Page 50 of The Stranger

“I wanted to travel in together today,” I reply, which is followed by a groan when I realise, like her, I’m still talking into the damn phone.

I end the call, slide it into my pocket, and hold myhand out to her. She takes it without hesitation. “Come, I’ve ordered you some breakfast. We can discuss this while we eat.”

I’m again struck by how small and delicate her hand feels wrapped in mine.

When we reach the table, I let her go and pull out her chair. “Sit.” I grab some plates from the cupboard and open the brown paper bags.

“Don’t give me much,” she says. “I’m not that hungry.”

“Did you eat last night?” She shakes her head in reply. “That’s what I thought.”

Ignoring her request, I fill her plate. I ordered a variety of breakfast crepes from one of my favourite restaurants, hash browns, that are made in-house, and some freshly chopped fruit.

I grin smugly as I place it down in front of her. “I said?—”

“I heard what you said, but I chose to ignore it … now eat.”

She rolls her eyes and picks up her fork. “I thought maybe your hearing was going … that happens when you’re old, you know.”

I bark out a laugh because I’d take her sass over the tears any day.

When I step into the elevator, I pull out my phone and text Damien.

Me: I’m going to drive myself to work this morning. I need you to hang around here … discreetly, of course. Delilah is taking the morning off, and I’m concerned about her. If she leaves the building for any reason, can you follow her from a distance? I need to know she’s safe.

Damien: So, basically you are asking me to spy on her and report back to you?

Smartarse.I chuckle to myself as I type my reply.

Me: Basically, yes.

Damien: Sure thing, boss.

I have no clue what is going on with her. Forcing her to eat a big breakfast only backfired in my face. Because every time I asked a question she didn’t want to answer, she shovelled more food into her mouth.

The interrogation went something like this:

“Are you going to confront them with the things I found?”

She shook her head as she chewed.

“Do you want me to keep digging?”

Another head shake.

“Why do you need the morning off?”

I sat there for a good minute waiting for her to swallow the food in her mouth before I got a reply.

“I have some things I need to do,”she answered, which was the most she spoke all morning.

“What things?”I probed.

“Stuff.”

Although her lack of information pissed me off, I ended up agreeing to her request and left for the office. I’ll have my assistant, Simone, sit in for her until she getshere. I can only hope she does. On the drive to work, my head was all over the place.

What if she doesn’t come back?