Page 15 of Frosted Hearts

After a short walk, I reach the door indicated by Mrs. Francine and knock once, before waiting for instructions to enter, which never come. After a long pause, I knock once again, harder this time to ensure it can't be missed. After hearing some shuffling of papers on the other side, I finally hear an answer.

"Come in," Senator Granger calls out sternly.

Opening the door quickly, I step inside and move toward one of the brown leather armchairs in front of his desk. Just as I'm sitting down, he begins to talk. "You said that your team came up with a plan. What is it? Because so far, it looks like whoever is threatening my daughter is making a big joke out of your company."

"I understand this may be how it looks, but you didn't give us all the information to start with if this latest threat you sent us is anything to go by. It seems there is an escalating pattern, but it doesn't match what Illeana does or doesn't do. She keeps toa pretty similar routine outside of some weekend activities. So, we are trying to determine why the threats to her are escalating. Some of these threats appear to be directed more at you than her, so we are looking at that angle as well, thinking that it's tied to your campaign in some way."

"So you're saying this is my fault?" he growls, rising to his feet as he places both hands on his desk to lean in my direction.

"Not necessarily. I'm just saying we are looking at this from all angles until we can begin to rule things out. If we don't, then we could miss something, and someone could get seriously hurt or, worse, killed. Is that what you want?" I don't mean to bring out the big guns like that, but he needs to understand the possibilities if we keep doing this his way. "You hired us to do a job and then didn't provide us with all the information. You tied our hands from the very beginning, and now we are playing catch up even more than we were before."

"It sure sounds like you're blaming me, Mr. Steel, and I don't take kindly to people doing that," he states firmly. His eyes flash with anger as he continues to stare me down, and his face begins to redden when he sees that I'm not going to back down. "This is not my fault. It's my daughter's fault for being reckless instead of doing what she was told. If she had just stayed living at home instead of insisting on going to a college four hours away she would have been protected. And if you had done your job watching her instead of letting her go out to party, none of those pictures would have been taken and then leaked to the press. It's your fault we are in this mess just as much as it is hers."

"Forgive me, Senator, but you really need to stop trying to push the blame onto everyone else. You chose to become a public figure, thrusting your family into the limelight. Your daughter has done everything in her power to not cause any sort of issues, but she is an adult who can make her own decisions. Where she chose to go to school is one of those. But you're right, I shouldn'thave let her go to the club, but I knew she was going stir-crazy, and since almost no one at Westhill University knows who she really is, I didn't see an issue with it. I was there the whole time, keeping an eye on her, and not once did I see any cell phones or cameras pointed in her direction. She already feels bad enough for what happened and knows not to do it again, so I think you need to ease off a little on her." It may have been the wrong thing to say, telling him how he should and shouldn't parent, but I can't help but defend Illeana here. I've read her file, and I've followed her around for two weeks. She is always trying to be perfect and ensure she doesn't draw attention to herself in any sort of negative way. She messed up, so what? We all do it; it's a part of the college experience, or so I've heard. Things happen.

"I really hope you aren't trying to give me parenting advice," he states in an eerily calm voice as he sits back in his chair. "If you were, then I suggest you start coming up with something else to say because I know how to parent my own children. I've done it for twenty-one years and you don't even have a child from what I can tell, so you have no idea what you are talking about."

Well, shit, he has me there. I don't have a clue what it's like parenting a child per se, but I have watched Emma and Trevor parent Alexis as well as Shadow and Rachel with their two kids. I know it takes a village and at times you need to let the child learn on their own. A parent can't control everything despite how much they wish they could.

"Apologies, sir," I begin, trying to backtrack some and stay on his good side, not like he has one. "Would you like to hear about the plan my team has come up with to keep Illeana safe and hidden while we figure out who is behind these threats?" I'm hoping a change of subject will help me get out of the hole I just dug for myself while also trying to defend the woman whoquite clearly is turning my life upside down in ways I had never expected.

"Please enlighten me as to what this plan is," he waves his hand to let me continue. I can't tell if he's being serious, but I'll give him what he's asking for.

"We want to take Illeana to a cabin. It's secluded, and she will be kept out of the public eye. She can still do her classwork online; we just need to make sure the Dean will allow her to do it for more than a week, considering the circumstances. No one will be able to find her there, and we won't allow her to use her cell phone at all. It's somewhere safe and very few people know the location. This will give us time to figure out who is behind the threats while also keeping her safe and out of the public eye." It's a long shot getting him to agree to this, I know that, but it also is our best shot. Because if someone does find her, then we know who could be behind it. It would narrow down our suspect list.

"Is she going to be there by herself?" he asks as he strokes his chin with his thumb and forefinger, contemplating the idea.

"No, I'll be there with her to protect her," I answer. It's not exactly what I want, but we already agreed I would be the best person to go with her since we are already familiar with one another. Plus, I know for a fact, Trevor does not want to go back to that cabin anytime soon after spending some time protecting Emma there.

"Would you consider taking her sister, Grace, with you as well? I'd feel better if she was out of the picture also," he explains. The anger I saw in him earlier has subsided greatly. Now it seems like he is really considering this as a possibility instead of immediately fighting with me on it, as I had expected.

"Sure, Grace can come along as well if that would make you feel better. I can watch over both of them. We will need to get the school work that Grace will miss while out of school for the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping we won't need to be there longerthan two weeks, but to be on the safe side, I'd rather have enough to be there for a month in case something happens and this takes longer." It's true, I really don't want to be there for longer than two weeks. I hate being stuck in spaces for long periods of time. It wouldn't just be a matter of if Illeana and I could survive being around each other for that long of time. It'll turn into how long I can handle being stuck in one place without a change of surroundings for that long.

"That can be arranged. If Grace can go with you, then I don't see a problem with them going to the cabin. Then they both will be out of the way. Just keep the people who know about this as small as possible. I don't even want my household staff to know what is going on. Is that clear?" he demands leering at me as he places his hands in front of him on his desk.

"Understood, sir. The list of people who know where we are will be very minimal. Do you want me to tell the girls, or would you like the honor of doing that yourself?" I'd prefer this come from him, but I can totally see him making me give them the bad news and make me out to be the bad guy.

"I'll do it tonight during dinner, and I'll make sure most of the staff is cleared out while we talk. Go find Mrs. Francine. She can show you to your room so you can freshen up." Senator Granger turns in his chair and begins looking at his computer, effectively dismissing me from the conversation.

With that done, I stand and exit the room, heading back the same way I came. I’m hoping to cross paths with Mrs. Francine on the way so I don't need to wander around the whole house in search of her. I'd like to have a bit of time before dinner so I can get a quick nap in, but I doubt that will happen. It's almost four in the afternoon unless the Senator is one of those people who likes to eat dinner at like seven at night. Those people weird me out.

"Sweetie, it's time for dinner," Mrs. Francine calls out as she knocks on my door. The second I had gotten out of the shower after coming upstairs, I fell asleep on my bed. I didn't mean to, but I was still exhausted from last night. The shower made me feel somewhat human, at least, which helped with things. My head still hurt some, but not nearly like it did when I woke up. The McDonald’s that Steel had gotten me on the drive also helped my stomach settle. The nap was the last thing I needed to feel awake and be able to face my father.

I want to hope that he will behave during dinner tonight. However, it won’t surprise me if he doesn't at all. The only way he will is if most of the staff is sent home. He doesn't care how he behaves in front of Mrs. Francine. He knows she won't go anywhere or say anything because she is here for my sister and me. Once, two years ago, she asked me if I wanted her to say anything when my father lost his temper, but I told her no. He wasn't abusive, not physically, just sometimes he would lose his temper and yell at us. Usually, he directed it at me and I was fine with that. I knew how to handle him and calm him down. Fromwhat I know of, he's never really yelled at Grace and that's what I care about.

"Miss Illeana," Mrs. Francine calls out again, this time opening the door to my room. "Are you awake?"

"Sorry, yes, I am. I fell asleep," I reply with a sleepy smile, getting out of bed and moving to the small vanity in the corner of my room. "Let me just brush my hair and toss on some light makeup and I'll be down. Is Grace ready?"

"Grace is ready and waiting in her room for you. I told her you would grab her so the two of you can make an entrance together. Don't take too long. Your father sent the staff home, and he's been in a mood all day. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything," she pats my cheek softly. "Don't use any blush, you don't need it."

"Thanks, Mrs. Francine. I'll grab Grace in less than five minutes. Is Steel still here?" I wouldn't be surprised if my father kicked him out after they talked. I know my father is furious about what happened, and when Steel stepped in front of me to protect me from his ire, it pissed him off even more. I'm pretty sure if my father wasn't so concerned about his image, he may have actually punched Steel. That's how mad he was about what happened.

"He is. His room is set up just down the hall from you. I already told him to head down for dinner. That young man looked like he was starving. I don't think he's used to waiting to eat until almost seven in the evening," she chuckles as she grabs my hair brush and begins to do my hair just like she used to when I was younger. I don't stop her, letting her have this moment.

"He's a big boy. He can handle waiting patiently. If anything, he should count his blessings that my father didn't kick him to the curb immediately after he stepped in to defend me," I chuckle softly, being careful not to move my head too much.

"That he may be, but he's a good man standing up to your father like that. Not many men can do that and still walk away to speak about it. He may be rough around the edges, but he seems to have a good head on his shoulders," she clucks her tongue as she gathers my hair into a high ponytail.

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