"I want a name!" There is a pain in his voice. For the first time, someone seems angry for what I went through, and it throws me.
“I don’t…have one,” I whisper.
“A location, a face, a house, anything?” He sounds desperate. He takes a step closer to me. “Can you take me there?”
Nodding, I take a step back from him for a moment. I don’t want to go back there; I don’t want to seehimagain.
“We’ll go tonight.” Leo turns to face Jackson. “I need my lawyer to make sure I don’t break any rules.”
I hear Jackson laughing. “Like I was going to miss that show, but are you sure you want…”
"Hope won't be there. She'll take us then I'll bring her back home and meet you where you say." Leo turns back around, but before he can say anything to me, I walk away to get something to mop the coffee off the floor.
Looks like I don't get a say in this, but I want to know what Leo will do when I do show him who it was and the fact that he needs his lawyer there? That worries me a little more.
CHAPTER14
LEO
“Hope!”I shout her name as I walk into the house. My head was not in work today. I wanted the day to go faster just so I could get home.
“Yes,” I hear her soft voice behind me, turning around I watch her scratching her arms over the sleeve of the sweatshirt.
"My mom got you some stronger lotion, so hopefully it won't be as painful for you." I hand her the bag, and for a moment I just stand there waiting for her to take it from me.
“Thank you.” Her voice comes out in the smallest whisper.
"I also got you your medication. So, instead of making your week-long supply last a month, how about we take it every day?" Placing the bag on the table, I watch her for a moment. "I want you to get better; I want you to feel like you can walk around here and not be scared." I must sound like a fucking broken record with her, but I just wish she would at least walk around the house with her head held high.
“Thank you, I’ll get dinner ready.” She scratches again. Before she can walk away from me, I grab her arm to stop her.
“Is your rash getting worse?”
"No, just the clothes are a little tight, and the fabric is making them itchy." She looks down at my hand on her arm and waits until I loosen the grip before she pulls it from me.
I watch her walk to the kitchen, and I lean on the chair for a moment. Jackson should be here soon for dinner then I have my whole night planned. I walk up the stairs to my bedroom to grab a sweater for Hope; mine will be a little looser on her. I walk back down to the kitchen and see she's cutting up some lettuce.
Placing my hand on hers I tell her, "Wear mine, it will be more comfortable for you." I turn her to face me and I pull her off.
I have no idea what's going on, but I must be fucking crazy because Hope is doing something to me that I don't know how to control. She doesn't even look at me, but when her eyes meet mine, I'm sunk into the blue heaven that I see in them. They have this magic to them that casts a spell on me, and I never want it to go away.
I take a step back from her before I do something that I know I won’t be able to recover from. I need her to trust me; I need her to know that I won’t hurt her physically or emotionally.
She puts on my sweater, and I turn to see Jackson walking over to us. "What's for dinner, Hope?" he asks as he looks over to me and holds his eyes on me for a moment. He knows me well enough to see that there’s something different with me and it happened the moment I walked in that restaurant and saw Hope.
“She’s making some pasta and salad,” I tell him, our eyes still locked with each other.
“Sounds nice, what time do you want to leave today?”
I watch Jackson walk over to the table, and I turn to follow but stop when I feel Hope's hand on top of mine. She's never done that before. "You okay?" is the only thing I ask.
"What's happening tonight?" Her voice is tinged with worry, and I can feel the fear radiating from her.
“You’re going to take me to the place, show me who hurt you and I’m going to bring you home where no one will ever hurt you again. I’ll take care of everything else,” I tell her, my thumb stroking the side of her hand softly.
Hope's hand rests on mine for a little moment longer, and all I can wonder is- what is she thinking? Is she scared of what I'll do? Will she be happy with what I'll do today? I wanted to say something, anything that would reassure her that her pain was almost over, but in that moment her hands leave mine.
I walk over to Jackson knowing that there is no more of that conversation happening. “Are you ready for tonight?” I ask him, pulling out a chair at the table.