Page 43 of Caught By the Chief of Staff

Chapter 12

Someone is always watching

“Ineed you to do something for me, pretty girl,” Rick says, lifting my chin to face him, making me cringe. “It’s going to be really hard, but you have to do it.

“W-what’s that?” I ask, knowing in my heart of hearts that he’s right. Whatever he’s going to ask me to do is going to be really hard, but then again, everything for the last nine years has been, and for my daughter, I’d walk through fire, so bring it on.

“There’s my fighter,” he whispers as he looks over my features. Whatever he sees in my face, he approves of.

“Whatever it is, I can do it.”

“I need you to pretend like nothing is wrong.”

“Except that,” I tell him. “I can’t do that.”

“Cara,” he says, and I can tell it is with great patience that he does so. Ironic, because I’m about to lose mine.

“I’m serious, Rick,” I snap. “Our daughter is missing.”

“I know that,” he explains. “And we’re going to find her. But right now, the kidnappers think they have you in their pocket. That you’re afraid—”

“Because I am afraid.”

“So that you’ll continue to do whatever they ask of you,” he finishes. “So you have to pretend like nothing is wrong. Business as usual.”

“But I can’t,” I breathe. Doesn’t he know that acting is not in my nature? I avoided him instead of pretending like nothing was wrong, and he saw through my bullshit the entire time. So will the kidnappers.

“You have to, because someone is always watching, Cara,” he rationalizes as he holds up my phone in his hand. “These pictures and messages prove someone is always watching you and me both. Not to mention our daughter.”

“They said I broke the rules, but I didn’t,” I tell Rick, hoping he’ll believe me. That I didn’t just throw all regard for our daughter out the window. “I told you to stay away.”

“I broke them, honey, and for that I am so sorry,” he tells me. “I couldn’t let you push me away. I accepted Rachel’s invitation to dinner. I came back knowing you were trying to push me away again, and I didn’t want it. I wanted in your life and in Rachel’s. I didn’t give you a chance to say no.”

“I knew better,” I cry.

“I know,” he says gently. “But we don’t have a time machine. We can’t go back and change things now. We can only go forward.”

“Okay,” I say. “What do we do?”

“We’re going to get her back, but right now, we have a lot to talk about.” I nod in acceptance, because he’s right. We have a lot to clear the air. And I will do whatever we have to in order to get Rachel back. Rick clearly likes whatever he sees on my face, because he nods and says, “Let’s get out of here.”

And we do.