I have no clue if I’m strong or not. I know nothing about myself—only the things I’ve learned over the past few months.
I’m shy except around children. I have a terrible sweet tooth, often picking ice cream over dinner. I’m also afraid of the dark. I wonder if I’ve always had that one or if it’s new.
I get lost in my thoughts of what the future might bring. Taylor is right. I can do this. There is no other choice. It helps that I have Fawn at my side. I put my hand on my stomach, knowing I’ll do anything for my little jelly bean.
I pack up the puzzle, finally getting tired before I head to my room. I pause when I hear a male voice talking with Taylor in the front office.
“No men are allowed in, and it’s after eleven p.m., sir. You need to leave.”
“I don’t need to come in. I just want to know if she’s here.” The man sounds like he’s fighting his anger. Still, his voice is deep and sexy. Goosebumps break out across my arms. It’s almost soothing.
“I can’t tell you that either, sir. This is a women’s shelter. We protect the identity of all the women and children under our care. What you can do is leave your information. I can pass it on.” I find myself stepping closer to the office. The door is slightly cracked.
“Fine, but I will be back first thing in the morning.” A moment later I hear the buzz sound of Taylor letting him out the front door. What the hell was that about? More than likely it was a husband looking for his wife. That happens a lot around here. Sometimes we have to call the cops in order for them to go away. Thankfully, this one left on his own.
“Winnie.” Taylor gasps in surprise when she opens the door and sees me standing there. “You scared the crap out of me.” She glances back over her shoulder before she steps out and closes the door behind her.
“Sorry. I thought I heard angry voices. Is everything okay?” She tucks a piece of her short silver hair behind her ear.
“Everything is fine.” She gives me a smile, but it doesn't meet her eyes. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow after I make some calls.”
“Okay. If you need me, I’ll be in my room,” I say before making my way back to my room. I get the nagging feeling Taylor is hiding something or she lied to me. I shake the thought. What would be the point of lying? Even if she did it would be for a good cause.
Still the man's deep voice stays with me until sleep takes me.
4
DANE
I sit in the hotel trying to kill time. It’s the last thing I want to be doing. I’d rather be down at the women’s shelter getting answers. The first thing I did when the plane landed was go straight to the hospital. It took a bit of strong-arming and a huge donation to get the information I needed.
Based on the discharge date on the records, it seems that it’s been over three months since she went over to Healing Homes. Since it was months ago, there’s a chance that she’s no longer there, but at least I know she was at some point. Both the doctor and nurse at the hospital recognized her from the picture. The relief that I felt when they confirmed it was actually Kennedy is indescribable. A sense of hope bloomed in my chest that I was on the right track.
That feeling didn’t last long, though, once I made it to the shelter. No one would answer my questions no matter how hard I pushed. They barely let me step foot inside the building. I wanted to say fuck it and go in anyway.
I managed to hold on to some rational thought. Especially once she told me it was only women and children that stayed there. I wasn’t going to burst in there and scare the crap out of a bunch of people that have already been through enough shit in their lives. Believe me, I wanted to, but I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. I’m not that big of an asshole.
My phone starts to vibrate in my pocket. “What do you have for me?” I ask my assistant.
“Roman King and his wife head up Healing Homes.” I asked my assistant to pull whatever she could on the shelter, hoping that I could find a way to bypass the rules without making a scene.
“Are you shitting me?”
“Nope. I think it has more to do with his wife, but Roman pours money into it.” Damn. When the hell did Roman get married? I never thought I’d see the day the cold asshole would fall in love and get married. I suppose others might say the same about me.