Page 24 of A Whirlwind of Color (The Light to My Darkness 2)

“Please don’t leave. You’re going to get me in so much trouble.”

“Then tell me why I’m supposed to stay,” I said.

“God I hate you sometimes.”

“Ditto.”

He laughed. The sound reminded me of James’ laughter. Albeit, much more frequent. “Fine. You win. You can’t leave because you’re in mortal danger.”

“What is this, an episode of Power Rangers?”

“Well now you’re acting like you’re 10 instead of 19.”

I wanted to tell him off. But every rebuttal I thought of did make me sound like a child. Damn it. “You’re the 10 year old.” Really? That was the response I chose?

He laughed. “Penny, just trust me, okay?”

“Not unless you tell me why I’m in mortal danger.” I put ‘mortal danger’ in air quotes.

“That’s something James wants to discuss with you.”

“Great. And I’ll see him when he gets back.” I walked toward the front door.

“Penny, you can’t go.”

I ignored him and threw the door open.

Two men were standing in the hall facing me. Their arms were folded in front of their chests and their large frames blocked my path.

“Excuse me,” I said and tried to sidestep them.

But neither of them moved.

“Mrs. Hunter, we have strict instructions to not let you leave the premises.”

“Please don’t call me that. My name is Penny.” I tried to sidestep them again.

“Ma’am, if you’ll please make your way back inside.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Please step back inside. Penny,” one of them added. The kind gesture of using my name was a little small considering they were keeping me locked up.

But I didn’t exactly have a choice. It wasn’t like I could bulldoze my way past these two huge men. It was possible that I could slide underneath their legs. But then I’d have to outrun them. And I had gotten a cramp by jogging up the stairs. I went back into the apartment and slammed the door. Back to my 10 year old ways.

Rob was standing there with a pained look on his face. “It’s just for a little while.”

“Until my memory is back?” What if I never remember?

“Until it’s safe.”

I thought about the scars on my stomach. “Did someone try to hurt me?”

He didn’t respond.

“And where is James, huh? You said he loves me, but he left in the middle of the night? If someone’s trying to hurt me, where is he? And where the hell is my phone? I want to talk to my parents. I…”

“Penny.”

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