1
Jessa
“I’ll callyou as soon as the plane lands,” my father assures me. I push up onto my tiptoes and press a kiss to his cheek. He doesn’t smile, only nods at my gesture. He’s never been the kind of person who wears his emotions on his sleeve, actually he’s the kind of person who shows his emotions, well, never. He doesn’t like leaving me all alone in this big house, and I understand why, but I’m tired of accompanying him to these galas and events every weekend. I want to break free, want some time alone, to enjoy the silence of the night. I want to be a twenty-something-year-old woman, not my father’s pretend date to every charity on the east coast.
“Remember to keep the doors locked, and that there will be guards posted outside the house, so if there are any problems at all I will know.”
I nearly roll my eyes. I know he does everything he does to keep me safe, but it’s a little overkill.
I watch my father leave, thinking how ridiculous he is for worrying all the time. What could possibly happen while I’m at home? I smile to myself, knowing I’ve finally made some progress when it comes to him letting me have some independence. Usually, I’m forced to go wherever he is, but I begged and pleaded for days, telling him he just needed to give me one chance, and I could prove to him that I could manage to be alone.
As soon as my father’s car is out of sight, I run back upstairs and into my bedroom and make myself comfortable stripping out of my jeans and into a three-times-too-big cotton T-shirt. I take off my makeup and put my blonde hair up in a messy bun. Then I head to the kitchen grabbing the tub of mint-chip ice cream I’ve been craving all day from the freezer.
Throwing myself down on the couch I watch TV and eat spoonful after spoonful of ice cream directly from the tub. To most, it might seem like a mundane thing to do, but to me, it’s unusual to have the liberty of simply sitting on the couch, and watching TV, or eating what I want to, when I want to.
I might be twenty, but my father has never stopped treating me like a ten-year-old. He rarely lets me out of his sight and when he does, he usually has his goons breathing down my neck. I’ve been sheltered my entire life, doing all my schooling from home with high-end tutors.
I never got to go to high school graduation or have a birthday party. I pout into the tub of ice cream, momentarily forgetting the TV show I’m watching. Sometimes it feels like my father is hiding me, like he doesn’t want anyone to know I exist.
Lonely. Secluded. Those are just a few words that I would use to describe my life. I sigh and continue to eat until my stomach is so full, I feel like I’m about to explode. I don’t really feel like getting up, but I also don’t want this delicious ice cream to go to waste. I would much rather prefer to have it for breakfast, so I get up from the couch bringing the tub with me, and start walking toward the kitchen.
As soon as I step into the hallway, I hear it. Deep, masculine voices echo through the house, coming from the backdoor. Ugh, he promised me he wouldn’t send anybody in to check on me. I should have known he would break that promise. He never keeps his promises, always telling me he does everything that he can to protect me. Well, I’m old enough to leave now, and I’m done letting him protect me from...well nothing thus far. I have no proof that there is any risk to my life, and until I do, I’m not going to let this shit keep happening.
Angrily I set down the tub of ice cream on the foyer table and stomp my ass to the back door. I don’t care if his men are just following orders, they’re about to get a mouthful.
I round the corner like a bat out of hell, my finger in the air, more than ready to yell at my father’s security team when I come to a sudden halt. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and a shiver of fear makes its way up my spine. Confusion settles deep into my bones. All the anger residing inside me just seconds ago evaporates into thin air when my eyes land on two tall men dressed in black standing at the very end of the hallway…two men I know for certain that are not a part of my father’s security.
Two men that are not supposed to be here.
Fear floods my veins, like a river overflowing its banks and for a moment I’m immobilized by it. Unable to move a muscle, I stand there, my mouth gaping open like a fish out of water with unspoken words, my finger still in the air, pointing in their direction.
It hits me then as I stare at them…there was just a story on the news tonight about these men…Another break-in, over half a million dollars in jewelry stolen. There are no witnesses at this time and police have no idea who these men may be.
Blinking the words from my mind, I attempt to remind myself to remain calm. But the erratic beat of my heart makes it hard to do that. I try and rationalize with myself. I should run, hide, or yell for my father’s men at the very least, but I just can’t get my body and brain to connect.
Taking in the men’s features, I notice that both have haircuts in a similar style, something that reminds me of the military. Their bodies seem impossibly large, tall, and muscular. They both look at me, their eyes piercing mine as if they can see right through me.
Shock and annoyance, flicker across their gazes. All it takes is one single look for me to tell that they weren’t expecting me to be here. They look at each other for a split second, and in that glance, I know they’re planning something. Tingles ripple through my entire body and a knot of fear forms in my throat. Any minute now one of them is going to come for me.
Inside my head, there are a thousand different thoughts running rampant but all I can think of is my next move. Where am I going to run? How will I hide? My thoughts flicker to the news lady from earlier. “No one has ever seen their faces…” and yet I have.
There’s no way they’ll let me go, not now, not after I’ve seen who they are. Lost inside my head I notice the middle one inching toward me, his movement sends a surge of pure panic through my veins which gets me moving.
My legs are wobbly as I take a few steps backward before I turn completely around and start running. I round the corner and run down the hall as fast as I can, my bare feet slapping against the tile loudly giving myself away.
I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to go.
“Trey!” I hear one of them shout behind me, but I don’t stop or even chance a glance over my shoulder. Fear controls my movements now, and I keep running in the direction of the front door. All I can think is, if I get outside that door, I can scream for the guard…the same guard I’ve wished away my whole life.
I’m so stupid. So, so stupid. I should’ve gone with my father. I shouldn’t have fought his need for protection. Tears sting my eyes, and my lungs burn as I suck in breath after breath.
I’m ten feet away from the door…I can see it, practically feel the iron handle in my hands…I’m almost there I tell myself, gritting my teeth as I swallow the fear down. I tell myself I’m simply running, and not for my life. I’m so close to the door. Sucking a deep breath into my lungs, I ready myself for the scream I’m about to let loose.
But it’s too late. The air is knocked from my lungs when someone tackles me from the side. One moment I’m running, the next I’m on the ground, being pushed to the floor by someone who seems to be three times my size. My mind is reeling, and it feels more like a truck just ran me over rather than another human.
A pained groan rips from my throat as he puts his entire body weight on mine, making it impossible to move, or breathe. I squeeze my eyes shut, too scared to open them. Maybe if I keep them closed, I can pretend that this is nothing but a dream.
“I thought she wasn’t supposed to be here?” one of the men growls, annoyance coating every single one of his words.