Page 45 of Detective Daddy Next Door

No, Fern is petite. She's slim. This person in front of me is tall. I rub my palms against my eyes. I'm happy when I recognize who it is.

Daisy.

I slide the flash drive into my pocket and remove the hood of my sweatshirt from my head. There's no need to hide. I'm sure I have a lot of explaining to do, but I'm glad it's Daisy of all people. I let out a sigh of relief. And fall back into the chair.

"Daisy. Thank God it's you."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to get something. Micha sent me. I decided to come get it today instead of coming tomorrow."

"Oh."

"Yeah. What are you doing here?" I ask her, surprised she's even here at this time. But I don't voice my surprise because if I ask too many questions then it could lead her to ask me more questions. And I don't want that.

She walks into the office slowly with her hand behind her back.

"I'll need a ride home. Did you come with your car?"

She doesn't answer, but pulls her hidden hand from her back, and in it is a gun. I stare at her, wondering what's going on.

She points the gun at me. "Shut down the computer and get up."

I chuckle, still confused.

"Shut down the computer and get off the chair, Bria. Don't do anything funny."

"I don't understan—"

"Now!" she screams.

I slam my hand on the desk quickly in search of the mouse and I shut down the computer.

"Now, get up slowly and walk toward me."

I get up slowly like she instructed and walk toward her. When I get to where she is, she turns me around and ties my hands together behind my back.

"What are you doing, Daisy?”

"Shh. Now walk slowly out of the door. Nothing funny, okay?"

I nod. I feel the gun on the small of my back. We don't go through the window I gained entrance through earlier. She has a key. She opens the door and looks right and left before letting me out, then she shuts it. She ushers me to her car, parked in the parking lot, and shuts the door when I’m settled in the passenger side. As she turns around, I look to see if I can find a way out, but my hands are tied. There's little I can do. She comes around to the driver's side and puts the gun on the dashboard before starting the car. She isn't smiling. This isn't the Daisy I know. As she tears down the streets of Long Beach, I think of screaming. Maybe someone would hear me and come to my rescue. But she's driving fast, and the wind would drown me out.

Then it dawns on me. Was it Daisy all along? The envelope in my drawer, the deletion of the file on my laptop? Of course, it had to be. She was the one who had easy access to me like that. Gosh, how didn't I see it all this time? I've been so foolish. Is she working for Micha? She has to be.

She doesn't say anything until we get to her house. I've only been here twice. Once, to visit her when she was sick, and the second time to get work done at her place. It's a small house on the corner of the street. It's painted light brown, and from what she told me, it belonged to her grandmother, who left it to her mom, who left it to her. I always joked that she was a homeowner and didn't have to worry about anything else.

"I'll come open the door for you and we'll walk as fast as possible, got it?"

I nod.

She puts the gun in her side pocket and then gets out of the car. This is my last chance to save myself. If she successfully gets me in the house, it'll be harder for me. I want to scream, but somehow, I can't. What if I scream and no one comes out? That'll mean more trouble for me. I sigh and wait for her to open the car door. Daisy is my friend. I can talk her into letting me go. I'll tell her that I understand, that Micha's just using her, and that I understand why she couldn't say no to Micha's orders. She opens the door and doesn't take the rope off my hands but leads me to her front door. She quickly opens it and pushes me in.

It's dark inside. She leads me through a small door, down rickety steps, and into a passage. I don't know where I'm being led, but I don't protest.

Chapter 18

Myles

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