Chapter 12 – Daphne
12
DAPHNE
I was surprised when Ink walked into my office to pick me up from work. “Where’s Dice?” I asked.
“He had something come up, so he asked me to pick you up instead.”
“Oh. Is everything okay?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said in a way that made me think everything was not okay, but I accepted his answer.
“I’m almost ready to go. I just need to finish this email and gather my stuff.”
“Take your time,” he said and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
I hurried through the email, grabbed my stuff, and was ready to go within minutes.
“How was your day?” Ink asked as I followed him out to his truck.
“Uneventful, which I’m very grateful for,” I said. I’d spent the majority of the day trying to focus on work while waiting for some disastrous event to occur.
“On that note, when we get back to Dice’s house, one of the guys is going to drive your car to your house. Phoenix thought it would be a good idea to have two brothers stay at your place and make it look like you’re there.”
“Oh,” I said, surprised by the new plan. “When was this decided?”
“This morning,” he said carefully. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. Whatever he thinks is best,” I said distractedly. I couldn’t help but wonder why Dice hadn’t told me about the new plan. He had been really good about keeping me up to date about everything they were doing.
“You okay?” Ink asked.
“Oh, yes, I’m fine. Just tired. You wouldn’t think a day in the office would be exhausting, but sometimes it is.”
“Well, you’ve had a lot going on lately.”
“You can say that again.”
When we arrived at Dice’s house, I expected Ink to drop me off and go to his house next door, but he didn’t. He parked his truck in Dice’s driveway and followed me inside. Diablo greeted us at the door, jumping around in a circle before smelling every inch of me he could reach. “I was at the office, Stinky. I haven’t been out petting other dogs all day.”
After putting my things down, I let Diablo out for a few minutes before we came back inside, and I changed into something more comfortable. Then I went to the kitchen to make something to eat and paused. I’d planned on cooking dinner for Dice and me, but I didn’t know when he was going to be home. Then I wondered if I should make something for Ink instead or for both of them.
Realizing I was overthinking dinner, I shook my head and reached into the fridge. “I was planning on making fried chicken for dinner. Are you hungry?”
“I’m always hungry,” Ink answered immediately.
“Okay then. I’ll get started now.”
I had hoped Dice would be home by the time I finished cooking, but he wasn’t. “Ready,” I announced and laughed as Ink practically ran into the kitchen.
“You do have food at home, right?”
“Yes, but nothing like this,” he said. “At home, I’m a sandwich and chips kind of guy. It’s hard to cook for one person, especially when you don’t know how.”
“You’re right about that. Cooking for one is difficult, unless you enjoy eating the same thing for every meal for the next few days,” I said as we sat down to eat. “But if you ever want to learn how to cook, I’ll be happy to teach you what I know.”
“Really? I might take you up on that offer.”
“You know where to find me for the foreseeable future,” I said. “I usually cook one night and have leftovers the next night, but with three of us eating, I’ll probably be cooking every night.”
“You know you don’t have to cook for us,” he said.
“I know, but I enjoy cooking, and it’s a nice way to say thanks.”
The doorbell rang, causing Diablo to bark and me to tense. Even though I knew the farm was well protected, I couldn’t help the unease that filled me when someone unexpected showed up.
“That’s probably Diesel and Falcon,” Ink told me, but I didn’t relax until I heard Ink’s voice a few moments later. “Hey, guys. Come on in.”
Two young men followed Ink into the kitchen. They looked familiar, but I couldn’t say for sure if I’d met them before.
“Daphne, this is Diesel, Duke and Reese’s son, and this is Falcon, Dash and Ember’s son. They’re going to drive your car back to your house and spend the night there.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you,” I said and smiled. “Thank you for helping out.”
“No problem,” Diesel said. “Is there anything specific we need to know about your house?”
“I don’t think so, but you can call or text me if you have questions. There are two guest bedrooms upstairs. The bathroom is in the hallway between the two bedrooms. There should be plenty of towels and washcloths under the sink. I’m not sure what’s in the fridge but help yourself to whatever you like.”
“Thanks,” he said. “We’ll let you know if we have any questions.”
“Byte’s right down the street if anything comes up,” Ink reminded them.
“We know,” Falcon said, sounding mildly exasperated.
“I’m guessing your dads already gave you this speech,” Ink said and shook his head. “Damn. When did I become part of the old crowd?”
“About ten years ago,” Falcon replied.
“Rhetorical questions aren’t meant to be answered, you little shit,” Ink teased.
“Noted,” Falcon laughed. “If you’ll get us the keys, we’ll get going.”
“Oh, right,” Ink said and turned to me.
Picking up my keys from the counter, I handed them to Falcon. “Here you go.”
“Thanks,” he said. “We’ll let you know if anything comes up.”
“I sincerely hope it doesn’t,” I said and walked them to the front door.
Once they were gone, I returned to the kitchen and started cleaning up from dinner. “No wonder I thought they looked familiar. They look just like their dads.”
Ink laughed. “Yes, they do. It’s weird sometimes. I knew Duke and Dash when they were younger, and those boys look exactly like they did. It’s like living in a time warp.”
“I can only imagine.”
“It’s the same with some of the girls, too. Raven looks like Ember, who looks like Annabelle. Harlow looks like Harper. Blaze looks like Annabelle. But there are a few that are a good mix of their parents.”
“I don’t know how y’all keep everyone straight.”
“There weren’t as many of them when I joined the club as there are now. It’s easier to keep up when people are added one or two at a time.”
“I feel like I need a chart,” I joked.
“Funny you should say that. A few years ago, Annabelle wanted to make a family tree. She went through several different programs before she found one that could adequately handle their complicated family dynamics.”
“Their family doesn’t seem that complicated.”
“You don’t know the story, do you?”
“No. Dice mentioned Octavius wreaked havoc on their family, but he said it was their story to tell.”
“I’ll tell you. Have a seat. This one’s a doozy,” he said.
I made myself comfortable in the living room and listened to Ink tell me the story of Phoenix and Annabelle and how Phoenix came to be the rightful owner of the farm.
“I stand corrected. Their family dynamics are definitely complicated.”
“Just on paper. In real life, they function better than most.”
“I can see that,” I said sincerely. “I would love to meet Nathan.”
“If you stick around, you’ll get your chance. He comes to visit several times a year.”
“It doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere anytime soon,” I said, and couldn’t hide the frustration in my voice.
“Don’t let it get you down. These things can take time, but they always come to an end. The most important thing is that you’re safe.”
“I think it’d be easier for me to accept if I knew who was doing this and why. Not knowing is extremely frustrating.”
“I know it’s easier said than done, but try not to stress about that part of it too much. We’ll find out who it is, and hopefully why they’re doing it. It’s just a matter of time.”
“You seem very sure about that.”
He chuckled. “This isn’t my first rodeo, and I’m sure it won’t be my last.”
“Dice mentioned that you guys have dealt with situations like this before.”
“We have. More often than you would think. There’s a disturbing amount of unhinged, entitled people running around out there.”
“I just don’t understand why someone wants to hurt me. What could they possibly gain from it?”
“You’re wasting your time trying to understand, because you never will. You think rationally, and this person doesn’t. Their reasoning likely won’t make any sense to you.”
I took a moment to absorb his words. “I never thought about it like that. It actually makes me feel a little bit better.”
Ink smiled proudly. “Good. Now that I’ve completed my pep talk duties, how about we watch another movie? You can pick this time.”
“Sure,” I said weakly, “but you can pick.” If he was suggesting we watch a movie, that meant he didn’t expect Dice to be home any time soon. I couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.