His friends wouldn’t look at her.
“I … I can’t stay here, Roman. I hate it here. There has to be some other place I can go.”
“I can’t guarantee your safety anywhere else. You’re staying here, and I can protect you.”
She slowly ate the food on her plate, taking her time and trying to think of some way of getting out of the hospital.
“You must hate it here as well,” she said.
“I do, but I am willing to do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
She rolled her eyes. “This isn’t safe. This is … this is biding our time until I’m attacked again.” She wasn’t trying to make light of what happened, but staying in the hospital wasn’t going to help.
“I’m not putting your life at risk.”
“I want to talk to my dad,” Alex said. She held her hand out. “Please let me borrow one of your cell phones.”
No one moved.
“Alex, this is my decision.”
“And your decision is crap. I need to speak to my father.”
She still didn’t get a cell phone.
“Fine. If you won’t help me, I will find someone who will.” She glanced down at her chair.
Roman had put the brakes on, but because she’d been playing the role of a good student, she didn’t know where to remove the brakes.
She gritted her teeth and then looked up. “I know a place where I can be safe. That’s in a secure place. No one will find me. No one will think to find me.”
Roman folded his arms, and she knew he was going to shoot it down.
“Where?” he asked.
“The orphanage. Think about it. No one but us needs to know, and possibly my father. Perhaps your dad,” Alex said.
“No. My father doesn’t need to know.”
“My dad will want to know,” Alex said. “We can’t keep him in the dark.”
“What makes you think the orphanage is a good idea? People go and visit.”
“Yes, but I can blend in. I’m always there. People don’t know that I’m Liam’s daughter, and it’s one of dad’s privately owned buildings. He helps to invest money there, but he doesn’t do so openly. It’s private. For the safety of the children, and also for me, seeing as I volunteer there all the time, even before I found Stuart,” Alex said.
“It sounds like a good plan,” Antonio said, sounding a little reluctant.
“It’s a bad idea,” Roman said.
“I would never put those kids’ lives at risk.”
“It’s not about that. How can you … rest and recover if you’re surrounded by kids?” Roman asked.