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patting her hand again.
    “We can’t allow that, Ruby,” her father said. “We need Mr. Smith to identify the threat and figure out where to go from there. You’re safe here, baby, and that’s the most important thing.”
    Ruby sighed. “Okay, Daddy, but why doesn’t John need to stay hom e, as well?”
    “No one has tried to kidnap him,” her mother answered. “Stewart, we can’t cancel the dinner with the Canadian Oil CEO and the Saudi sheik.”
    Her father nodded. “I know. We’ll have to figure something out.”
    “All those strangers in our home … the bartenders, caterers, not to mention the set up crew beforehand … I don’t know, Stewart, it makes me nervous,” her mother said. “Perhaps we can make some other arrangements for Ruby.”
    “You don’t need to talk about me like I’m not in the room,” Ruby said. “And I can’t imagine a safer place with all the big-wigs rolling in here. They’ll all have their security teams and you also hire security for the big dinners, Daddy.”
    “Yes, honey, but we need to keep you safe,” her mother  insiste d. “Besides, I know I’ll be very distracted trying to keep an eye on you.”
    “Yes. I’ll put in a call to Joe Smith and see what he recommends,” her father agreed.
    “How about what I want?” Ruby said, her irritation growing. “I’m not a child anymore!”
    “Of course you aren’t, honey, but we’re so worried about you. Everyone is. The girls at the club just can’t believe what’s happened,” her mother said.
    Of cours e, her mother would share the big gossip with her country club friends. Ruby could imagine them tittering over Mimosas as her mother told the grand tale of her daughter’s attempted kidnapping.
    “Now that we’ve got everything cleared up, do you know what we’re having for dinner, Cheryl?” her father asked.
    “N o. ” She stood. “But I’ve got cocktails with my Bridge club tonight.”
    “And I’ve got that Skype chat with the Saudi sheik,” her father said. “I’ll ask Mrs. Torn to hold a plate for me for later. I have a feeling I’ll be on the call for quite a while.”
    They walked out the door, their footsteps echoing in the hall. As their voices faded, Ruby leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees, then placed her head in her hand. She would be eating alone again tonight, and couldn’t help but feel that to her parents, she was simply a more serious problem that needed to be dealt with—something like a broken pipe or a hole in the roof.
    Maybe she should just leave—she doubted they’d notice for quite a long time. That being said, someone had tried to kidnap her, and fear ran through her at the thought. If she did leave and her kidnappers succeeded, it could be a couple of days before anyone noticed. Who knows what could happen to her in that period of time. They could rape her, torture her … she shuddered.
    However, she felt the need to get out of this house. Maybe her father could arrange for some security to accompany her back to her apartment. She’d talk to him about it, but didn’t hold out much hope. The fact of the matter was that she remained safe right here.
    She’d become a prisoner in her childhood home with a family so wrapped up in themselves; it was as if she didn’t exist except as the freak someone had attempted to kidnap. How she longed to go back to her own apartment, or go anywhere, just to escape this house, but she didn’t see that happening any time soon.

 
    Chapter 7
    Ruby stood outside her father’s library and listened as he spoke on the phone.
    “I think that’s a very reasonable idea,” he said. “Yes, thank you, Joe. I appreciate you understanding my fears as a father. I think she’ll be much safer away from here.”
    Away from here? And where exactly did her destination entail? A small part of her grew angry that her life decisions were being made for her, while she also smiled at the thought of getting out of this house and away