Page 15 of Tinley's Daddy
She scoffed.
“I hate that you experienced differently in your life.” I rubbed my face.
“Why?” She stood up and placed her arms across her chest. “You don’t even know me.”
She had an East Coast American accent, but not New York. And her little attitude gave me hope she wasn’t as broken as I first thought. She was a fighter.
“You don’t have to know someone to be kind to them. And not breaking a promise has nothing to do with you and everything to do with my character.” I rubbed my chest and stood up. She side-eyed me but dropped her arm.
“So, sweetheart. What would you like for breakfast?” We both turned toward the beeping coming from my computer. I took a step but stopped.
“Tinley.”
My head whipped around. She cowered back toward the wall.
“What was that?”
“My name.” She held a hand to her chest. “It’s Tinley, not sweetheart. Or baby, or honey, or sugar.”
“Noted.” I nodded and failed at keeping the grin off my face. I flipped on the screen and spotted a few missed calls from Randall, Kyler, and my assistant. I had a call list for the morning already. I also read a text from Agent Stanley with a folder attached.
I clicked on the folder and Tinley’s passport photo popped up on the screen.
“Oh my God.” She pointed and crept over to the desk. “That’s me.”
I flipped through a few more pages. The words missing, abducted, and companion killed drew my attention from an article on the next few pages.
A tear slipped from her eye. She hugged herself. She was about to disappear into herself again. I couldn’t let that happen.
I flipped the computer screen down and sat down.
“Tinley.”
She didn’t answer me at first. She was off in her head.
“Tinley,” I said more forcefully. She jumped but turned her attention to me. I drew the desk chair over in front of me.
“Why don’t you sit down?”
She didn’t move at first. She glared in my direction but took the seat. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms.
I stood and grabbed the blanket from her little corner and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“I have a feeling my friend who works for the FBI has found out who you are and have a lot of information on you, but I wouldn’t feel right invading your privacy.”
She pulled her knees up and hugged herself.
“I would like to ask you some questions.”
She nodded.
“But let’s have some breakfast first.”
Her stomach growled and her eyes grew wide before breaking out in the perfect little giggle. She nodded with a grin on her face. Her feet dropped to the floor. She looked over at the bathroom.
“Go ahead.”
She stood and scurried off. She had to stop and gather her shorts before she tripped over them. She shut the door behind her and locked it.
