We got in his car and drove to the address in the folder. He drove away from his house and I shifted uncomfortably in the front seat.
He glanced at me and then back at the road. "Are you hungry?"
My stomach growled but I ignored it. "No." I lied and watched the trees go out he window.
I didn't realize the car stopped and he was talking to me.
I yawned and stared at him. "What?"
He sighed and put a gun in my lap. I stared at it then put it back in his hands. "You need it." he said and tried to hand it to me.
"I don't use guns." I opened the car door and got out.
"Why not? Are you afraid?" his door shut and he pulled me closer to the large parking garage we were in.
"No." I whispered. I really wasn't. "I just lost a lot of people I loved to a gun so."
He nodded and opened the door. "I don't know why you are so angry all the time."
"Where did that come from?" I raised my eyebrow at him.
Landon shrugged. "I guess I was thinking out loud."
"Alright then." I rolled my eyes and looked ahead of us.
A grey Denali was parked in the middle of the parking lot and a man was standing by the hood smoking a cigarette. He looked up at us and nodded once.
"Jackson." Landon said and they shook hands.
The guy didn't say anything but he looked me over subtly.
"Is she okay?" Landon asked.
Jackson nodded and snubbed out his cigarette on the concrete. He opened the backdoor and the little girl, Gracie was huddled on the seat.
She had tear stained cheeks and she was shaking.
I gasped quietly. She had a purplish bruise on the right side of her face.
"What happened to her?" Landon asked.
"Some guy got pissed and hit her." Jackson said. He had a deep voice and an Irish accent. "We took care of him but she is really shaken up."
Landon nudged me in the backseat and closed the door.
I was now sitting next to Gracie and she was staring up at me.
"Are you going to hurt me?" she whimpered and looked back at the guys outside the truck.
"No sweetie. We are here to help you." I touched her cheek carefully and winced.
"I want to go home." she started crying again.
I nodded and she let me pick her up and slide out of the Denali carefully.
The guys looked at me and Gracie.
"Does she have anything with her?" I asked. She was light for a four years old but I was still sore so it hurt to carry her.
"No." Jackson shook his head. He got in the car and Landon pulled me back to his car.
"What happens now?" I asked.
He opened the backdoor and I put Gracie in and buckled her seatbelt. He shut the door and checked the gun. "We go to the hotel and give her back to her parents."
"Why did you need a gun?"
"You never know." he said shortly and went around the car to get in.
I sat in the front seat and pulled my knees up to my chest and he drove away from the parking garage and continued on the highway.
The ride was quiet and I leaned my head on the glass. Gracie was snoring quietly in the backseat and I yawned and closed my eyes.
"I miss my mom." I whispered.
He didn't say anything.
I peeked over at him and he was stifling a yawn. He looked at me and then back at the road.
"Are you hungry?" he asked.
"I just told you I missed my mom and you ask if I'm hungry?" I said.
"I can't do anything about you missing your mom but I can get you something to eat."
I shook my head. "I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten yet." he pointed out.
"Would you stop being so concerned!" I snapped.
He looked confused. "Um, I don't know what to say to that."
I sighed angrily.
He pulled up in front of a hotel and put the car in park. He got out as the valet came to my door. I opened the door and took his hand while he helped me out of the car. He looked curiously at my bruises. I had knuckle prints all over my cheek. I turned my head and looked at Landon.
Landon picked Gracie up and carried her around the car. "Let's go before some one sees her."
I followed him slowly into the hotel lobby. A man was standing beside one of the windows over looking the nearby beach. A woman was sitting on the chair holding his hand. I recognized them as Gracie's parents. The bodyguard was standing over the woman and he spotted us.
He tapped on her shoulder and looked at us. The woman looked at us and gasped. She jumped up and her husband turned and saw us.
We walked over to them and the woman began crying. "Gracie." she said between sobs. The man put his arm around his wife and they crossed the floor to meet us.
Landon handed Gracie over to her mother and they smiled. Gracie woke up and stared at her parents.
"Gracie." the man said and hugged her tightly. He kissed her forehead.
The small family hugged and cried together for a few moments.
I could feel the tears spilling over my cheeks so I turned my head and wiped my face with the back of my hand.
The man looked at us and smiled. He turned himself toward us and pulled legal sized envelope from his bodyguard's hands. "Thank you for everything Landon." he looked at me. "I don't think I've ever met you." he held out his hand to shake.
I shook it and smiled. "I'm Amanda, it's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Drew Anderson and this is my wife, Alexa. You already know Gracie."
Alexa smiled and hugged us both. "Thank you so much. But what happened to her face?"
"Jackson said some guy got pissed but they took care of it." Landon answered.
I could tell Drew was angry but he didn't say anything.
He handed Landon the envelope. "Thank you again."
We nodded and said our goodbyes.
