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But when I grasp the handle, the knob refuses to turn. Of course, the door would be locked. Dr. Lopez wouldn’t want just anyone snooping around behind this door.
And I’m not a skilled enough spy to get inside without the key.
Which just means I need to be clever, and a little devious, to sneak inside.
EENY MEENY MINY…
After I pick Barron back up and we complete my errands, we return to my house, and I stash my drugs in the bathroom upstairs.
Then Barron helps me move the tables from the garden into the basement. After what happened yesterday, the sterile space is safer than being close to the woods, and it has access to the beach if we need it.
I set out a carafe of coffee in deference to the much cooler temperature down here, and a kettle with hot water for those who prefer hot chocolate. We even stopped at the store to pick up tea for Aspen, and I place the box next to the hot cocoa packets.
Tris arrives with Delilah leaning against his side, and he exchanges a nod with Barron, who gives me a farewell hug before heading to the elevator up to the first floor.
When I walk over to help Delilah into a chair, Tris leans over and kisses my cheek. “I heard you were in the clinic earlier. Want to talk about it?”
I squint at him. “Do you have something you want to talk about?”
He shrugs. “I was diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school, but medication wasn’t an option back then.”
Delilah shifts in her seat. “Why wasn’t medication an option?”
Tris hesitates for a moment, his usual smile dimming. “The people who ran the group home where I grew up didn’t believe problematic children could be fixed with medication. They had other methods of beating out the evil.”
Even though I’ve heard this before, my heart aches that Tris grew up in a home determined to extinguish his light. But he made it through and grew into an amazing man, after a few hiccups in the road, such as being a horn dog then being cursed to be an actual dog.
All of that led to us finding each other, though, and Tris has told me several times that he’d do it all again to be with me now.
Sadness shimmers in Delilah’s eyes. “I’m so sorry you grew up in that kind of environment. Is that why you don’t have a last name?”
“Legally, I have one on paper, but I don’t use it.” His gaze meets mine, warmth chasing away the tension. “I’m hoping for a new last name in my future.”
Happiness spreads through me, and I touch the ring on my finger that we picked out when we fled Hartford Cove a couple months ago. “There are three to pick from. You can have any of them.”
He grins. “Haut and Owen can have Wendall. I’ll stick with the original Branning.”
I glance down at Delilah. “Should I add Shultz to my list?”
She laughs at the suggestion. “I’d be happy to have you as a sister in name as well as marriage. Will you be having a ceremony soon? Have you discussed children?”
“Whoa!” I wave my hands to stop her. “Slow down! We’re just talking last names right now! Where did kids come from?”
Tris waggles his eyebrows at me. “I do like all the stuff that leads to kids.”
“No!” I cross my arms over my stomach, then cross my legs for good measure. “Poop a watermelon out of your ass before asking me to shoot one out!”
“Calm down. They’re not the size of watermelons.” Tris cups his hands into a ball. “More like a grapefruit.”
“That’s not better!” My voice echoes around the large space. “Stop talking about it!”
The elevator rattles open, spilling out Harper and several others. The hushed murmurs interrupt any more discussion of babies.
I give Tris a final glare before I move to intercept them. “Sorry for the change in location, but you’re all familiar with this space, so hopefully it’s not too big of a transition. Please get your beverage of choice while I take the elevator back up for the next group.”
Striding to the box of questionable safety, I close the gate and push the button to go to the first floor.
The death trap rattles upward, and the light from the basement vanishes, leaving only the lantern on the floor for light.
