Page 114 of I Am Salvation

“Where’s your father now?”

“He went away. He left me here with Eddie.” She scratches the dog behind the ear. “He said you would be coming.”

“Eddie?”

“My dog.”

“Bridget, I need you to open the door the rest of the way and let me come in.”

“Okay. He said you wouldn’t hurt me.”

“I would never hurt anyone.”

Funny, the words you say. They’re very true. They weren’t always true, but they are now. I won’t be taking another life. Not Mack’s, and not anybody else who has Griffin. Not unless I’m forced to in self-defense or in defense of Griffin, Bridget, Diana, or someone else.

She opens the door and?—

I force myself to hold back my gasp.

She looks so much like Griffin. She’s older, of course. Mack said she was thirteen. But the blond hair and blue eyes, the shape of her face, the full pink lips.

This must be what Griffin looked like at thirteen.

I swallow back the nausea. This is what Griffin looked like when Bridget was conceived.

I swallow again. A lump is lodged in my throat, and my stomach feels like lead.

But I need to be strong. Strong for this little girl, my niece. If I had any doubts, just looking at her confirms it.

“So this is Eddie?”

The pit bull tilts his head, looks at me, a slight growl coming from his throat.

“It’s okay, Eddie.”

Eddie stands between me and Bridget. I have to say, I respect the dog.

“Are you going to take me to my mother?”

“I’m going to try. But I don’t know where she is yet.”

Her lips quiver slightly. “Dad said he had to give her away.”

“He gave her away?”

“Somebody saw me. They wanted to take me, but Dad wouldn’t let them. He gave them Mom instead.”

Not exactly what Mack told me, but her words ring true. She says them in a voice devoid of emotion. As if it’s something that happens every day.

“I’m looking for your mother,” I say. “But do you know who I am, Bridget?”

“Your name is Dragon.” She purses her lips. “That’s an unusual name.”

I nod.

“My mother had a brother named Dragon. Are you that Dragon? The one I talked to on the phone?”

“Yes. I am.”

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