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I nodded.
My dad hoisted Talon and then Ryan up. Joe, of course, was too big for that now. He got a handshake instead.
Once they were gone and the boys had resumed their evening activities, Brad took my hand.
“We need to finish our talk, Daphne.”
His eyes were heavy-lidded. He looked troubled. Maybe he’d level with me about what was going on between him and my father.
He led me to the home office and sat with me again in the chairs across from his desk. He took my hand.
“Baby, I love you.”
“I love you too, Brad.”
“This isn’t going to be easy to say.”
“Oh my God. What’s wrong? Is it one of the kids?”
“No. The kids are fine. I’m going to make sure everything stays fine.”
“Okay.”
“Which is why I need you to—”
The phone rang.
“Damn!” he yelled.
I grabbed both of his hands in mine. “Please. Ignore it.”
But he didn’t.
He stood and went to the damned phone. “Steel.”
Pause.
“Yes.”
Pause.
“That’s not surprising.”
Pause.
“I can’t discuss this right now.”
Pause.
“Fine. Goodbye.” He hung up.
“Who was it?” I asked.
“Just business stuff. Now”—he sat back down next to me and took my hand again—“where were we?”
“I don’t know.”
He shook his head. “I love you so much.”
“I love you too.”
“You and the kids are everything to me, baby.”
“I know that.”
“Which makes this difficult. I’m sending you away.”
My eyes popped into circles. “What?”
“Not just you. You and the boys. Some things are happening, Daphne. Things I might not be able to control. I need you and the kids out of harm’s way.”
My blood boiled. “Where do you think you’re going to send us?”
“I have a little island in the Caribbean.”
“What?”
“It’s a safe place.”
“Wait. Are you telling me we’re in danger?”
“No, no. You don’t need to worry. I’m just erring on the side of caution. I can’t take any chances with you or the kids.”
“But…the Disneyland trip.”
“They’ll go another time. Once you have the baby. It will be better then.”
“No, Brad. I won’t leave my home. I won’t disappoint my children.”
“Daphne, I’m not doing this to upset you. I’m doing this to keep you safe.”
“Keep us safe? We live in a fortress! Cliff hovers over me daily to the point that I don’t even notice him anymore. The boys are on summer break.”
“Only for another month.”
“But they’re safe here, Brad. They aren’t going into town to school. They—”
He gently pressed two fingers to my lips. “Baby, I will not take any chances where you and the boys are concerned.”
“Then level with me. Why? Why now of all times do you think we’re in danger?”
He didn’t respond.
“Does this have something to do with the tension between you and my father?”
Again, no response.
“I see.” I stood. “Let me make this clear, then. The boys and I aren’t going anywhere, and we are going to Disneyland next week. We’re taking Bryce with us. We’re going to stay in the Disneyland Hotel and we’re going to meet Mickey Mouse and we’re going to ride Space Mountain. All things I wanted to do when I was a kid but never got to because my parents couldn’t afford it. Well, we can, and I am not disappointing my babies.”
“Daphne, be reasonable.”
A green vase sat on Brad’s credenza. A green vase filled with Mazie’s stupid-ass pale-green tulips.
“I’m not a colorless flower!” I screamed.
Brad stood and reached for me. I backed away toward the credenza and picked up the transparent green vase.
“I hate these tulips! I fucking hate these tulips!”
The scary guy raised his tattooed arms over his head and threw the vase onto the hardwood floor.
Green shards of glass shattered and flew everywhere.
The scary guy walked out and slammed the door.
Bullshit.
Brad wasn’t going to get his way this time. The kids and I were going to Disneyland, and when we returned, we were staying right here.
We weren’t going anywhere.
Something edged into my consciousness. Something dark, as if someone was trying to hide something from me.
Pull. Slice. Wrap. Hand to customer and smile. “What else can I get for you today?”
I tamped it down, determination overwhelming me.
I was not a colorless flower.
I was done hiding.
I was done.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Brad
“Steel.”
“It’s me,” Wendy said.
“Yes.”
“The money hasn’t come through yet.”
“That’s not surprising.”
“What good is wiring me money if it doesn’t come through right away?”
“I can’t discuss this right now.”
“Fine. I’d better have it in twenty-four hours, or no deal. Everything will be made public.”
“Fine. Goodbye.” I hung up.
Why was I replaying the phone call with Wendy in my mind when my wife had…
What had she done? Yelling at me and breaking a vase was out of character for her, but was it out of character for this situation? Anyone would be angry at what I’d told her. I was forcing her to leave her home and go to a safe house. At least she could take the boys with her.
Her reaction had flummoxed me. She was her own person, but in the past, she’d always gone along with what I’d asked, even if it didn’t make any sense to her. She was pregnant, and her hormones were probably out of whack, but still…
