Page 47 of Cinderella and the Daddy

Before I can answer, I hear my bedroom door open. I step away from Cindy immediately, taking the gun and sliding it into the bedside table drawer.

"Papa?" His voice is thick with sleep, hair sticking up in every direction. "Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, kiddo."

Leo rubs his eyes with the back of his hand, looking every inch the confused five-year-old he is. "Can I stay with you? I had a bad dream."

Under normal circumstances, I would walk him back to his room and maybe sit with him until he falls asleep again. But tonight, with threats circling like vultures, I want him close. Want both of them where I can see them and protect them.

"Come on," I say, pulling back the covers on my side of the bed. "But no kicking."

Leo grins and scrambles onto the mattress. Cindy looks at me, like she’s asking if she should go back to her room.

I jerk my head toward the bed.

She offers a faint smile before going around and climbing in. I strip down to my boxers and get in on the other side.

Leo snuggles between Cindy and me like he belongs there. She wraps an arm around him automatically.

This. This is what they're threatening. Not just Cindy, but the family we've somehow become. The life I never thought I wanted until it was right there in front of me.

Giving my prisoner a gun is probably not the smartest thing I’ve ever done.

But I have to trust her. I need her to be able to keep herself safe.

“If they come, shoot to kill,” I whisper after Leo has fallen asleep.

She slides her hand to mine and gently squeezes, letting me know she heard me.

"I won't let them touch you," I promise, the words carrying the weight of an oath. "Either of you."

"I know," she says, and there's absolute certainty in her voice.

14

CINDY

The compound feels different under lockdown. Every guard is more watchful. It feels like everyone is holding their breath. Guards patrol in pairs now. Before, the guards kept their guns out of sight.

Not now.

It’s very clear they are armed and ready to kill.

I don’t carry the gun Luka gave me. It seems pointless. And cumbersome. And I don’t feel confident enough to have it around Leo.

Leo is in the schoolroom, and I’m bored.

In fact, it feels like I’m going stir-crazy.

I’m sitting on the leather couch in Luka’s study. The man insists I stay close. It’s both flattering and annoying.

I don’t know when things changed between us. It’s like I legit slapped some sense into him. Ever since that time in the garage,he’s just been different. The man gave me a gun. What kind of captor gives his prisoner a gun?

I’m not a prisoner.

I’m here willingly, and we both know it.

"Your Mustang's timing is still off. I’m going to work on it. Where are the keys?”