No matter how many fancy nightgowns and lingerie I bought her in the past, one of my shirts was still her favorite thing to wear to bed. When I let her wear anything that is.
But now she was staring down at the shirt like it was a foreign entity. “I don’t have any clothes.” She looked like she was about to cry.
“What do you mean?” I took her hand and led her back upstairs to our bedroom. “You’ve lost some weight sure, but I’m sure your things will still fit.”
I opened the closet door and walked in with her hand in mine. She seemed surprised to see her clothes hanging exactly where she’d left them.
Believe it or not, there was a dress laying across the chair that she’d left there after we returned from our last party. She walked over and touched it before looking back at me with tears in her eyes.
She ran back and threw herself in my arms and I realized that until that moment she really did think that I had abandoned her. That I had moved on with my life. I held the back of her precious head in my hand as she cried into my chest.
“I would never forget you baby, even if you were gone for a thousand years.” The words made her cry even harder as she clutched at me while her little body shook.
I didn’t bother fighting back my own tears this time but let them fall, as we stood there wrapped around each other, both seeking comfort.
I’m pretty sure some will say that I need to give up my man card as much tears as I’ve shed in the last few days, but fuck that. This shit deserves a tear or two.
Cade
True to his word the P.I. showed up just as we were heading back downstairs. She jumped when the doorbell rang and I wanted to put my fist through the wall. My baby never used to be afraid of shit.
I didn’t have to tell him to tread carefully once I opened the door to let him in. He knew pretty much the whole story and was relatively good at his job, not to mention an upstanding guy, so he knew what to do.
Right away his easy manner put her at ease, but she still drew closer to my side. He understood and kept a safe distance between them as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and squeezed reassuringly.
“So this is your lady, pleased to meet you ma’am. It’s great to have you back home.” He treated her with kid gloves as I led him into the library with her attached to my side.
I wanted to jump right in but he put me off with a look and a slight shake of his head. I bit my tongue and let him take the lead and it wasn’t long before it was obvious that he had a better handle on things as he gently eased into his questioning.
She was more open and relaxed, I noticed, than she had been with the cops, and it was all due to this. He didn’t push, didn’t prod, but let her lead the conversation, giving her time each time she stopped to think.
“I found the family who picked you up on the side of the road. That was five days ago. From the general location they gave me I figure that’s a good starting point to start looking for the place where you were being held.”
I’d given him all the information she’d given me. One of the things she’d remembered after the cops had left was that she’d flagged down a car when she first made it out of the woods.
She’d hidden in the brush on the side of the roadway until she saw a vehicle with a family before coming into view and asking for help.
All she remembered were the first few numbers of the license plate and the color and make of the car. I hadn’t expected much when I gave him the information but apparently it had been enough. I’d passed the information onto the cops as well but hadn’t heard shit back from them as yet.
“Did you share this with the cops?” He nodded before I was through asking. We’d agreed that it was best if he worked in tangent with the law this time around, with the hope that things might go faster.
“Now the area where Mr. Collins said he picked you up is surrounded by forest land so it’s a good bet that you were being held not far from there. Do you remember anything else, any signs that may be of help?”
She closed her eyes in deep thought before shaking her head. “My memory keeps coming back in bits and pieces. I was drugged for so long that some things are still a bit hazy.”