A shadow broke the light beneath the door and she shot a look over her shoulder.
“Please,” she whispered, the image of her shaking as a tear slipping down her cheek. “Save him. And if she’s still alive,” she bit her lip, and even more quietly said, “save my daughter, Matilda.”
The screen went blank.
I wiped the back of my hand over my cheeks, drawing away my tears. I’d never seen her so terrified, so desperate. I wish I could have done something for her. Wish I could have hugged her and told her I was fine. Everything was fine.
Except it wasn’t. I’d signed myself into House Gray, Grandma might be in trouble, and Quinten was missing.
How had my life fallen apart so quickly?
I pried the drop out of the indent and the image of my mother faded away. I tucked the drop in my duffel, then dragged the duffel up to the top of the bed with me, crossing my arms over it.
I needed a plan. A way to find Quinten, a way to see that Grandma really was okay and that Boston Sue wasn’t lying to me about missing Quinten’s message.
I’d seen the surveillance cameras when we’d driven up to this place. I knew there was no chance I could sneak away.
Yet. I had promised I’d give Abraham time to see if House Gray could do anything to help Quinten. I had promised I wouldn’t do something foolish to ruin my chance of staying with House Gray. And I would follow through on both those promises if I could.
I rubbed at my eyes again and pressed my back against the headboard, inhaling the lavender scent of the room. I closed my eyes.
I didn’t want to sleep.
Turned out I didn’t get any say in that.
A knock on the door woke me.
“Matilda,” Abraham said. “Are you awake?”
I pushed up, rubbed my eyes, and stared into the dim light of the room. How long had I been sleeping? No clocks. I smoothed my hair then walked over to the door and opened it. “What time is it?”
“About nine. You’ve been in here for two hours. Everything okay?”
“Relatively?”
He smiled slightly. “Did you watch it?”
“Yes. It was. . . .” I didn’t know what to say. “Thank you for bringing it.”
His moss green eyes went soft as he studied me, and I promised myself I was not going to cry again. “Are you okay?”
“She was scared, but it was. . . . I’m glad . . . to see her again, it’s just. . . .” I stopped, unable to trust my words for fear that tears would follow.
He paused, watching me for a moment while I tried to smile. Then he pulled me into him, wrapping his arms around me.
I shouldn’t do this. I shouldn’t want this comfort from this man, but I didn’t want to pull away. I pressed my forehead against the hard muscle and warmth of his chest, wishing I could stay there forever. He held me while I gave in to quiet tears. Then he held me a little longer. Finally, he kissed me gently on my temple and I drew away.
“Can I help?” he asked, wiping my cheek with his thumb.
“No,” I brushed the rest of my tears away and took a deep breath. “It’s old pain. There is no cure.” I pulled together a smile. “I’d like to think about something else. Anything.”
“Dotty put some tea on and there’s dinner if you’re hungry.”
I was starved. “Food sounds perfect.”
“Good. Then come on out. The first game is up and I need a partner.”
“Game? There are nine people out there. Ask one of them to be your partner.”
