Invisible

by Skye Stone

  I thought it was strange too, but the Governor was known for keeping things real close to his chest.

  “Do we have other pictures of her? This picture is over 3 years old.” Dante looked puzzled.

  “There are no other pictures of her.”

  “Does she have social media profiles? Twitter, Instagram, Facebook? Shit, she’s only in her 20’s how the fuck is she a ghost?”

  “Amara is agoraphobic and hasn’t left her home in 2 years.”

  “How in the fuck are we supposed to get her out of there without raising some suspicion?”

  “I called Bianca. She’s the only one who’s met her in person. Josh, Aiden, and Luca are her protection detail. They will meet us in Denver and then will extract the girl. The teams will break up and meet up again at an undisclosed location.”

  My laptop beeped notifying me of an incoming video call. It was the other team and Bianca.

  “Josh, how’s it going? Things smooth on your end?”

  “Yes, I have Bianca here and she can give you the details that you need about the girl.”

  “Bianca.”

  “Jaxon.”

  “What can you tell us about the girl?”

  “The girl is a woman and she’s my sister. You’ll treat her with respect.”

  I wasn’t expecting her to care about this girl. Grunting, I let her know that I heard the tension in her tone.

  “She’s had it hard. For two years she nursed her mom while she had cancer. I’m not sure what happened, but from what I understand, one day she just stopped coming outside.”

  “Does she know that you’re aware of her condition?”

  “I’ve never said anything to her about it.”

  “We’re going to need you to arrange to meet her and then you’ll need to slip her a mild sedative so that we can get her out undetected.”

  “That won’t hurt her will it?”

  “No, the dosage was approved by a doctor.” Bianca made me crazy sometimes.

  “Bianca, could you tell us a little about Amara. What is she like?” Dante smiled at her like he would eat her up.

  “Amara is very sweet. Quiet, kind, and just a wonderful person. I’m amazed that this thing with dad didn’t completely fuck her up.”

  “It did, she hasn’t left her house for two fucking years Bee.” Liam snorted.

  “Well, ok, there’s that. But, she’s a wonderful person. Just be gentle with her.”

  “We need you to make the call so that she is expecting you.”

  “I’ll make the call now.” Bianca pulled out her phone from her purse and dialed. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the phone of speaker so we were only able to hear her side of the conversation.

  “Hey, sis! How are you?” Bianca frowned for a moment. “Well, I just wanted to let you know that my plans changed and that I’m heading to Denver tomorrow! I know it’s a little sudden. But, I would love to meet up with you at your place. Are you busy? Ok, see you soon.”

  Josh leaned into the screen, gently moving Bianca out of the way. Those two had sparks that you could see from a mile away.

  Scowling, Bianca moved to the other side of the plane.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow morning bright-eyed and bushy tailed.”

  “See you Josh.”

  “How the fuck do we get the girl who is afraid to go outside?” Liam whined.

  “Luck of the draw my friend, luck of the draw.” I laughed and then settled in for a quick nap.

  Amara

  For the last hour I’ve cleaned my house, the baseboards, behind the fridge, anywhere and everywhere I could think of. Bianca will be here tomorrow and I don’t know how I feel about it.

  For the past year I’ve noticed that it’s become easier and easier to contemplate never going outside again. And, with each swipe of the rag I go back to the day when I walked inside and didn’t go back out.

  It was a beautiful spring day and my mother had been gone for almost 3 months. Each time I left home I found myself struggling to connect with other people. I got tired of their tired platitudes. If I heard “We’re so sorry for your loss” one more time I knew I would scream.

  It felt like I was suffocating and that the only place I felt relaxed was when I was inside and at home.

  That last day was a completely unremarkable day. I went to the grocery store, I walked to the park, and then I came inside and watched Netflix.

  The next day I ordered my groceries and worked on my online business that I’d started when I kept getting fired for missing work while taking care of mom. I was a digital content creator and made a surprising amount of money with a website that I’d developed.

  What surprised me was how easy it was to become invisible. But, when I thought about it, that was the story of my life.

  My dad never acknowledged me. I was unpopular in school because I was shy. The black kids didn’t feel that I was black enough and the white kids always asked me where I came from.

  Finally, I just got tired.

  Then, one day Bianca showed up at my door. I knew who she was before she even said a word. It was so confusing to see her on my front door step and for a moment I thought I might be hallucinating.

  For a moment I was terrified, was she here to hurt me?

  Instead, she was so kind and loving and I loved having a sister. Every week we were in touch and it felt good having someone check in on me.

  I just wondered why she decided to come to Denver?

  Jaxon

  Denver was one of my favorite American cities. I loved the low-key vibe and the live and let live energy of the city.

  It was a surprisingly warm day for the time of year and I kept an eye out for anything that seemed suspicious.

  Aiden walked over and gave me a bro hug. He’d served in the same team as Liam, Dante and I and I missed him.

  “Aiden, nice to see your ugly face.” I was full of shit of course. Aiden was chased after by women of every age. Married, single, and anything in-between.

  Bianca emerged out of the car and I had to appreciate the view before me. Not necessarily my taste, but she was sexy.

  “Jaxon.”

  “Bianca. Are you ready?”

  “Yes.”

  “Here’s the sedative. Just add it to whatever she’s drinking. It will take about 5 minutes to knock her out.”

  “I feel really shitty about this.” Bianca said while her eyes teared up.

  “You’re saving your sister’s life.”

  “Ok, let’s do this.”

  The teams settled in our places and watched the house from different strategic locations. I watched Bianca walk towards Amara’s door looking like she was going to the gallows. Show time.

  Bianca

  With each step towards Amara’s door, I felt the weight of the guilt on my shoulders that I was about to slip my sister a drug and help a team kidnap her.

  That’s basically what was about to happen.

  Taking a deep breath, I knocked on the door.

  “BIANCA!!” My beautiful sister gave a hug that made ribs hurt.

  “I missed you too Amara! You’re too skinny sweetie. I need to fatten you up.” Amara laughed.

  “You’ll be happy to know that I ordered your favorite pizza and it should be arriving in a few minutes.”

  Shit.

  What Amara didn’t know was that I also had a small mic on me and the guys were listening in to our conversation.

  The doorbell rang and Amara slipped around me to open the door.

  “Umm, hello. How much do I owe you?”

  “It’s $20.” Dante was standing in the door instead of a delivery boy.

  Amara looked flustered as Dante took her in. I wasn’t sure that I liked how interested he looked as he continued to look at her.

  I walked over to the door to get him the hell out of the door.

  “Thanks for coming so quickly! It smells awesome. Have a great day.”

  Shutting the door, I tried to play off my nerves.


  Amara was still looking a bit flustered. I decided to tease her. “He was hot wasn’t he?”

  Laughing, she agreed.

  We sat down and caught up in the way that sisters do after a long time apart.

  “Are you dating anyone right now?”

  “No. You know me, I’m busy with work.”

  “Amara, stop putting things off.” I worried about her and new that she lived too quietly and wondered if she’d ever dated before she stopped leaving her home.

  “Would you like something to drink? I have seltzer water, iced coffee or tea.”

  “Do you have a beer?”

  “I actually do!” Amara looked so pleased and busied herself getting our drinks. Placing the drinks on the table, she ran to the restroom.

  This was my moment. Thankfully, she’d poured herself a glass of tea and I added the sedative quickly.

  Walking back into the room, she smiled at me and took a deep sip of her tea and then a couple of bites of the pizza.

  It’s hard to manage my nerves.

  Amara starts slurring her words and then slowly slips down and passes out.

  “She’s out.” I speak into the mic in my blouse.

  There’s a knock on the door and I rush to it and open it. Jaxon is looking into the room as he walks inside and then stopped in his steps.

  Dante smirked. “I told you.”

  Jaxon shook his head and made his way to Amara. “Bianca, could you pack a bag for her?”

  “Absolutely.”

  I felt like I was violating her sanctuary and rushed to get her clothes into a bag. I knew that the guys were rough, but I knew that they had a code. She would be safe, but they were looking at her in a way that surprised me.

  Liam was cradling Amara in his arms and it looked like he would never let her go. Jaxon and Dante were looking at her as well with undefinable expressions on their faces.

  It was time to go.

  Liam

  I am unable to wrap my head around how beautiful this woman is. She looked very similar to the new American Duchess, but just a teeny bit darker and a little more delicate.

  The moment that I saw her, I had a feeling that my life was about to change. Her head rolled to the side as I settled her into my lap and I fought the sudden hardening of my dick as I held her.

  Dante and Jaxon were just as taken with her.

  “Do we have everything?”

  “Yes.”

  “It’s time to go.” Jaxon pulled out his gun. “Let’s do this.”

  We made our way outside of the house and quickly walked over to the dark van that we’d brought in for the extraction.

  Things went too smoothly and I was always suspicious when things went too smoothly.

  I just hoped that I was wrong.

  The delicate smell of some kind of exotic flower reached my nose as I held her close. Looking around I prepared to strap her into her seat when I see a car speeding down the street.

  “Incoming!”

  “Dammit!” Jaxon shouted. “Aiden, we’ll see you on the other side.” The other team headed off into the other direction with guns blazing.

  Our third squad began taking the incoming team down.

  “Let’s get the fuck out of here.” Jaxon got them off our ass and we drove as fast as we possibly could, I couldn’t believe how close we’d gotten to losing her.

  The van finally stopped as we made our way into the hangar. The plane was ready to go.

  Jaxon

  For the last hour Amara hadn’t moved. We’d placed her on the bed and sat like sentinels in front of it.

  Eventually all of us would have to discuss the elephant in the room. We all wanted this woman. I’d never experienced anything quite like this.

  We’d shared women before, but this was something different.

  “She’s stunning.” Dante said in a soft voice as if afraid that he would wake her.

  “It’s hard to believe that she’s the Governor’s daughter.” Liam chuckled.

  “Bianca is good people. You can’t pick your parents. You’re just lucky you’ve got good ones.”

  “Gentlemen, we’re preparing to make our descent. Please buckle up.” The captain made himself known.

  Twenty minutes later we were on the ground and driving towards our next destination-a surprisingly large cabin in the woods.

  Dante carried Amara inside while staring Liam and I down. Walking upstairs, he placed in the secured room that had been prepared for her.

  Then, we waited for her to wake up.

  Amara

  I was so thirsty and my head was pounding. It felt like there were cotton balls inside my mouth.

  My eyes slowly opened and I stared around me in confusion. Where am I? It’s a gorgeous room with giant windows that faced the ocean.

  A huge television was mounted on the wall and I freaked out as it turned on out of the blue.

  “Amara, I’m so sorry, but we had to do it.”

  “Bianca, you gave me a drug that put me to sleep.” I was so angry right now and felt like an anxiety attack was on its way.

  “What the fuck is going on Bianca? Why did you do this to me?”

  “Someone is trying to kill our family.”

  “I’m not a part of your family.”

  Bianca’s face twisted in pain. I knew those words hurt, but it was the truth.

  “You are a part of my family.”

  “No one besides you knows that I exist. Your father has never even mentioned me in public.”

  “The assassin was specifically hired to kill you. Then, they decided to kill everyone in our family.”

  “I don’t understand how they know who I am?” Right now I’m just in shock.

  “In case you’re wondering, it wasn’t me. Dad has known where you are for several years. It’s our belief that someone was able to break into Dad’s computer and found information about you and the family.”

  It hurt that he’d known where I was and never came to visit me.

  “How long has he known where I’ve been?”

  “At least for two years. He had extensive files on you from about the time you were four. I think your mother sent him updates to a private p.o. box once a year.”

  “Where am I?”

  “I don’t know. But, you can trust Liam, Dante, and Jaxon. They will keep you safe. They’re bringing you to the safe house that I’m in.”

  The sense of the walls closing in on me became even more acute and I opened the window to get some fresh air.

  Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I try to manage my emotions.

  A knock on the door alerts me to the fact that my solitude was about to be broken. The pizza deliveryman was standing in the doorway.

  “I’m not a pizza delivery guy even though I’ve had that job in the past. I’m Dante.”

  Dante is the most handsome man that I’ve ever seen.

  He has a deep olive complexion with dark brown hair that I want to run my hands through. Dante is lean and muscular with tattoos peaking through his shirt.

  I moved back into the room trying to ignore the warmth that his presence was creating in me.

  “You probably have some questions that your sister wasn’t able to answer.”

  There were so many questions that I wanted to ask. But, first I needed a glass of water. It was almost as if he could read my mind.

  “Thirsty?”

  “Yes.”

  “Let’s get you something to drink from the kitchen.”

  We made our way down the stars to the kitchen. Unbelievably, there were two other men just as handsome as Dante standing in the kitchen drinking beers.

  “Liam and Jaxon, this is Amara.”

  I felt pinned by weight of their stares. Liam has jet-black hair and gorgeous green eyes that seemed to sparkle with humor and a little bit of lust.