Page 12 of Love in Fear

The sound of squealing tires has me jerking to attention and pulling me away from the sweetest mouth I’ve ever tasted. Seeing that we’re taking corners faster than we normally would, I check over my schedule to see several large SUVs closing in behind us. Squeezing her tightly for just a moment more, I slid her off my lap and into the seat beside me, latching her into the seat belt.

“Three of them are on our ass and are moving in at a high rate of speed. Did you bring any toys with you?” I ask the man in the front seat.

“Do you really think I would come to save your hide without bringing any toys along? That would be like trying to fire a gun with no ammo,” he says, laughing.

“Everyone is a fucking comedian around here, aren’t they?” I ask.

Little one laughs under breath at our banter, and for the first time since before my mother got sick, I want to make someone laugh and even smile, not just tremble in fear. Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind I focus on the task at hand. Getting us the fuck out of here and back to my office where I know we’ll be safe until I can come up with a plan of action. One that preferably means not going to war with the family.

“Are you ready to do your thing?” I’m asked from the front seat by my driver.

“Let’s show them what it means to mess with me and play trivial games.” I turn to look at Little One, and issue a command, “Cover your ears this is going to be loud.” I follow up my words by settling the AR-15 on my shoulder, pressing the trigger and letting a spray of bullets shatter the glass.

I watch as the first SUV starts to steam and smoke before swerving into a tree. The second and third SUVs pick up speed, coming at us faster and with more persistence. I set my eye onto the sight of the AR-15, aiming for the grill of the vehicle knowing that if I shoot at the tires, it’ll do nothing but cause them to crazily swerve around. One quick pull on the trigger and the second SUV is catapulted off the road. The third was following closely on their bumper that it rear ends the second, making it so we are no longer being chased.

“Alright, Little one, you can uncover your ears.” Lifting my hands upward, I pull her hands away from her face.

“Holy shit, gun fire being shot in a vehicle is louder than I thought it’d be,” she says, thoughtfully.

“It’s not something that I try to do often, but you do what you have to to get yourself out of trouble that’s following you,” I tell her.

“Can you take me home now? I’ve got to clean up the mess made by the assholes who broke in and took me from my bed,” she murmurs, so quietly that if I wasn’t watching her intently, then I would've missed what she said altogether.

“Going home isn’t an option. We’re going to my office where I can make a plan for our next move. One that will keep us both safe at the end,” I assure her.

“What? No, I have a life, a job, hell, even friends that I have to get back to. I can’t just stay with you,” she screeches, her voice rising to a state to where it’s frantic.

I turn on her, so angry that I know the monster is hardly being contained underneath the surface. “Do you have any fucking idea who those men are that are after us? Do you have any idea who’s fucking house that was you were just in?” I roar.

“No, I don’t know a fucking thing. What I do know is that I’ve been living here for two years, hiding from the man you killed. Three fucking days ago, that same man came waltzing into my work place, afraid he was having a heart attack. Less than twenty-four hours later, he has three crazy men come and pull me out of my bed, knocked me out, and I woke in some hotel room being told to get ready for the night of my life.'' She takes a deep breath trying to process everything she just said. “Fours later, I’m standing in a home that I’ll only ever dream of living in when you approached, and well, you know everything that took place after that. So forgive my stupidity, but I know exactly fucking nothing.”

I just watch her, rolling everything she just said around in my head. I go over it in my mind, trying to figure out how to tell her that she has been pushed head first into a war that she was never prepared to be a part of. Hell, that she's a part of a war that I wasn’t even ready for? We pull up in front of my office building before I figure out exactly how I should explain everything to her. As soon as the car comes to a stop, my door is pulled open by the parking attendant. I slide my way out of the SUV and turn, holding my hand out for her to take. She doesn’t move, just watches me, trying to decide if she should trust me or not for a second time in the same night.

Slowly, she places her small soft hand into mine, and I quietly pull her from the black SUV. When she stands before me with no heels on her feet, a dress that’s torn to shreds, and her makeup running down her face, I realize just how beautiful and truly small she really is. With her hand still clutched in mine, I turn heading into the building that not only holds my office, but also my home.

No one knows that my home is in the same building as my office. I intentionally kept my father’s house as a front so that everyone believed I resided there. I knew that the day I decided to make my move, that I would need a home that provides safety. Don’t get me wrong, everyone knows that my office is here, but none of them have any idea that I built an additional home above my office. On official documents my office is on the top floor, and all of the glass architecture hides my apartment from any outside onlookers.

“Where are you taking me? You still haven’t told me who those people are, and why I should fear them.” Little one rattles on as I tug her through the lobby of my building.

I don’t say anything, just keep walking, and holding my head angled down so my hat covers my face and identity. I need to get us to safety before I can even begin to tell her what’s really going on here. Hell, I don't even know what's going on until I speak with some of my contacts.

CHAPTERELEVEN

EVORA

I tryto take in the lavish building as I’m pulled through it. The lobby is very minimalistic, coated in nothing but glass and cold, silver edges. There is a man sitting at a desk who gives a stiff nod in acknowledgement as we rush past him. When we get to the bank of elevators, Hendrick takes us to the very last one where he inputs a code and scans his finger on the panel. Holy shit, why does someone need that kind of security? I take a small step back, set on not joining him in the elevator.

Hendrick looks over his shoulder at me, eyes barely visible under the rim of his hat, and insists, “We must go.”

“I-I-I don’t know. Why would I go up there with you with no way to leave if I decide to?” My breathing becomes choppy, but I blurt out, “I can’t be trapped again. I just can’t. I’m sorry.”

I turn ready to bolt. I need to get back to my everyday life and get out of this outrageous place. Away from all of these Monsters. I’ll find myself a small town in the middle of nowhere where I can hide away, and never have to think about all this shit again. Strong arms wrap around me from behind, pulling me into a tight, hard body. I whimper before sagging in his hold, knowing that fighting him is pointless.

“Don’t run, Little one,” he murmurs close to my ear.

“I’m so scared, Hendrick. I’ve never been a good judge of character,” I mutter, hanging my head in defeat.

“I’m not a good man, but I will keep you safe,” Hendrick promises, whispering the words across my neck before placing a kiss behind my ear.