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“Eli?”
“Um?” He stopped in his tracks and looked back at me.
“I love you, too.”
He nodded, smiling as he headed into the bathroom. I heard the water turn on as I grabbed the new gun that Nate had brought me and left on my side table. I hiked up my dress and strapped it to the inside of my thigh. I used to carry in a shoulder holster, and I was glad I had it when they abducted me. But now, I needed to keep it closer.
I had to earn people’s respect again. Their fear.
Now, they didn’t fear me… but they would.
Chapter 4
Addie
Before I left my room, I opened the door, went back and grabbed the vase, and then headed downstairs. I heard voices from the dining room, so I followed them. Nate and my father were talking over breakfast.
“What kind of flower is this?” I asked as I walked into the room.
Nate dropped his fork and my father jumped up, surprised to finally hear me speak.
“What?” they asked in unison.
I looked between them as if they had lost their minds. “The orchid. What kind is it?”
Nate shrugged. “I’ll look into it.” He thought for a moment and then asked, “Why do you want to know?”
I shrugged. “Because I haven’t seen these particular type of orchids before. I have a feeling that if they are as rare as I’m hoping they are, it won’t be difficult to find the florist who sent them. And if we find the florist, then we can track down Lenny.”
My father tightened his grip on his fork. It had been before the cancer, he would have bent it with his bare hand. “You mean to tell me that that bastard sent those to you? After what they did?”
I nodded. “I won’t tell you what the card said.”
My father stood, walked around the table, and threw the vase against the wall, shattering onto the floor. He sat back down casually and resumed eating his breakfast. “Nate, get the flowers before Martha throws them away. All you need is the flowers, not the vase.” He pointed his fork at him. “And see what you and the men can find out right away.”
“Yes, sir.” Nate dabbed at his mouth, walked over, and placed his hands on his hips, looking down at the mess. Then he picked up the flowers from the shattered vase and dirt strewn across the floor.
I reached over and gave Dad’s hand a gentle squeeze, and he nodded as he let me go. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to.
I sat at the table and looked around at their plates. “What were you two talking about?”
I stole a piece of bacon from Nate’s plate and a huge smile spread across his face.Dork, I chuckled, rolling my eyes.His black hair was tousled like he had just gotten out of bed, the bags under his eyes had become luggage, and he wasn’t dressed as neatly as usual. His shirt was wrinkled and so were his pants. He looked haggard, like these last few weeks had taken a toll on him, and it had… thanks to me. He really needed a rest.
“Nate, you need to start taking better care of your appearance.” I chewed on the bacon, wondering if Eli would come in to join us.
Nate andPadreexchanged a look.
“Out with it already.” This time, I stole a piece of bacon from my father’s plate, and he didn’t attempt to bat my hand away, like he usually did.
Nate took a deep breath. “Well, I don’t havegoodnews for you, Addie.”
“Tell me anyway.” I chomped on another piece of bacon. I hadn’t eaten anything in a while, and it seemed that my body was now trying to make up for it.
Martha emerged from the kitchen and stopped short, nearing dropping a plate of pancakes. Although she quickly recovered herself, she was definitely surprised see me. I didn’t mean to startle her. A quick smile flashed across her lips before she disappeared back behind the door.
“We haven’t found them.”
His words weren’t a surprise. I figured they hadn’t or else I would have heard about it. One of them would have rushed up the stairs and told all about how they found the big bad men that hurt me, and we could devise ways to make them pay. To make them suffer.
