I wrinkle my nose, but before I can answer, Sage does. “Yup. It might be a little cold at this time of year though, but if you’resuper good, I’ll let you in on a secret spot that is even better than the lake.”
“A secret? Does Tori know the secret?” she asks, and Sage shakes his head even though I know he’s talking about the hot spring that is a short ATV ride from the cabin.
She bites her lip, thinking about it. “That isn’t fair. We should tell her. We don’t keep secrets from our friends.”
“If only your parents took that advice to heart,” Sage mutters out of the side of his mouth before returning his attention to her. “If Tori is a good girl too, then she can know the secret also.”
I roll my eyes, but instead of adding to the conversation, I search for a bag. Opening the closet, I find a large duffle with plenty of room. I start pulling frilly, impractical dresses off the hangers, but she scampers off the bed and comes toward me, waving her hands. Her curls stick out from her head like she stuck her fingers in a light socket. She’s freaking adorable, and I feel my heart soften even more. I frown and try to tell myself not to get attached, but I think I’m failing miserably. There’s just something so innocent and beguiling about her. Maybe Sage was right about his wisdom on the innocence of children.
“No, none of them. I hate them all. I don’t want to take them with me. Macy and Grandpa made me wear them, but they are itchy and uncomfortable.” She grabs my hand and tugs me over to the chest of drawers. “These are the clothes my mommy bought me, and I want to take all of them.” She pulls out drawers, and I see they are full of shirts, shorts, leggings, and pajamas, all suitable for a four-year-old.
“Okay, I’ll grab all of these. Do you want to show Sage your favorite toys so he can grab them for you?”
Again, she wrinkles her nose and looks around the room before going over to a small child’s table and chairs. She picks up the books and coloring pencils and then goes back over to the bed, searching around under the covers before pulling outa small stuffed penguin. “This is Peaky. My daddy gave him to me.”
“Okay, squirt. Anything else you want to take?” Sage asks, and she rolls her eyes at him, and he chuckles.
“They didn’t let me have toys or watch TV or read books.”
“Yikes, so what did you do?” he asks, and she shrugs.
“Did schoolwork and stared out the window and watched the people next door, but they haven’t been there for a while now.”
Sage and I exchange a glance. I’m guessing Mario encouraged them to leave.
“Okay then, Sage can buy anything you need. There’s a small town near the cabin. He can take you shopping for some books and things, and I’m pretty sure there is a game console at the cabin. He can get you age appropriate games for that too.” I look at him for confirmation, and her eyes light up with hope as she turns her attention to him.
“There definitely is, and first thing tomorrow…” He pauses and looks at the time on his phone. “After we wake up, I’ll take you into town. We can have cake at the little cafe there too. They make the best coffee crunch cake, and their hot chocolates come with tiny, little bitty marshmallows.”
Addi’s eyes widen as she listens to Sage, and she dances on the spot. “I’ve never had hot chocolate with little marshmallows. Can we go now?” she pleads, pressing her hands together and batting her eyelashes at him. I see him melt and open his mouth to agree to anything she asks.
“No, nothing is open at this time of night. The drive to the cabin will be long, so you can sleep in the back of the car, and when you wake up, it will be morning. You’ll be somewhere safe, and then Sage can take you shopping. Okay?” I interrupt before he can promise her the world.
Her bottom lip drops, and her eyes well with tears.
“Shit, Tori, do something. She’s going to start leaking,” Sage pleads, and I scoff.
“She’s playing you.” I cross my arms and stare down the tiny terror.
It doesn’t take long for her to drop the pout and huff with annoyance. “Not fair.”
“Let me tell you this now, Addi. None of us will ever lay a hand on you in anger, but we also aren’t going to fall for any of that manipulative crap.”
“What’s manipulative?” she asks, sounding confused.
“When you use tears and sad faces to get what you want. That isn’t fair. Sometimes you just have to accept the answer is no,” I explain, and I see her thinking it over, but she doesn’t respond.
“Remember this—you will go further if you learn to compromise. We didn’t say you couldn’t do any of those things, just that you couldn’t do them immediately. You give a little, and we give a little, and we come to a place we are all happy with. Understand?”
She nods slowly. “I think so.”
“Okay, good. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or tell us what you want, but be prepared that the answer won’t always be yes.” Before she responds, I wave a hand at the door. “Come on, let’s go. I’ll carry the bag, but can you let Sage carry you? We can move faster that way,” I tell her, and she holds her arms out to Sage, who lifts her and secures her against his body so we can move swiftly through the house. We’ve been here long enough, and even though I think we would have been interrupted by now if the others sounded the alarm, I still don’t want to risk being discovered.
The three of us move through the house and out the front door. There, we find Mickey leaning against the side of the house, shrouded in shadows. As soon as he sees us, he pushes away from the wall. There’s a strong smell of accelerant in theair, and I grin wickedly at him as he waves a bottle filled with liquid and a cloth stuffed into the top.
“It seems that it might be getting a little hot around here. We should get moving,” I remark.
“I would say that’s a good guess.” He returns my wicked grin before holding the object out. “Would you like to do the honors?” he asks, and I grin before passing him the bag in exchange for the Molotov cocktail. Sage hands me his ever-present lighter, and I flick it open, the flame burning nicely. Holding it to the end of the cloth, I make sure it’s well and truly lit before passing it back to him. I turn to face the building and examine suitable entry points.
