“Touché.” I smirked and popped the trunk.
She waited until I’d loaded it before she said, “Now can you tell me where we’re going?”
“I’m showing you.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LANI
What was such a big deal that he had to keep it secret? Why, for the love of god, couldn’t he just tell me?
I’d never been so worked up about anything. I didn’t get it. If he was showing me, he could tell me. I just wanted to know where he was taking me and why we were buying birthday things for a little boy. They were simple answers, and ones that could probably be answered in one if he’d just tell me.
Brett pulled out of the Target parking lot.
Would he keep his promise and tell me everything? That was all I really wanted to know. What we’d just done went against everything I knew about him. The Brett Walker I’d seen over the last week or so didn’t buy little boys scooters or balloons or party hats for their birthdays. He bought women drinks and pissed me off a lot.
It was kind of...hot.
“Promise me something?” Brett glanced at me at a red light.
“Depends what it is,” I answered slowly, turning to face him.
His strong jaw twitched. “Don’t ask questions until we leave.”
“None at all?”
He shook his head.
“Why?” I asked him, my voice quiet.
He shifted up a gear and pulled away when the light turned green. “Because it’s important to me that you see before you know.”
“I...”
His expression shifted, and I could swear I saw a flicker of worry turn his lips downward.
How was I supposed to refuse?
This, what we were doing, whatever it was, was really important to him. And somehow, I knew that whoever this little boy was, he mattered a lot to Brett.
“Okay,” I said after a few seconds of silence. “No questions, I promise. But when we’re done, you have to tell me everything.”
Brett only nodded in response. Yet that nod felt like it carried more weight than if he’d actually told me everything.
Was this part of that big, huge secret his family was keeping? Or was this something else?
Why was I kind of afraid to find this out?
Brett took a left and pulled into the parking lot of a sizable apartment complex. It wasn’t the nicest I’d ever seen, but it was clean. There wasn’t a speck of dust on the windows, and several of them even had window boxes bursting with bright flowers.
I looked across the car, but he didn’t look back. In fact, all he did was take a deep breath and get out of the car. I did the same and shut my door. “What about the stuff in the car?” I asked when he headed toward the big double doors.
“I just need to check on something.” He waved for me to follow him.
I did. To my surprise, the second we stepped through the door, we were greeted by a large, burly man with a gun at his hip.
Where the hell were we?
“Morning, Jake.” Brett shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Morning, boy. Who’s your friend?” Jake’s eyes glanced over me and I swallowed hard.
“This is Lani. Lani, this is Jake.”
That was it. That was his introduction. There was no explanation of who he actually was.
“Hi.” I raised my hand awkwardly.
Jake nodded in my direction before he gave Brett his attention. “Sali know she’s here?”
“Yes, sir,” he answered. “I called her last night.”
“Want me to get her for you?”
“Please.”
Jake pushed off the table he was sitting at. “Give me two minutes.”
I watched as he crossed the lobby and scanned a card at the door. “Brett?” I said when Jake had gone through it. “Where are we?”
“This is Hope Building,” he answered without looking at me. “It’s a shelter for women and children fleeing abusive partners.”
My heart thumped against my ribs. I don’t know what I thought he’d say, but it wasn’t that. What was he doing here?
“Okay, the question thing? Can I ask about this?”
He nodded. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know about the building. Just...not me. Until after.”
That was fair. “Who’s Sali?”
“That’d be me.” A tall, fifty-something woman in jeans, sneakers, and a t-shirt came through the door with a big grin on her face. Her dark blond hair, streaked with a few grays, was piled on top of her head in a messy twist, and she had paint on the front of her t-shirt. “You must be Lani.”
“Uh... Yes, ma’am.” I blushed a little.
“It’s lovely to meet you!” She wrapped me in a warm hug for a few seconds before greeting Brett the same way. “I’m so glad you’re here. Sy has been asking when his party is starting for the last two hours.”
Brett smiled. “Where is he?”
“In the games room. We bought wrestling for the PlayStation and he’s playing it with Ivan. With the volume right up, of course.” Sali put her hands on her hips. “So you’re free to go through to the main room.”
“Awesome. Could you take Lani there? I’ll get everything out of the car.” He backed toward the door.
“I’ll help.” Jake offered. “The helium balloons are in my trunk.”
“Come on.” Sali gently cupped my elbow. “Come with me.”
I opened my mouth but nothing came out. What on earth was happening here?
Sali scanned a card through the thing in the door. It beeped, flashing green, and she opened the door with a glance back at me. “You look confused, hon.”
“Am I a horrible person if I say I’m really confused?” I asked, hoping my hesitance didn’t show in my voice.
Sali laughed quietly. “He hasn’t told you anything, has he?”
“Aside from this is Hope Building and your name is Sali? No. Not a damn thing.”
This time, her laugh was louder. “Come on. In here.” She pushed open a door and led me into a large room. A massive dining table stretched out along one end. Party food already adorned it, and just behind the table were two large French doors that opened out onto a massive yard.
“Wow. This is lovely.” I looked around the room, and it was. It was warm and comforting, from the plain, cream walls covered in silly photos to the bright, blue curtains.
“Thank you.” She smiled and offered me a seat on the sofa.
I took it.
“So, Hope Building.” Sali pushed some wily bits of hair from her face. “He really told you nothing?”
“Nope. I didn’t even know where we were until he told me. Inside the door.”
Her lips pulled to the side. “Ah, yes, we’re Brett’s biggest secret.”
Were they? Hmm.