Read Online Vanished (The Saved Series, A Military Romance) by Lorhainne Eckhart - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lorhainne Eckhart
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it.
“Yeah , I’m looking for my wife.” He pulled out the picture he’d run his fingers over a thousand times, the one taken the first day home from the hospital with Charlie. She was holding him, and Rachel was beside her. He felt a lump jam his throat as he stared at the first woman he’d ever truly loved, a woman with such innocence. She’d stood beside him no matter what. She had needed him, and he felt guilty for having left. As he looked closer, trying to see the worn picture of Abby as everyone else would have seen her, he noticed it wasn’t just fatigue he saw in her expression—it was sadness. How could he have missed that? He extended the photo to the man, who glanced at the homeless woman beside him. She, too, looked at the picture.
“Pretty. Can’t say I’ve seen her here. You got kids ? She pack up and leave?” the man said.
Eric shook his head . “No, they’re… my kids are at home. She disappeared.”
The man frowned and then said, “You hit her ? Is she running because you beat her?” He was watching Eric as if he would fight him.
Eric swore under his breath and glanced at the door. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” When he turned back to the man watching him, he said, “Hell, no.”
Terri interrupted and gestured to the photo the man held. “She ’d just had a baby, and she walked out. She’d been depressed. We think something happened.”
The man was looking from Eric to Terri and at the badge she had fastened to her jeans when she unzipped her coat. Something changed in his expression as he glanced at her.
“Eric , give us a minute,” she said. She moved away with the large man. The entire time she was talking, he watched Eric with dark eyes: hard, unforgiving, as if he’d figured Eric for a son of a bitch who beat his wife and was deciding on his guilt.
“So you’re in the Navy, an officer ,” the old woman beside him said. She was hunched over in a bulky jacket, and the top of her head didn’t reach his shoulders.
“Yes, a captain.” He crossed his arms and set his gaze to the discussion across the room, trying to figure out why the man was shaking his head at whatever Terri was saying.
“You miss this woman, this wife of yours?” the woman asked, and Eric started to catch a whiff of her body odor. He guessed that living on the streets, she didn’t get much of a chance to bathe.
“Yeah ,” he said, his throat closing up again.
“Don’t mind Frank. He’s just mighty protective when guys like you come sniffing around.”
Well, that had Eric’s attention. “Guys like me?”
He looked down at the woman. She had bloodshot eyes and deep lines in a face that might at one time have been lovely but now showed how unforgiving the streets could be. “What do you mean, guys like me?”
“Military guys, officers, who beat their wives. Frank will never tell you if he ’s seen her. It’s the only chance women like that have to get away. The streets are a place they can hide.”
In that second , as he stood and watched the woman, several things went through his mind. Of the twenty-nine days his wife had been gone, what if she’d been here and no one had said anything? What if they’d jumped to the same conclusion, that she’d escaped him? That made no sense, though. Abby would never say that about him. He’d never hurt her. He loved her.
“Have you seen my wife? Please , if you have…” Eric pleaded, hating the way he sounded.
“Why’d she leave if you’re not hitting her? Did you not treat her okay ?”
By t he way she asked, Eric wondered if she knew something. When he started to talk, he didn’t know how to explain Abby and her mental state, how she was behaving, to anyone. “I don’t understand why she’d leave, why she’d leave our children. She disappeared sometime in the night, leaving our newborn and two-year-old alone. I was on the other side of the world, in the middle of the ocean, and I could do nothing. I need to find her,”
“Yeah , I’m looking for my wife.” He pulled out the picture he’d run his fingers over a thousand times, the one taken the first day home from the hospital with Charlie. She was holding him, and Rachel was beside her. He felt a lump jam his throat as he stared at the first woman he’d ever truly loved, a woman with such innocence. She’d stood beside him no matter what. She had needed him, and he felt guilty for having left. As he looked closer, trying to see the worn picture of Abby as everyone else would have seen her, he noticed it wasn’t just fatigue he saw in her expression—it was sadness. How could he have missed that? He extended the photo to the man, who glanced at the homeless woman beside him. She, too, looked at the picture.
“Pretty. Can’t say I’ve seen her here. You got kids ? She pack up and leave?” the man said.
Eric shook his head . “No, they’re… my kids are at home. She disappeared.”
The man frowned and then said, “You hit her ? Is she running because you beat her?” He was watching Eric as if he would fight him.
Eric swore under his breath and glanced at the door. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” When he turned back to the man watching him, he said, “Hell, no.”
Terri interrupted and gestured to the photo the man held. “She ’d just had a baby, and she walked out. She’d been depressed. We think something happened.”
The man was looking from Eric to Terri and at the badge she had fastened to her jeans when she unzipped her coat. Something changed in his expression as he glanced at her.
“Eric , give us a minute,” she said. She moved away with the large man. The entire time she was talking, he watched Eric with dark eyes: hard, unforgiving, as if he’d figured Eric for a son of a bitch who beat his wife and was deciding on his guilt.
“So you’re in the Navy, an officer ,” the old woman beside him said. She was hunched over in a bulky jacket, and the top of her head didn’t reach his shoulders.
“Yes, a captain.” He crossed his arms and set his gaze to the discussion across the room, trying to figure out why the man was shaking his head at whatever Terri was saying.
“You miss this woman, this wife of yours?” the woman asked, and Eric started to catch a whiff of her body odor. He guessed that living on the streets, she didn’t get much of a chance to bathe.
“Yeah ,” he said, his throat closing up again.
“Don’t mind Frank. He’s just mighty protective when guys like you come sniffing around.”
Well, that had Eric’s attention. “Guys like me?”
He looked down at the woman. She had bloodshot eyes and deep lines in a face that might at one time have been lovely but now showed how unforgiving the streets could be. “What do you mean, guys like me?”
“Military guys, officers, who beat their wives. Frank will never tell you if he ’s seen her. It’s the only chance women like that have to get away. The streets are a place they can hide.”
In that second , as he stood and watched the woman, several things went through his mind. Of the twenty-nine days his wife had been gone, what if she’d been here and no one had said anything? What if they’d jumped to the same conclusion, that she’d escaped him? That made no sense, though. Abby would never say that about him. He’d never hurt her. He loved her.
“Have you seen my wife? Please , if you have…” Eric pleaded, hating the way he sounded.
“Why’d she leave if you’re not hitting her? Did you not treat her okay ?”
By t he way she asked, Eric wondered if she knew something. When he started to talk, he didn’t know how to explain Abby and her mental state, how she was behaving, to anyone. “I don’t understand why she’d leave, why she’d leave our children. She disappeared sometime in the night, leaving our newborn and two-year-old alone. I was on the other side of the world, in the middle of the ocean, and I could do nothing. I need to find her,”
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