Beta

Savannah Decker would never admit it out loud, but she was still suffering from concussion symptoms from an injury that occurred three weeks before. She tried to ignore the headaches and nausea. And she told herself that the difficulty sleeping was a blessing in disguise and would allow her to work from home through the night. She had been cleared to return to work on a limited basis, but that didn't mean she couldn't go over cases on her own at home.

Her eyes skimmed her ipad, the screen causing her headache to worsen. She glanced over in bed next to her to see her boyfriend, Tyler Seguin's chest rise and fall with his breaths in his sleep. She tried to hide her symptoms from him, and she thought she did a decent job, though she knew Tyler knew she wasn't 100 percent.

She was just about to put the ipad away and attempt to fall asleep again when her phone dinged with a text message. She grabbed it, assuming it was one of her best friends, Alex Dayton, or her sister, Shea Decker. The three of them texted each other constantly, and with Shea's wedding to her fiancée, Audrey Mitchells, only a week away, they would often text each other in the middle of the night when an idea popped into their head.

However, she was surprised to see her coworker, Liam Nichols' name pop up. She opened the text and re-read it four times. Bartholomew escaped.

She couldn't believe her eyes. It couldn't be true. The man she had risked her life to put behind bars had escaped. She had gotten her concussion from fighting Bartholomew and his son, Junior, during a mission as a DEA agent. And now he had escaped?

"Motherfucker," she cursed, louder than intended. She saw Tyler stir awake, and she apologized. "Sorry," she said in just above a whisper. "Go back to sleep," she urged him.

He sat up further in bed. "What's going on?" he asked her, his voice filled with sleep.

She sighed, figuring it wasn't worth lying to him about. "Bartholomew escaped," she told him, throwing her phone on her lap.

"Huh?" Tyler asked, clearly confused.

Savannah leaned her head back against the headboard, trying to ignore the headache that was growing. "Bartholomew escaped," she repeated. "Liam just texted me. Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. So all this was for nothing," she held up her wrist that was still in a brace. She hadn't needed surgery on it, but her doctor forced her to wear a brace for a month, which thankfully was set to come off before Shea's wedding. She had just gotten out of her knee brace a few days earlier, though she had attempted to take it off sooner, only to be chastised by Tyler.

Tyler scooted closer to her, putting his arm around her. "Hey, it wasn't for nothing. Do you know any details?" She shook her head. "Well, there's not a lot you can do about it now. Let's just get some sleep, and then you can check in in the morning to see what's going on," he suggested. But, before he even finished his sentence, he knew it was a lost cause. She wasn't going to let it go, even if it was 3 am. Why would Liam text her that at 3 am in the first place?

She looked at him from the corner of her eye, a frown on her face. "He fucking escaped," she said, leaning her head back again. She suddenly could feel a pounding in her head, and put her hand to her temple.

"Migraine again?" Tyler asked softly. He always seemed to know when her concussion symptoms came about, even though she tried to hide them from him. She nodded her head, keeping her eyes closed. She didn't know if the migraine or the news that Bartholomew had escaped was worse. "Let me get your meds," he offered, swinging his legs around the side of the bed.

He walked back in with a bottle of Gatorade and her migraine medication she had gotten from the doctor last week. She hated taking medication and often refused, but when she grabbed the bottle, he knew this must be a pretty bad migraine. "Let's just try to get some sleep, and when you wake up, I'll take you into work so you can talk to Dominic and Liam," he suggested.

She glanced up at him. "You're going to take me into work?" she asked.

"Drop you off before practice and pick you up after. That way I know you're not there all day when you're supposed to be limited."

Savannah laughed. "That sounds about right, having an agenda behind it. But, okay. I know there's nothing I can do now," she relented. She put the bottle of Gatorade on the bedside stand and sunk back down into the bed. Tyler pulled her closer to him, and she laid her head on his bare chest. She didn't say anything but gently kissed his chest before shutting her eyes, willing her migraine to go away and allow her to get a little sleep she so desperately needed.

Unfortunately for Savannah, the sleep didn't last long. Just after 4 am, she woke back up. She laid there for about fifteen minutes before giving up and grabbing her phone. She texted the group text, not expecting an answer, but needing to let them know what had happened. Bartholomew escaped. I don't have any other details, but he somehow got out of jail.
A few seconds went by when she got a response from Alex, catching her off guard.

Alex: WHAT!?! How did this happen?

Savannah: No idea. Liam texted me.

Savannah: Also, why are you up at 4 am?

Alex: I could ask you the same thing…

Savannah: Couldn't sleep. Especially now that Bartholomew is on the loose.

Savannah: So why are you up? Jamie getting a little 4 am action?

Alex: Ha! I wish! He's thinking more about the playoffs than sex.

Savannah: Tell the man you're just waiting to get banged!

Alex: Stop it! You can't tell me Segs isn't focusing on playoffs more so right now too!

Savannah: He won't have sex with me because he's worried about hurting my wrist or head or some shit.

Alex: Someone is feeling a little deprived…

Savannah: He acts like he's going to break me. He's good, but not that good.

Alex: Hahaha don't tell him that!

Alex: Jamie is telling me I need to go to bed. I'll text you in a bit when I wake up!

Savannah: Sounds good, and tell Jamie to focus more on you and not so much on playoffs ;)

Savannah put her phone down and crawled out of bed. It took her a moment to steady herself from the dizziness that occurred from standing up too quickly. She hated this concussion and wondered when the symptoms would subside. She grabbed her ipad and made her way out to the living room.
She found one of Tyler's sweatshirts sitting on the back of the couch and she put it on before settling in. She turned the television on for some background noise and got to work doing some research on Bartholomew.

It was 7 am when Tyler walked into the living room to see Savannah slumped over awkwardly on the couch sleeping. He walked over to her, gently putting his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, wouldn't the bed be more comfortable?"

She jumped at his voice, trying to gather her bearings, finally remembering that she had came out to the living room to research Bartholomew. "Sorry," she mumbled.

He chuckled. "Don't apologize. I'm looking out for you. Go get in bed. I'll wake you in a little bit so we can leave." She looked like she was about to argue, but Tyler cut her off before she had the chance. "Go," he ordered. She glared at him, but stood up and walked towards the bedroom.

Just as she reached the door, her cell phone started ringing, and she walked back into the living room. Tyler groaned but let her get her phone. "Dominic, hi," she answered, and Tyler's full attention was on her, wondering what her boss was calling her at 7 am for.

"I'm assuming you've heard by now," Dominic spoke.

"How did he just escape?" Savannah questioned, sitting down on the couch. The tv was still on the reruns of Friends she had been playing, but she wasn't focusing on it now.

"I don't know, but you can be damn sure I'm gonna find out," he assured her. "Are you coming into work today? There's a few things I want to go over with you. Maybe find something we've known about him that will help us figure out how he got out and where he's at."

"Yeah, I'll be there. I'm just going to shower and get ready and I'll be in," she told Dominic. She glanced up at Tyler, who was just looking at her expressionless.

"See you soon," Dominic said before hanging up.

"Sooo no breakfast together I take it?" Tyler asked.

Savannah shook her head. "I don't have an appetite anyways," she told him.

He grabbed a hold of her wrist gently so she'd look at him. "Is that because of the news or because of the concussion?"

She held his gaze for a few moments before looking away. "Doesn't matter. I'm going to go take a shower and then head in for a little bit." She knew he was worried about her, and she hated when people took it upon themselves to worry about her. She was a grown woman who could take care of herself. "I'm fine, Tyler," she added.

Tyler didn't argue with her, knowing better. Savannah called the shots the majority of the time, and this was one battle he'd let her win. He texted Jamie that he'd likely be to the rink early if he wanted to get on the ice early with him. He knew Savannah was going to want to get to work as quickly as possible and Tyler didn't really have much else to do.

She came out of the bathroom dressed and ready to go in record time. Tyler shouldn't have been surprised, though. "You need to go home for anything?" he asked her. She hadn't officially moved into his place, though she tended to stay over more nights than she stayed in her own place.

Savannah shook her head. "Nope, we can go straight there," she replied.

Tyler allowed her to take the lead and watched her as she walked to the elevator. She still had a slight limp from her injured knee, though it was much less noticeable now. "What are you thinking?" Savannah broke the silence in the elevator that was moving extra slow today.

"Honestly?"

She nodded her head. "Yes, honestly."

"I'm really hungry and wondering if I should get pancakes or waffles for breakfast," Tyler deadpanned.

She hit him in the arm. "Very funny," she rolled her eyes.

The doors to the elevator opened and he allowed her to step out first. "Be careful," he spoke from behind her. She turned her head, giving him a curious look, unable to follow what he had just said. "That's what I'm thinking. Be careful," he clarified.

"I'm always careful."

"Yeah, and the last time you went after him you ended up in the hospital," he reminded her.

He unlocked his car doors and she got into the passenger's seat. "I won't end up in the hospital this time. Promise."

Notes

Super excited for this story to continue!