She tracked him into the bedroom, counted his steps into the kitchen, and later stared him down when he said he was leaving early for evening service. If it hadn’t been for Roxanne’s sudden stomachache, Nadeen would have grabbed her shoes and followed him out of the house. Mahalia was old enough to look after her younger sister, but it bordered on psychotic behavior trying to keep Richard under constant surveillance. After the heated discussion they had in his private chambers, he would have been brain-dead to do anything remotely ominous, which would potentially spark another venom-laced attack, whether it was warranted or not. Nadeen felt justified when she watched him walk out the door without his typical confident stride. She breathed a labored sigh of relief, feeling she had put him in check but good.Over the next hour, Nadeen read bedtime stories to Roxanne while checking her temperature intermittently. The child couldn’t understand why her mother chose nighttime reading material when the sun hadn’t gone off to bed yet.
