Reckoning

by Fields, Sara

  It was day four when the preparations for a full-scale assault on the compound started to come together and it was day five when it finally took place.

  Dean and I oversaw the whole thing from a safehouse location just down the street. He refused to allow me to take part directly because it was exceedingly dangerous. There was the possibility of a massive gunfight and he wouldn’t allow me to get caught up in the crossfire. This was best left to the professionals. Even I knew that.

  But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to watch the whole thing.

  Shortly before the raid was to begin, the FBI director joined us. Dean knew him already and said hello and then the director introduced himself to me.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Willow Rose. My name is Robert Luxor,” he said.

  I nodded in greeting, echoing his softly. He cleared his throat rather arrogantly and I narrowed my eyes in his direction, suddenly very suspicious of his intentions.

  “You’ve been a busy girl for the past several years, haven’t you, Willow? Extortion. Blackmail. Theft. Breaking and entering. False identities, the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?” Robert asked.

  “I know.” I flinched. It was only a matter of time before my misdeeds caught up to me. I’d known that ever since Dean had told me that the FBI had discovered me, and I wondered if even Daddy could protect me from my own past.

  I watched the massive projection screen at the front of the room. There were men gathered all around the tall iron fencing that surrounded the place. The sun was setting, and I could practically see the tension rippling through the air. They were ready.

  A wave of police officers rushed forward and stormed the gate. The mansion was quiet for some time and as soon as they reached the doors, the windows lit up in a flurry of activity. The room was quiet as we watched the members of an elite SWAT team work their way in through a forgotten back window. There were more than one of those.

  I was astounded by the sheer number of people rushing inside. The FBI had not overlooked anything. There was practically a small army storming the Father’s mansion.

  They’d even used a top-secret military drone with ground scanning radar to ensure that there were no underground escape paths. They had found one and had followed it to its exit, which was now covered with at least ten men with machine guns in case anyone tried to escape that way.

  I looked around the room, observing just how much money the FBI had poured into this mission from the massive computer towers to the screens all over the walls.

  They hadn’t spared a single expense because they wanted the Father. They wanted to take down the head of the biggest mafia family left in the United States.

  “You’re not going to arrest me though, are you?” I asked softly and I saw Dean smirk just the tiniest bit out of the corner of my eye.

  “I’m still considering what to do with you,” Robert replied.

  “You and I both know that’s a lie,” I scoffed. “Tell me. How high is the Father on the FBI’s most wanted list?”

  Robert openly huffed beside me.

  “This is a massive operation that you’ve likely spent millions on over the course of several years. I know you’ve been aware of the family for some time. Dean used to work on a division specialized on my activities before he resigned. Now seeing how many men and how much you’ve poured into the Father’s capture; I can only guess that he’s within the top three.”

  Robert was quiet, so I decided to continue.

  “The family has stayed under the radar for more than twenty years. Once police activity started catching up to the other mafia families, the Father took our organization underground. He worked deep beneath the public sector, using the dark web and those below your radar. The homeless and the needy were some of his most loyal members. He kept us under his control by holding something over our heads or threatening to kill us if we ever stepped out of line and there was never a shortage of disobedient followers that needed to be taught a lesson. He had the Fixer to keep us obedient and afraid. He had his hands in everything: drug trafficking, money laundering, the sex trade, illegal imports. You name it, he was involved.”

  “Once we realized how deep his operation went, he went from number twenty-five to number one on our list,” Robert scoffed.

  I smiled.

  “That’s why you’re not going to arrest me. I delivered the Father into your hands and helped to nullify the biggest crime organization in the history of the United States,” I replied boldly.

  Dean openly chuckled at my side. He said nothing, but when I glanced at him for a brief second, I could see the pride written all over his face.

  He knew I was right too.

  “You’re a smart one. It was never my intention to take you into custody,” Robert finally admitted. “To be honest, I wanted to offer you a job.”

  Dean’s grin widened.

  I turned to face Robert head on.

  “A job,” I replied flatly.

  “You’re very good at what you do. You assume an identity and assess an individual for their wants and needs. You use that information to trick them into thinking that they’re in love with you, enough to propose and walk you down the aisle,” he began.

  “That’s true,” I responded.

  “Tell me, Willow. How many marks have you had?”

  “Sixteen,” I answered.

  “And how many of them asked for your hand in marriage?”

  “Every single one of them,” I answered proudly, and I realized that was the first time I’d ever spoken of the work I’d done in a positive way.

  “I can’t train that type of skill into my people. It’s been ingrained so deeply into you and that cannot be replicated no matter how much time or money I pour into teaching that sort of thing,” he continued.

  “I see.”

  “I want you to be a part of our undercover operations. We have a special subdivision that works on projects that need extra attention and I think you would be perfect for it,” he explained.

  I was silent for a while, watching the screen as the police officers exited the house. Some of them escorted women in absurdly tiny maid outfits while others walked with men in suits. They emptied out of the house until I was sure that there would be no one left.

  Then the first members of the special SWAT team walked out of the house. I looked closer, coming to the conclusion that they were surrounding a single individual in a ring formation. Every one of them had their guns trained on the person at the center.

  Once they exited the house, they opened the circle a bit wider and I was able to get a view of the man at the center.

  They’d gotten him.

  Even though he was likely over sixty years old now, he stood tall with arrogant pride. A thin gray beard practically shone on his chin and his head was thick with salt and peppered hair. He had the air of regality that I’d always cowered beneath, but no longer.

  He had no more power over me now. He couldn’t threaten me or force me to live a life I didn’t want to live anymore. My life was mine. Not his.

  “He is going away for a long time, Willow. He’ll never see the light of day again,” Dean assured me.

  “Good,” I declared, and I turned back toward Robert.

  “This job you’re offering, it wouldn’t involve marriage, would it?”

  “No. More deep undercover operations that require someone who’s insanely good at what they do,” he replied.

  “I have a few conditions,” I began.

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Dean is to be hired along with me. We will work in the same division and if a job calls for us to work side by side, that’s what we will do.”

  “There are rules against people working together who are involved,” he replied.

  “You will overlook them.”

  “I will see to it that it is done,” he sighed reluctantly.

  “Before Willow goes any further, I’d like to put forward a condition of my own as well. The two
of us won’t just be involved. She is going to be my wife. I married her more than a year ago as Sophia Jackson, but never as Willow Rose. She will walk down the aisle for me because that’s what I want and that’s what she needs,” he said resolutely, and my heart swelled.

  Most men would have asked to marry me, but not Daddy. Daddy wanted to take me as his wife, and I wasn’t going to have a choice in the matter. To be honest, I didn’t want one.

  This was the man I was meant to spend the rest of my life with.

  “There is one more thing I’d like to request,” Dean ventured.

  “What is that?” Robert asked.

  “If there are any issues to be dealt with in the workplace, Willow is to report to me. Human resources will not be involved. I will be the one to handle it,” he said darkly.

  My nipples pebbled beneath my shirt and I was thankful that they were safely encased within my bra. I shifted, sliding my thighs together and feeling the unmistakable wetness between them at the veiled threat in those innocent words.

  I had no doubt that those issues would result in me lying naked over his knee for a spanking.

  I would answer to Daddy and no one else.

  I liked that.

  “I accept all of your conditions,” Robert answered.

  I glanced at Dean and there was nothing but sheer approval painted all over his face. He nodded once and I realized that he was leaving this choice to me.

  He wasn’t trying to control my life. He was giving me the chance to decide this for myself.

  I understood him more in that moment.

  I remembered the first time he’d taken me and tied me to his bed, the first time he’d made me call him Daddy. Back then, I really hadn’t understood why, but now I did.

  Daddy wanted to take care of me in every single sense. He wanted me to be happy. He would punish me when I needed it. He would spoil me when I needed that too. I would be able to count on him whenever I needed him. He would ensure that I was safe and protected and in exchange, he wanted all of me.

  And I wanted to give him that. I wanted to give him everything.

  “Then I accept your offer.”

  Chapter 12

  I’d planned a lot of weddings in my life, but never one for a man I truly loved. I wanted it to be special so that the both of us would remember for the rest of our lives. In the end, I decided on a small reception with only two guests.

  Janet and her daughter Elsa.

  After the SWAT team had arrested the Father, they investigated the mansion from top to bottom. They found Elsa locked away in a small apartment in the basement. She was healthy but pale, seemingly only allowed out into the sun on rare occasions.

  Dean ensured that Janet’s crimes were overlooked. He had his people destroy any evidence that connected her to the family’s dealings even in the most remote sense. When I was questioned about her, I said nothing and neither did he. He had promised her that she’d go free, and I knew that he would uphold that vow just like he meant to do with me.

  Since we would only have a few people with us, I didn’t have to plan out the seating arrangements or even put together a reception at all. There were no tablecloths to pick out, or valence colors to choose.

  It made it that much simpler.

  If I needed anything, I only had to ask for it. Dean flew me out to some of the most talented wedding dress designers in the world, but I chose a ready-made dress that only needed a few adjustments.

  It was an A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline. The top was made of white lace and the scalloped edges around the bust line allowed bits of my skin to peep through. The sash around the waist was a gorgeous dark blue that was the same color as his eyes and that felt extraordinarily special to me.

  There was the option to have a train, but I opted to have it bustled behind me. My favorite part of the whole thing was picking out the scandalous lingerie that would lie beneath it.

  When the day finally came, I was so excited that I could hardly contain myself.

  Dean was very traditional about the whole thing. We slept in separate hotel rooms the night before, which was terribly hard for me because I just wanted his hands on me. He’d told me to be patient, but my needy little pussy had other ideas.

  He’d forbidden me to touch myself, but I’d done it anyway. I had no plans to tell him about it either.

  I’d spent that morning in the spa getting a relaxing massage. When I was ready, the staff took me in to do my hair in an elegant partial up-do before they did my makeup in a natural classy way. They even helped me to get dressed in my lingerie and wedding dress. By the time they were through with me, I felt like a treasured princess.

  I was led to a car and assisted inside. A number of people made sure that my dress made it safely into the vehicle too. I closed my eyes and took a deep shuddering breath.

  This was real. I was getting married to Dean.

  I’d heard stories about how other women would get the nervous jitters before their wedding and I’d never understood that until now. I was anxious, but at the same time I was ecstatic that the day had finally come when I could take my own vows and mean every single word for the first time in my life.

  The car pulled up to Dean’s Lisbon house.

  I gasped at the sight of it.

  Fresh flowers surrounded the gorgeous home, every one of them in full bloom. Red stones lined the walkway, circling behind the mansion to where the ceremony was going to take place. The sky was a brilliant blue without a cloud in sight. The sun was high overhead, casting down warmth and light all around me with absolute perfection.

  I was going to marry him in his own vineyard. I’d decided there would be nothing more special than that.

  The front door opened, and Janet emerged from the front door. I’d given her a square of the fabric that my sash had been made from and told her to pick out her own dress so that she would love it too.

  Her gown had turned out really beautiful. It was sleek and form fitting. There were no sleeves and it descended to just above her knee in a way that was demure and sexy at the same time. There was a small cutout on her chest that revealed a tiny bit of cleavage and I smiled wholeheartedly at the sight.

  “You look amazing, Janet,” I whispered.

  “Not nearly as magnificent as you,” she sighed, and I blushed. “Now come on. There’s a man waiting for you back there,” she added.

  I took her hand and she helped me out of the car. Carefully, I walked along the stones, venturing behind the house when a small group of violins started to play a romantic song that Dean and I had chosen together.

  Dean was standing on the wooden gazebo he’d put in just for our wedding. There was a pastor waiting beside him, but I didn’t look at anything other than the soulful gaze of the man waiting to take me as his wife.

  With each step, I moved closer to him and the life I’d always wanted and when I finally stepped up onto that gazebo with him, I knew I was making the right choice.

  He was the love of my life and I wanted to spend the rest of my days with him.

  With Daddy.

  “Do you take this woman as your lawfully wedded wife, to honor, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  I hardly listened when the pastor said a few words. I didn’t hear him when he asked Dean to repeat his vows until he said the two words I desperately needed to hear.

  “I do.”

  I met Dean’s eyes and I wanted to cry happy tears. He smiled softly in return and I grinned so widely that I wondered if my jaw would break.

  Dean reached for my left hand and slid a glittering wedding band onto my finger. I sucked in a breath, feeling that ownership descend on me for the very first time. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever felt in my life.

  The pastor turned to me.

  “Do you take this man as your lawfully wedded husband, to honor and obey, to have and to hold, from this d
ay forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?”

  “I do,” I replied loudly, and I meant every single word. Innocent shivers raced down my arms and I inhaled shakily with subdued excitement.

  It wasn’t lost on me that the pastor had added one small phrase to my vows that he hadn’t said to my future husband and when Dean smirked in my direction, it was clear to me that it was his doing and no one else’s.

  I’d vowed to obey him.

  That made my pussy clench tight.

  “You may kiss the bride,” the pastor finally said.

  Dean pulled me close to him and he kissed my cheek before he drew close enough to whisper in my ear.

  “You’re mine, little girl.”

  “I’m yours, Daddy.”

  “I’m looking forward to showing you exactly what that means tonight,” he added before he brushed his lips against my cheek and finally captured my lips with his own.

  I lost myself in that kiss because it was my first real kiss as a wife. I wasn’t marrying under a false identity.

  It was all real for the very first time.

  Epilogue

  We had a personal chef prepare a small dinner for the two of us after the ceremony. When we finished, Dean personally escorted him out. When he closed the door behind him, he called me into the foyer with him.

  “Willow? Come here,” he called, and I smiled, very much looking forward to our time alone together tonight. I walked over to him, still in my wedding dress because that’s how he’d wanted this evening to begin.

  He gently took a hold of my shoulder and turned me around so that I no longer faced him. He began to unbutton the small buttons at my back, and I stayed perfectly still so that it would be easier for him.