Tough Love

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen

Chapter One Hundred Sixteen

Eli's P.O.V.

As I step toward Dani, the words come flying out of her mouth, "They're here! I saw them! They've come to take me! Please don't let them take me!"

"Shhh, it's ok, baby. There's no one here. You're safe here."

"No, I saw them! They were right here! Please don't let them hurt me anymore!"

"It was a nightmare, baby. They aren't here. You're safe. You didn't see them..."

"I saw him; I know I did. I know you don't believe me, but he was out there."

Dani is really scared. She truly believes she saw something out there. Either the nightmare was so real she thinks she saw someone, or there was actually someone there. I can't ignore her fear, especially if there really is something out there.

"I'll get Ash and Arrow and we'll do a perimeter check. Would that make you feel safer?"

Dani shows just how frightened she is when she says, "What if they get me when you're not in here?"

"How about you lock yourself in the bathroom and I'll come and get you when I've checked everything."

"How will I know it's you and not someone pretending to be you?"

"I'll sing the song I usually sing to you. That way you'll know it's me. Can you do that?"

She nods.

"That's my girl. Let's take the blanket with you, huh? You're shivering."

I lift her off the ground and carry her into the bathroom. As I set her down on the chair, she whispers, "Please don't let them take me. Please..."

"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, baby. I promise. I'll be back soon. Don't open the door until you hear my singing, ok?"

She nods and I wait to hear the door lock before leaving the bedroom.

Ash and Arrow aren't far from the bedroom door when I step out of it.

Arrow sees my face and questions, "LT?"

They know it's serious.

"Perimeter check, both of you. She thinks she saw something and I'm not willing to risk any of our safety by chalking it up to a nightmare."

They nod and my pops says, "I'll keep watch inside, just in case."

We scan the perimeter, but we don't see anything until we get to the window outside Dani and my room. There's some cigarette butts in the flower bed. None of us smoke, so they definitely don't belong to any of us. I carefully bag them up so I can take them in to Tom for analysis.