Page 89 of I Am Salvation

I simply nod. I agree. I don’t want my phone number anywhere near some pedophile who’s been keeping a little girl since she was five years old.

My God… What if he’s doing something to the daughter?

I don’t voice any of this. Dragon has no doubt thought about it already anyway. There’s nothing either of us can do until we find the poor thing.

“I’ll send it right away. To your number?”

He nods.

I pull up a cash app and pay the extra fee to wire the money within seconds. A moment later, Dragon’s phone dings.

“That’ll be the money hitting your account,” I say.

He simply nods. Apparently, he’s not doing anything until we get back to the hotel, which is fine with me. Back to the hotel, where Teddy is.

Crap. Teddy.

“The dog? What did you do with the dog, Dragon?”

“What choice did I have? I left him in the hotel room.”

I draw in a breath. “I understand.”

But I fear what we may find when we get there. Teddy has been a good dog so far, but without one of us there… God, he could be barking up a storm, or he could be chewing things, pooping everywhere.

But whatever. I’ll pay the fines. I’ll do whatever it takes.

Money is not an issue for me. I’ve always known I was lucky, but not everyone has unlimited resources like I do. For the first time, I see that I can do more with my money than just live in luxury.

I can help people who need it.

Like Dragon.

Like his sister.

Like his newfound niece.

Dragon pulls into a parking spot at the hotel. “Stay there,” he says. He gets out of the car and comes around to help me out the passenger side.

I put a little bit of weight on my foot, and I wince.

“Come on, Diana. Let me help you.”

I expect him to take my hand, but instead he sweeps me into his arms, carrying me as if I’m a small child.

I grab his shoulder. “Dragon, I can walk. Just let me lean on you.”

He shakes his head. “This is quicker. We need to check on the dog.”

He’s right. We get more than a few looks as we walk into the hotel and toward the elevator.

“Ignore it,” Dragon says under his breath.

Once we’re in the elevator—no one else is in it, thank God—and on our way to our floor, he sighs in relief.

“You can put me down now,” I say.

“I’ll put you down when we get to the door. I’ll have to get out my key card.”

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