Page 121 of Say You Will

My heart lurches into a drumbeat in my chest and pounds in my ears. I knew I’d end up speaking to her one way or another again. I had the last word when I hung up on her.

I step toward the door, and Spencer places a hand on my forearm. “Ms. Len—Franki, I don’t think it’s wise to let her in. At least not until Henry and Dante get here.”

“I’m calling the police if someone doesn’t open this door!” Mom shouts.

I shake my head. “I have to get this over with. She’ll have the cops up here trying to arrest Henry if I don’t talk to her.”

“At least make certain she’s alone.”

An iPad sits on the counter, and I tap on the exterior cameras. She’s not alone, but I’d have been shocked if she were. A driversits, partially obscured, inside a black SUV with tinted windows, and one of her regular bodyguards, a humorless man named Nick, stands beside her.

“It’s fine.”

I open the door and slide through to stand on the porch, shutting Oliver and Spencer inside. Mom stands there, a look of shocked joy on her face. She lifts a hand to my cheek. “I was so afraid. Your boyfriend made those threats, then you disappeared. Your friends wouldn’t tell me where you were. I thought he’d killed you.”

“I told you he’d never hurt me, and I told you I didn’t want to see you again. How did you find me?”

She throws herself against me, holding me and sobbing. “I’m here now. I have you.”

I try to step back, but she clings like Saran Wrap. “Stop it.”

She shakes her head and sobs. “You have Stockholm syndrome. I’m getting you out of here.”

For as much as Henry and I have made light of my “abduction,” we both know it was never that. He’d never force me to do anything.

The security guard at Bronwyn’s house would have tried to stop him if I hadn’t winked at him when he’d peeked around Henry. Gabriel would have stepped in. “Remain loyal” doesn’t mean blind faith to a person, even a family member. It means loyalty to what the McRae family stands for. “I’m not a prisoner. I’m here because I want to be. How did you find me?”

“I used the location services on your phone before he made you block me.”

“Henry didn’t make me do anything.” I don’t even know what she believes is true and what is deliberate manipulation.

“Why didn’t you call me when you knew you were in danger? I’d have taken care of you. I’m the only place you have to go that’s safe.”

She tries to guide me off the porch, but I balk and refuse to budge an inch. “Stop. I said I’m fine. I’m not in danger. I’m happy here.”

“Where is he? Is he standing behind you telling you to get rid of me? Is that it?”

I scoff. “He’s not even here right now. This is me, telling you, for the fiftieth time, I’m not coming back with you. I’m not going to remain in contact with you. I blocked you for a reason. Get back in your car and leave.”

She stares at me, her sobs miraculously drying as she narrows her eyes. “You need me.”

I shake my head. “I don’t.”

Her expression turns pitying. “Are you going to leech off your friends and Henry McRae indefinitely?”

“I’m not leeching—”

“They’ll get frustrated eventually. They let you hang on to them because they pity you. Is that what you want? To be a burden to these people?”

I shake my head. “It won’t work.”

“It’s the truth.”

“None of what you said is the truth. You’re not even consistent. Henry wants me because he wants you? You disgust him. He wants me out of pity, but he’s also holding me prisoner? I have a job, and I’m good at it. I’m capable of taking care of myself. Henry loves me. He doesn’t care that the shape of my face or body is different. He doesn’t even care that I may change over time. He won’t love me less because of it.”

She gives me a pitying look, her big gray eyes limpid and filled with tears. “I know you believe that, and I wish it were true.”

“I’ve been the one taking care of you,” I snap. “If I’m so incapable, how is it I managed your life? Your schedule? How was I able to go to school and still be there to cater to you? Why is it so damned important to you that I feel unlovable?”

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