“If you’re scared of being alone, I can fly you to a place in Rhode Island,” he offered. “There are facilities like East Winds in every state.”
Her mother shook her head. “No, I was just scared before. Darrell will be back. He always comes back. And I want to be here when he does, no matter what I said the last time we—”
Her phone lit up on the bedside table, interrupting whatever she was about to say next.
Gyeong picked it up, and her eyes widened when she read the text. “He got my messages. And he’s coming now. He says he’ll be here in less than fifteen minutes!”
She raised her gaze back to Victor, her expression shrewd and careful. “If your marriage to my daughter is complicated, this might be the time to go to the house and get your things. My husband’s here now, so I won’t be all alone. And I won’t tell him anything. I promise.”
She grinned at Victor with a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I like the idea of finally being the one with the secret.”
Victor did not return Gyeong’s wicked smile.
This was about revenge, he reminded himself. And Dawn’s father was here now. Not embedded deep undercover. Here was the chance to relight that dynamite and throw it at his unsuspecting enemy. Darrell would not be as accepting as his wife. Just the opposite. He’d be horrified when he found out his daughter was back with him. This was the perfect opportunity for Victor to reap what he’d come to Texas to sow.
So now the only question was, would he take it?
24
DAWN
Victor showed up just as I was stepping out of line in the hospital's cafeteria, with a tray filled with food for both of us.
"Let's go," was all he signed before grabbing me by the arm and leading me toward the exit.
"Wait, I just got food. And we haven't eaten since breakfast."
He took the tray from me and dumped it into the nearest trash can without an explanation.
"Hey!"
Without any apology whatsoever, he took me by the arm and all but dragged me out of the cafeteria.
I was alarmed, to say the least. Even more so, when he started walking me in the opposite direction of the elevator bank that would take me back upstairs to my mother.
I stopped, digging in my heels to demand, "What are you doing?"
"We're leaving," he answered. "Your mother has gotten through surgery. She will be fine."
"Maybe. But I'm not leaving here without at least saying—"
I cut off when Victor abruptly stopped us walking and yanked us to the left and into a hallway. It was one of those short corridors that led to a closed accounting office.
"What the hell, Victor?" I asked. "Why are you acting so crazy?"
The answer to that question came not from Victor but in the form of a man storming past the corridor where he'd hidden us. A man I recognized.
It was my father.
He looked angry, which I pretty much knew, meant that he was afraid. It was the same expression he wore when he pulled me out of Victor's Roppongi apartment.
I stopped arguing with Victor and instead went to peek around the corner. I watched my father's back for a few moments before he broke left toward the elevator bank and disappeared.
After he was safely out of sight, Victor and I walked out of the building's front entrance without saying a word.
There was a car idling right outside of the hospital. A large black Suburban, not an Audi. But the driver got out and opened the back door as soon as he saw us. Less than two hours later, we were on a plane headed to Providence.
It was a long, tense plane ride to Texas. Going back was even more awkward. I still couldn't believe we just narrowly missed my dad.
Or that Victor had helped me dip in and out without Dad ever being the wiser.
"I don't know how to thank you for everything you've done for me this weekend," I admitted about halfway through the plane ride.
He was quiet for so long. I wasn't sure if he would acknowledge what I said.
But then he raised his hands to sign back with a stone-cold look, "Don't thank me."
And in that was pretty much all he said to me for the rest of the plane ride.
The night guard was waiting beside the open gate when we pulled up to the house.
He was another old guy like the day guard, and he had never said one word to me. However, he greeted Victor in cheery Cantonese. And I was pretty sure the sudden uptick in his friendliness levels had nothing to do with the quality of his English.
"Well, thanks again," I said to Victor, figuring this was where we parted. "See you on May 25th, I guess."
He didn't answer. Just stared down at me, his expression icy and impassive.
So I guess our dynamic was back to that again. I headed into the house with my backpack, more than ready to be done with this crazy day.
After kicking off my shoes in the front entrance, I went upstairs to the bedroom, where I threw down my backpack. I'd been trying to stick to one of those ridiculously complicated Korean skincare routines for my last semester of school, but not tonight.
I fell straight into bed and deep black sleep. Until my Monday morning alarm went off what felt like only a few seconds later.
Alexa always wanted to act like she didn't hear you this early on Monday mornings, so it took me a few yells before I could get it to turn off.
I stumbled into the bathroom, emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. But I woke right the hell up when I found Victor in there, toweling off from the shower he had just taken.
"What are you still doing here?" I demanded; my voice was squeaky with shock.
He wrapped the towel around his waist before answering, "This is my house. So I decided to enjoy it for a little while."
"For how long?" I demanded.
He shrugged. "As long as I decide."
My Alexa chimed up from the other room, warning me that I only had thirty minutes until I had to be at school. I'd learned to set reminders every ten minutes from the time I was supposed to get up. That was the only way to ensure I didn't go back to sleep or get caught up in a good graphic novel after the alarm went off.
I switched the shower back on. "I have to go. I have to go to school."
"I won't stop you," he answered. But then, after a slight pause, he signed, "This time."
Wow. Threaten much?
But at least he finally left me alone in the bathroom. I got showered and dressed and even managed to throw on some lip gloss and foundation in record time. Victor wasn't in the bedroom when I got out of the shower. After I got downstairs, I hastily scarfed down a microwave breakfast burrito. And I swear I could hear him kicking around in the overhead guest room I sometimes used as an office.
He wasn't bothering me exactly. But his "this time" would definitely hang over my head today. If not for the rest of the semester.
This is why I so didn't need Elizabeth Ann Margaret to approach me right after Monday's seminar. The first part of our main thesis production class took place right before lunch. Jacoby had already split, probably to go suck on his vaporizer outside. And everyone else in the amphitheater where our small grad class met was either pulling out the lunches they'd brought from home or making plans to grab something either on or off-campus during the hour break.