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Knowing what they say without reading them, I swipe them away and then pull up the map app.
Ten minutes.That’s how far from here my father is.
Just ten minutes until I’ll be in the same building with him. Ten minutes until I can see him.
My stomach cramps with nerves and now I’m regretting the coffee and danish I had earlier.
“You’re okay, Rosalind,” Kohaku says quietly, hand sweeping up and down my thigh. “You’re okay.”
I give a jerky nod, but my mouth won’t work. Shaking myself, I pull back onto the road and focus on justgettingthere. That’s all I can do at this point. Get there safely and then we’ll deal with everything else.
I blink and before I know it, I’m pulling into a parking lot and staring blindly out the windshield. Not really taking anything in.
Kohaku’s finger catches under my chin, turning my face toward him. “You can handle this, Rosalind. You are strong. Don’t you think it’s about time you got answers?” His orange eyes are so soft, like liquid fire, warming me up from the outside in, melting the freeze instinct I’ve apparently found myself in.
My kitsune strokes his finger over my face, my nose, my cheeks, my forehead, my lips. “You deserve answers, little warrior, and you are going to get them.”
Little warrior. God, I feel like that right now. I feel like I’m about to go into battle. Visiting my father shouldn’t feel like it, but it does.
“Will you…” I trail off, then force myself to ask the question. “Will you come with me? Not physically but-”
He’s already nodding. “Yes, of course. I would be honored.”
I let out a breath, resting on the headrest. “Good. Okay, good. I think I can do this if you’re with me, if I can feel you.”
We sit there in silence for a moment, while I regret not bringing everyone else with me. I could have really used all of them at this moment, if I’m being honest. But not just Cohen, Ezra, Fielder, Hardin and Gideon. I could also use Desi and Merritt, even Ben. I would take all the support I can get at this point.
But as it is, I have Kohaku, and that will have to be enough.
I nod once, determined. “Okay, let’s do this.”
I feel rather than see Kohaku disappear, settling against my skin again. As soon as I feel him settle, I push open the door and step out, where I freeze all over again.
Kohaku curls around my waist, an inky shadow fox forming a belt around me like a hug. I’m not sure what he thinks it’s helping, but he does it anyway.
I blink up at the facility. It looks nothing like I imagined, seeing as how he killed our neighbor. I’d thought there would be chain-link fences and barbed wire, high walls with guard towers. You know the typical things you think about when you hear the word prison.
But I guess this isn’t a prison. It’s a facility for the people with mental health issues. And yes, there are guards and a fence to keep patients from escaping, and the door has a big ass electric lock on it, but the building itself looks more like a big stately mansion. It almost brings to mind the buildings back at Septem Stellae.
“Can I help you, miss?” A female guard approaches, hand on the weapon at her side. Not a gun, but a Taser.
I give her a smile that I hope is warm and engaging. “Oh, I’m here to see my father. I- it’s my first time coming here. I’m not really sure where I’m supposed to go.”
The guard’s eyebrows raise as she lifts her arm to look at her watch. “You’re cutting it close. Visiting hours ends in fifteen. It’ll likely take that long to get you checked in. It might be better if you come back tomorrow?”
My stomach drops. I want to argue. I really, really do. But the conversation I need to have with my dad is going to take a hell of a lot longer than a few minutes. And I don’t really see the point of going through the process of checking in, if they’re only going to kick me out right after.
“Right, yes, that makes sense. I can do that.”
I don’t know if I look forlorn, or exhausted, or just plain pathetic, but she gives me a small smile. “I tell you what, we’ll get you checked in today, all your information and all that, to have you established as a visitor and then when you come tomorrow it’ll be just a matter of checking your ID on the database. Sound good?”
I give her a grateful smile and nod. “Yes, thank you.”
She leads me through the grounds and to a door clearly markedvisitorswith a sign above it in red and ushers me inside and to the counter where a bored looking man sits behind a plexiglass barrier. He glances up and then back down, and then up again. His gaze focused not on me, but on the guard next to me. “Hey Marianne, how you doing?”
The woman snorts and shakes her head. “Don’t flirt with me, Garza. You know it doesn’t work like that.”
He gives her a saucy little smirk. “You keep saying that, but eventually you’ll cave.”
