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“You doubtin’ the golden arches?” asked a baffled Dagger.
“I say she goes back to not asking questions,” grumbled my Enforcer.
She threw one at his head, causing the truck to erupt into free laughter again.
Once the meal—entertainment—was over and we were getting back on the road, I knew I needed rest but fought sleep. I had Elle to watch over, and I didn’t want to miss learning one thing about her. Like why she was now a little melancholy.
Putting my arm around her shoulders, I asked, “You good?”
“Oh, yes.”
Staring at her profile, I decided I hated sunglasses and ballcaps covering her beauty. “Babe, talk to me.”
Slowly, she blew out a breath. “It’s just… that was my first time ever at a park.”
The McDonald’s in my gut started to turn. “What do ya mean?”
Innocently, her shoulders shrugged. “Lorenzo said he had no time for my childish ways.”
My jaw locked. “Meaning?”
“He thought that me wanting to touch a tree was ridiculous.”
It’s been said that grown men don’t cry, but my voice cracked when I asked, “Babe, are you telling me you’ve never touched a tree, ever?”
A tear slid out from under her sunglasses. “There’s none on yachts. And there was none in Da’s back yard. Whenever I was taken somewhere, I wasn’t to leave Lorenzo’s side.” She whispered, “He doesn’t think trees are beautiful.”
Pops eyed Vice, who was waiting for instructions, then asked, “VP?”
I growled, “Turn this motherfucker around.”
We really needed to get to our next safe location. We really needed to keep our decision-making wise, but… there was no way on earth my woman wasn’t going to have another first with me.
With guns palmed, we exited the truck and left the parking lot behind. We men peered over our shoulders and inspected our surroundings, but Elle stopped right past a sidewalk on the grass. Softly, she asked, “May I take off my shoes?”
My jaw dislocated. Is she saying—
“My bare feet… have never touched—”
Not in control of my body, I sunk to my knees, placed my piece at my side, then removed the club high heels.
Beautiful long toes gripped the green blades as she whispered, “Thank you.”
High heels in one hand, and my other with a trigger-happy finger, we followed the innocent creature. While passing a playground, she gazed at a swing set. That was until she stood in front of a tree. A big one.
Her mouth gaped. Her chest heaved. Her shaky hand reached out…
Our hands held weapons, hers held bark.
Crying, she asked, “May I take off these glasses to see it better?”
I was fighting tears like a motherfucker. “Yup.” That’s the only word I could manage. Especially when seeing Pops holding up his new cell, taking pictures of this monumental moment.
Elle’s shoulders shook. “She was right. She knew what it felt like to touch one.”
Biting my lip, I shook my head no to Dagger. I knew if I opened my mouth, I was going to spilt wide open. The rage, the sadness, the longing to fix everything in Elle’s broken world was too overwhelming.
But we needed every ounce of intel Elle was willing to share.
