Page 81 of DFF: Delicate Freakin' Flower

The question hit harder than I expected. I blinked at her, thrown off not just by the words but the depth behind them.

“I—yes, I love her.”

She didn’t let go. “Are youinlove with her, or do youloveher?”

I frowned slightly. “What difference does it make?”

She looked back at Gabby with such gentleness it cracked something in my chest. “Being in love is all about the feeling—the fire, the rush, the beautiful chaos that sweeps you off your feet. But truly loving someone is different. It’s about staying power. It’s patience and quiet strength. It’s showing up, protecting them, and fighting for the relationship even when everything feels hard.”

I didn’t answer right away. My mind was spinning, trying to make sense of it all. What I felt for Gabby—yes, there was fire, that undeniable spark—but there was more to it than that. It was something steadier, something deeper. It had started the moment she looked at me with those innocent but assessing eyes and didn’t flinch at what she saw. From that instant, something unshakable had begun to take root.

“I don’t know yet,” I finally replied honestly. “But I know I love Gabby. And I know that I’d do anything to keep her safe. That has to mean something.”

Gladys looked at me for a long moment, then nodded once and let go of my arm.

“That’s enough for now. Go and finish this. Do it for her.”

I touched Gabby’s hand once more, gave her fingers a final squeeze, then turned and walked out of the room with fire in my chest and a target on my back.

Maddox had made this personal. Now, it was my turn.

I was heading down the hall, still replaying Gladys’s words in my head, when the elevator doors opened, and Eddie stepped out. He was dressed down—hood pulled low over a cap, plain jeans, worn boots—but his sharp eyes found mine instantly.

“Word got out,” he said by way of greeting. “Saw the post, figured you might need backup.”

I clasped his shoulder briefly. “I always need backup.”

He glanced past me toward the ICU door. “She in there?”

“Yeah, but she's still out.”

He looked at me more closely then, his gaze catching the exhaustion etched behind my eyes and the tension coiled tightly through every line of my posture. “How bad?”

“Worse than we thought, but she made it through surgery.” I lowered my voice. “That’s where you come in.”

Eddie followed my gaze.

“I need someone watching over her discreetly. Not just her—Gladys and Ira, too.”

He lifted a brow. “You trust the old woman that much?”

“I didn’t at first,” I admitted. “She helped Gabby escape from her own son—hid her, protected her, and risked her life to get her to that hospital. After everything she’s done, I’d be a damn fool not to trust her now.”

Eddie studied me for a beat, then gave a slight nod. “Okay, I’ve got it covered.”

Relief washed through me. “Thanks, man.”

“I’ll sit nearby, move if needed. And I’ll keep any unwanted guests from getting too close.”

With that, I left him there, the silent guardian I knew he could be, and turned my focus to the storm waiting outside.

Tracking Maddox wasn’t easy.Remy had done what he could from the digital side, cross-referencing property records, shell companies, private airstrip logs, and flagged financial activity. Marcus had pulled in contacts from Florida’s underbelly—contractors who kept their ears to the ground and owed us a few favors.

We identified a property registered under a false name Maddox had used before—an abandoned development out near St. Cloud. It matched Gladys’s description of his current site: unstable ground, large investors, and just remote enough to go unnoticed.

We mobilized fast. Me, Marcus, Elijah, and Jesse went in separate vehicles, fanning out with the kind of precision we’d learned the hard way.

However, when we arrived, the place was empty.

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