Page 72 of Watercolor Skulls

Oh god. He found me.

The back door opens and Rudy steps out.

“Hello, Rudy,” I say dutifully.

“Lily.” He bows slightly. We stare at each other for a moment. His muscles tense as he prepares for me to run. He shakes his head sadly. “I’ve got to take you back.”

“I know.”

I glance over my shoulder, thankful that JD did not run out guns a-blazing.

My heart sinks as the realization of what is happening settles into my bones. Rudy holds the door open, ushering me inside with the swoop of his arm.

The drive back is quiet. I watch the world pass me by, stuck again on one side of the glass.

As the sun sets we pull inside the gates of my father’s estate.

Rudy opens my door and escorts me inside. One of the maids greets us. “He’s in his office,” she says politely, avoiding my gaze completely.

I glance up the stairs nervously.

Rudy places his hand at the small of my back and escorts me into my father’s office. He doesn’t look up from his work. “Lily, go to your room. Benjamin will join us shortly.”

Stand up to him. Tell him you’re done listening to his every word. Put an end to this so you can get back to Dan.

When I don’t jump on his order his fingers pause over the keyboard. I straighten my shoulders as his eyes meet mine over his laptop. “Did your jump off the bridge damage your hearing, Lily?”

“Can we please have a conversation?” I ask nervously.

“Take her to her room.” He waves his hand over me in dismissal.

Rudy grabs my arm and spins me from the office. “What are you doing?” he hisses in my ear.

He drags me up the stairs, tossing me into my room roughly.

I spin on him. “I can’t do it anymore.”

“Lily, your father gets what he wants, you know this.” He runs his hand through his hair, clearly upset by the entire situation.

My eyes roam around my room, the thought of spending another minute here makes my skin crawl. I need out of here. “How did you find me?”

He grimaces. “Your father got the FBI involved. They put two and two together and realized you dyed your hair and took the train to Reno. Then they found a bank account associated with the same name you bought your ticket with. They’ve been watching it.” He runs his hand over his face.

“And when I made a transfer they had me,” I say softly, sitting down on my bed. Why did I think I could outsmart him?

The door to my room opens and the two men who haunt my nightmares step through. “That will be all for today, Rudy,” my dad says, removing his jacket off and draping it over the loveseat.

Rudy tips his head and backs out of the room. His eyes plead with mine before he shuts the door.

Benjamin sits down, resting his arm along the back of the loveseat, his mouth cocked in a lazy smirk. I look away from him.

My father walks slowly around my room, trailing his finger over all of my things, his things. “Have you ever wanted for anything under my care?”

I begin to shake, the answer I want to give him on the tip of my tongue. There’s no going back from this. Everything is about to change. “Yes,” my voice cracks as I push the word from between my lips.

He stills, his control slipping. It’s this look that terrifies me. This is why I’m scared of him.

“What did you want that you did not have?”

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