Page 54 of Petals & Promises

“I want to hear you say it,” he pressed. “Bailey-Rose Thatcher, tell me what you’re not.”

My lower lip quivered as I tried to keep my emotions from overwhelming me. “I-I’m not a victim. When he tried to take me, I fought like hell and survived.”

“Damn straight, Care Bear,” Warrick agreed from where he was standing behind the couch. “You are the bravest person I know, and no one can take that from you. Randall is a fucking bug under your heel and doesn’t deserve to breathe the same air you do.”

“Hey, man, you might want to tone it just a bit,” Gareth murmured. “Anger isn’t going to help us take care of her right now.”

At some point during my meltdown, Vili had wrapped himself around me like a human blanket. It made me realize how Gareth had gotten so lost in his fear and panic about the ATV ride he couldn’t hear me. Soft lips pressed against the back of my neck as a flood of emotions finally made their way through my mental block. All of my Alphas were mainlining every version of love and support you could describe in the spoken language to fight against the fear that still lingered.

“Sweetheart,” Yun-Sun said, drawing my attention. “I need to make a call to the police and your brother about this. Do you want me to make that call in another room or stay here?”

Instantly, my hand shot out to grab his arm. “Here. Stay here. Please.”

“Okay, omae, I’m not going anywhere… none of us will,” Yun assured me.

The sound of ringing soon filled the room as Yun-Sun placed the call on speaker. I appreciated his efforts not to keep what was said hidden from me. There was no doubt in my mind that Eli and my Alphas hadn’t told me everything, but I trusted it was for a good reason.

“Yun-Sun, good evening,” Eli answered.

“Well, it was a good evening until a few minutes ago… the bastard sent Bailey-Rose an email,” Yun explained.

There was a momentary pause, and I could feel Eli’s anger emanating through the phone. “Am I on speaker?”

“You are, and she’s right here,” Yun answered.

“B, are you all right?” Eli asked.

“Y-yeah,” I said, my voice cracking, but I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m okay.”

“I’m so sorry, little B. I thought for sure by now we’d have found him. The two men I hired have gotten way more leads than the police, but there’s still something we’re missing about this. Can one of you send me the email?” Eli asked.

“It should be in your inbox,” Yun-Sun interjected. “I sent it to you and the police. They might not be doing much, but we need to follow the letter of the law if he has someone powerful enough to protect him this long.”

“Agreed,” Eli grumbled. “You’re back in Preidon, correct?”

“We’re at my family’s ranch in Molis. We planned to be here for the next two days, but if you think it’s better for us to come back, we can,” Gareth answered.

“No, I think it’s best you stay, especially since he tried to sneak into both houses,” Eli determined, clearly having read the email. “B, what painting is he referring to? When we find him, it will help to prove he’s the one who wrote these emails.”

Licking my lips since my mouth had gone bone dry, I tried to remember what pieces I’d entered. We’d only been required to do four paintings showing various skills we’d learned throughout the four years, but I’d doubled that, unsure which ones I wanted to submit. Then again, I left all eight with the school since I was so excited to return home. Then I remembered I’d used our picnic lunch date as inspiration for one of the paintings. The couple was sitting on a blanket in a field of wildflowers. That had to be the one Randall was talking about since none of the others had a couple pictured.

“Eli, ask Mom for emails I sent her about which painting to choose for my final grade. I took pictures of them all, and if I remember correctly, there will be one with a couple on a picnic. This way, they have proof the painting is mine and it was last seen at my school,” I instructed. “Oh, and Professor Roberts sent me an email confirming the paintings were picked up by Randall.”

“Got it, little B, that will help immensely,” Eli said. “Did you also notice he mentioned staying with his mother? He didn’t ever talk about her, did he?”

“No, he never talked about his parents, only to say they were well-off and high-profile,” I offered.

I could hear the sound of Eli typing on his computer and muttering to himself about how clueless the police were. “Is there anything else I should know?”

Shrugging, I looked at the guys. “Not on my end… what about you guys?”

There was a chorus of ‘no,’ making me feel better. If they had known something, they would have admitted it even if they’d originally planned to keep me out of the loop.

“If that changes, call any time. I’ll always answer,” Eli stated.

When Eli said things like that, it wasn’t just words—he meant it. That was my big brother in a nutshell—a man of unwavering loyalty and the person I would forever want in my corner.

“Don’t worry about filling in the police… let me worry about that. You guys are still on bond leave and should be enjoying this time together, not having to deal with bullshit like this,” Eli added. Hearing him swear had me raising a brow since that was rather unlike him.