mary-Margaret frowned again, her eyes flashing . Eric really wasn’t too interested in trying to figure out what her problem was. He took in both women and noticed how the air had suddenly thickened.
“Look , Terri has some ideas. We’re going to check out some shelters in South Norfolk.”
Mary-Margaret patted his arm. “That’s good. You need to find your wife. Don’t give up hope , Eric. You’ll find her.”
Eric didn’t answer. He couldn’t, so he just turned away and went into his bedroom, shutting the door.
Chapter 13
Eric was sitting in the passenger side of Terri’s burgundy four-door sedan. As usual, she drove and Eric searched the streets, seeking out all the people walking by. He had begun to notice the homeless more and more every day they’d been out searching for his wife. They pulled in beside an older red brick building. There was concrete everywhere, covered in graffiti, and a large dumpster at the edge of an alley was full of garbage.
She parked in front of the building, taking the only empty spot. The homeless pushed carts , and some were huddled in the corner while others stepped up the concrete stairs from the basement. They wore lots of worn layers and mismatched clothes, all trudging around and looking defeated.
“So , what stop is this?” he asked, opening the door as she lifted her keys from the ignition.
“The nun I wanted to talk to ,” Terri replied. “Sister Carmen is her name.”
Eric stepped out into the snow on a sidewalk that hadn’t been shoveled. As he looked up and down the street, he could see how the city overlooked this part of town. He looked around at the unkempt, the rundown, the poverty that seemed to stare out at him from a neighborhood that showed its years of being let go.
“Guess the cit y has no money in the budget for this part of town,” he said.
Terri was wearing lace -up boots, and she stepped through the bank of snow. “It’s about taxpayers, voters. You know the city aldermen—this would be political suicide for them. These are the lost souls down here, this part of town.” She jammed her hands in her pockets and gestured to the steps. “Let’s go in.”
Eric followed Terri down the concrete steps , which, at least, had been cleared, and into a basement. There were tables set up inside, and the room was filled with hundreds of people who seemed to gather to keep warm. There was a kitchen at the back and an urn of coffee. Some men and women were wiping the tables, while a large, dark man with a pockmarked face talked to an older woman. She wore a red wool cap, her gray, greasy hair poking from the ends, and a burlap coat that was covered with grime and dirt.
“Excuse me , we’re looking for Sister Carmen,” Terri said.
The man took in Eric, scanning the tan uniform he wore. He firmed his lips. “She’s in the back office, down the hall.” He gestured with his large hand. “You stationed here, sailor?”
Eric watched him and recognized something in him . Military, navy… he wasn’t sure, and, for the first time, he found himself not correcting the man for his slight. Anyone knew the difference between enlisted and officer, and so did this fellow. Eric would bet everything he had on
“So what , are you a shrink now?” he snapped.
Someone knocked on the door right before it popped open. “Hello? Oh, hey there, Terri. Didn’t know you were here,” Mary-Margaret said. As she stepped inside, her gaze drifted from Eric and his disheveled appearance to Terri, standing so close they were touching. She frowned.
Eric didn’t think he could take anymore , so he handed Mary-Margaret his son and said, “I need to get cleaned up.”
“Any news?” she said to Eric, but it was Terri who replied, “No, nothing new.”
Mary-Margaret frowned again, her eyes flashing . Eric really wasn’t too interested in trying to figure out what her problem was. He took in both women and noticed how the air had suddenly thickened.
“Look , Terri has some ideas. We’re going to check out some shelters in South Norfolk.”
Mary-Margaret patted his arm. “That’s good. You need to find your wife. Don’t give up hope , Eric. You’ll find her.”
Eric didn’t answer. He couldn’t, so he just turned away and went into his bedroom, shutting the door.
Chapter 13
Eric was sitting in the passenger side of Terri’s burgundy four-door sedan. As usual, she drove and Eric searched the streets, seeking out all the people walking by. He had begun to notice the homeless more and more every day they’d been out searching for his wife. They pulled in beside an older red brick building. There was concrete everywhere, covered in graffiti, and a large dumpster at the edge of an alley was full of garbage.
She parked in front of the building, taking the only empty spot. The homeless pushed carts , and some were huddled in the corner while others stepped up the concrete stairs from the basement. They wore lots of worn layers and mismatched clothes, all trudging around and looking defeated.
“So , what stop is this?” he asked, opening the door as she lifted her keys from the ignition.
“The nun I wanted to talk to ,” Terri replied. “Sister Carmen is her name.”
Eric stepped out into the snow on a sidewalk that hadn’t been shoveled. As he looked up and down the street, he could see how the city overlooked this part of town. He looked around at the unkempt, the rundown, the poverty that seemed to stare out at him from a neighborhood that showed its years of being let go.
“Guess the cit y has no money in the budget for this part of town,” he said.
Terri was wearing lace -up boots, and she stepped through the bank of snow. “It’s about taxpayers, voters. You know the city aldermen—this would be political suicide for them. These are the lost souls down here, this part of town.” She jammed her hands in her pockets and gestured to the steps. “Let’s go in.”
Eric followed Terri down the concrete steps , which, at least, had been cleared, and into a basement. There were tables set up inside, and the room was filled with hundreds of people who seemed to gather to keep warm. There was a kitchen at the back and an urn of coffee. Some men and women were wiping the tables, while a large, dark man with a pockmarked face talked to an older woman. She wore a red wool cap, her gray, greasy hair poking from the ends, and a burlap coat that was covered with grime and dirt.
“Excuse me , we’re looking for Sister Carmen,” Terri said.
The man took in Eric, scanning the tan uniform he wore. He firmed his lips. “She’s in the back office, down the hall.” He gestured with his large hand. “You stationed here, sailor?”
Eric watched him and recognized something in him . Military, navy… he wasn’t sure, and, for the first time, he found himself not correcting the man for his slight. Anyone knew the difference between enlisted and officer, and so did this fellow. Eric would bet everything he had on
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