by K. C. Crowne
“Because I don’t want to get married, for one thing.” There were a million other reasons I could list, but ultimately, the most important one was that I didn’t want to. “I’m planning on going away to graduate school next year and—”
My dad and Antonio both scoffed rather loudly, stopping me. “You will not be going to graduate school, Emilia,” my father said.
“Yes, I will, Dad,” I replied indignantly.
“You don’t need to continue your education, Emilia,” Antonio said from beside me, looking at my breasts before lifting his eyes to mine. “While I admire an educated woman, you won’t need to worry about having a career. Money will never be an issue for you as long as you’re my wife.”
“I don’t care about your money,” I spat, turning my eyes to Antonio and glaring at my father. “I have goals of my own that don’t involve being a kept woman. And why would I want to marry someone who doesn’t know me well enough to get that?”
My father stood up across the table, his face as red as the blood boiling inside my veins. I pushed my chair back and stood up as well, staring him in the eyes.
“Emilia, you will do as I say. Antonio has been very generous in our agreement and I know you will have a good, comfortable life with him.”
“I am not a bargaining chip, Dad,” I countered furiously. I’d only stood up to him a handful of times in my life, and this was certainly one of them. “You can’t just marry me to someone without my consent. I’m not for sale.”
“Emilia.” Antonio spoke calmly. He too stood up, towering over me. He was standing close to me, too close for my comfort. He reached out and ran a finger down my cheek, causing me to step away. He grinned at me, looking me over like I was a delicious cut of meat. “You don’t have a say in the matter, darling. You’re marrying me, and that is final. We’ve made a deal.”
“You can’t make me do anything,” I snarled.
“You wanna bet, sweetheart?” he growled, the grin becoming frightening, revealing exactly what my life would be like with this man: horrifying. “When Antonio Lombardo wants something, he gets it. And I want you. One way or another, you will be mine.”
“I’ll never be yours.”
Antonio turned to my father as if I was no longer in the room. “It’s been a lovely evening, Mr. Bianchi, but I have other matters to attend to. I do appreciate your cooperation and willingness to work with me.”
“My father doesn’t own me. He can’t give me away,” I stated, holding my head up high as a sense of dread filled me.
Antonio turned to me with a smile. “You’re so adorable when you’re angry, darling. I’m sure you’ll learn to step in line before too long.”
Antonio walked toward the door, and my father followed. I remained in the dining room, my stomach twisting and turning. I would never marry that man. No one could force me to marry Antonio Lombardo.
I overheard my father talking to Antonio, and it only made me sicker.
“Will you guarantee that she’s a virgin?” Antonio asked.
“Yes, she is. I’ve always been very strict with Emilia. She’s a good girl,” he replied with complete confidence.
“Good. I expect not to be disappointed on my wedding night.”
I nearly retched as I heard the front door close. I couldn’t imagine facing my father. He’d done many questionable things in his life, always held my reigns a bit too tightly. I’d stayed by his side, even though questionable business deals because he was my father. Because he was all the family I had left. But I’d ignored the red flags for far too long. I’d allowed him to control my every move; that would stop today. My father clearly didn’t love me - not as much as he did money or power.
Tears stung my eyes as I thought about the picture of my mom. Why did she have to die? She loved me; she wouldn’t have let my dad sell me to the highest bidder. As much as it pained me to think about, I felt like the wrong parent had died in that car accident.
“Emilia, how dare you defy me in front of Antonio Lombardo?” Dad’s voice echoed through the room. He was furious.
I turned and found him in the doorway, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He frowned at me as he walked into the room.
“How dare you treat me like property?” I spat. “You can’t make me do this. There’s no way this is happening.”
“It’s happening, Emilia,” he replied, his expression daring me to challenge him. “You simply don’t tell the Lombardo family no. That’s not the way this works, child.”
“I’m not a child.” I clenched my jaw tightly as I stared into my dad’s eyes. “And I’m not going to put up with this any longer.” I turned on my heels and headed out of the room.
“Oh Emilia. You think you can do whatever you want,” he cackled. “But remember, all your accounts are in my name. My money pays for everything from the cell phone to your car to the clothes on your back. You have nothing without me.”
I glanced back at my dad as I stood in the doorway. “That’s not true, Dad. I have my freedom without you, and that’s more valuable than any expensive phone or designer bag.”
“You’re not going anywhere, Emilia.” The certainty in his tone stopped me. “You can’t.”
Just watch me, I thought to myself as I resumed walking. Just watch me.
This wasn’t just about my freedom now either – this was about my baby’s as well. Antonio expected me to come to him a virgin; he would never accept another man’s child. And what would he do to me – and my child— when he discovered I wasn’t a virgin, that I was pregnant. Even if I did want to go through with it – which I didn’t – I knew my child’s life would be in danger.
I had no other choice but to run. I’d wait until my father went to sleep that night and sneak out of the house. All the money in the accounts was his, but I knew people who would help me.
I knew where I had to go.
I was going home to Liberty.
Graham
A buzzing alarm jolted me awake. It wasn’t just any old alarm to wake up to, either, but some kind of warning. I grabbed my phone off the end table and read the warning, “Flash flood warning in effect for the following counties…”
Same warning they’d been sending out for days. I was new to Liberty, but even I knew the amount of rainfall was well above average for the area. We’d been having flash flood warnings for different parts of Utah for over a week. This was the first time Liberty County was amongst them.
I rolled out of bed, unable to go back to sleep, and pulled on my jeans. I had some errands to run anyway, requiring me to go into town. I would check the downtown area, which was located in the valley and in a flood plain, and make sure they didn’t need any help while I was down there. Liberty had an old dam off to the north side of town that held back most of the river – which was named Liberty River. When they liked a name, they sure as hell stuck with it.
Once dressed, I walked into the kitchen. My younger brother, Mason, was already down there, along with our mama, who was visiting for the moment.
My mother was a tiny little thing, and it was hard to believe she’d managed to birth four massive sons. My brothers and I all took after our dad. That included Jack, who had a different mother than the rest of us but was still very much a Harvey.
“Good mornin’,” I said to my mom.
“Morning,” she said. “Breakfast is on the stove if you’d like some.”
“Nah, I’m not much for eating this early in the morning,” I reminded her. “But you already knew that.”
She sighed but still smiled. “Some things never change. I was hoping one day you’d realize the importance of breakfast, but nothing I can do about it now.”
Mason, otherwise known as Doc by the rest of us, was flipping through a newspaper.
“They still sell those things? I thought everyone read their news online these days.” I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down beside my mama, who had the rest of Mason’s newspaper and was reading it.
“I was j
ust as surprised as you, man,” Mason commented. “I can’t recall the last time I held an actual paper in my hand.”
“Some of us prefer real newspapers.” Mom peered over the paper and smiled at me. Our mother didn’t have a smart phone or any type of technological gadgets. She said she was too old for all that junk.
“So you’ve been out this morning?” I asked Mason, taking a sip of my coffee.
“Yeah, ran and got the paper for Ma,” he said. “Along with some groceries.”
“One less thing I’ll have to do while I’m out today, I suppose.”
“You going out in this?” Mason asked, pointing toward the window.
I shrugged. “Thought I’d check downtown, see if Teddy needed any help with the sandbags or anything.”
Mom set the section of paper she was done with aside, directly in front of me. My eyes fell on the photo, and I recognized the woman in it instantly. She was wearing a white dress and standing poised next to a young man in a tux. The announcement read, “Olivia Marie Donner weds Justin Michael Fields.”
Liv. The bride at the bachelorette party.
I picked up the paper and read the announcement. Mom saw me looking at it and said, “See the date there.”
I glanced, noting it was over a month ago, and frowned. “I wonder why it’s just now in the paper.”
“I wondered that too,” she said, shaking her head. “Either the paper isn’t so good at timely news, or the family didn’t get the announcement to them on time.”
I nodded as my mind drifted to Emmy and the night we’d spent together. The next morning, she’d left me high and dry with just a note saying she’d had fun but had to get to the wedding. She’d instructed me to leave the key with Leah on my way out and that was it.
I’d played the field in my younger days, so I knew a one-night stand when I saw one. But I went into the evening hoping for something more with Emmy. I really liked her, and I thought we’d clicked. But she left the next day without so much as a goodbye.
I didn’t know her full name - just Emmy. That was it. And until that moment, I didn’t know anyone else’s full name either. I briefly contemplated reaching out to Liv and seeing if I could track Emmy down, but realized how creepy that might be. If Emmy had wanted to stay in touch with me, she would have left her number or something.
Besides, it said Liv and Justin were going on their European honeymoon for two months, which might be why the announcement was late. Obviously they came from money, since I couldn’t imagine most folks taking off for two months like that.
“Someone you know?” Mom asked. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow and smiled at me over her coffee.
“Nah,” I said, folding the paper and putting it back down on the table. “Just surprised they still put wedding announcements in papers, that’s all.”
“They look like a nice couple, don’t you think?”
“Sure, they look happy and in love.”
“Reminds me of your dad and me, actually,” she said wistfully.
I knew the story of my parents’ marriage. It started out like a fairy tale, but unlike a true love story, it didn’t have a happy ending. Dad had always been married to his job first and foremost, and Mom pretty much raised the four of us alone, with Grandpa Curtis’s help. She eventually filed for divorce and freed Dad, but I think part of her always hoped he’d come back to her. Maybe he would have in old age if he hadn’t gotten into that accident.
Even with a sad ending, Mom would still smile while talking about Dad. All the bad memories seemed to fade away in time, and she only talked about the good times. She’d never remarried, and I was sad for her. We were all she had after her father died. Thankfully she enjoyed a lively social scene in Tennessee, or we might have never left her side. We still weren’t sure we were staying in Liberty, but the longer we hung around, the more likely it seemed.
We were even looking at some land on the outskirts of town. Instead of all of us staying cramped in this cabin, we could build our own homes. Maybe include one for Mom when she was ready to retire and move here. If she ever would.
I finished my coffee and told Mason and our mother I was heading out.
“Be careful,” Mom said, frowning in a way that said she would rather I stayed home.
“Lick Creek Bridge is looking a little scary,” Mason told me. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the water washes it out in the next day or two. You might need to find another way into town.”
“I’ll be careful, Doc,” I promised with a low chuckle.
My brother was a doctor, or rather, a medic from back in his military days, which was the reason we called him Doc. He might be younger than me, but sometimes, it felt like he wanted to step into the fatherly role. He was the cautious brother, the one who always weighed the risks and rewards before any action. It was a trait that worked out well for our company, Harvey Brothers Security and Private Investigations, but sometimes it got a little old considering I was just a few years shy of forty. I was pretty damned sure I could handle myself, but Mason couldn’t help himself.
I washed the coffee mug and placed it in the drying rack before heading for the door. The rain pelted the porch, mixed with a little bit of hail. I pulled the hood of my jacket up over my head and dashed toward my truck.
I climbed inside my old beauty and started the engine. I headed toward Lick Creek Bridge, mostly to take a look myself. I’d always been interested in civil engineering and liked to think I knew a thing or two about these sorts of things. If the bridge looked fine, it was the quickest way into town anyway. And if it didn’t, well, I’d make a call into Teddy and see about closing it and rerouting traffic into town.
It was about a ten-minute drive to the bridge, and I didn’t even have to get too close to see the dangers ahead. I parked a few hundred feet back and stood on the hill overlooking the bridge. The area was in a low-laying valley, and all around the bridge was already flooded. The old structure itself had water pouring over it, and I wouldn’t have been surprised if the support systems beneath were damaged - meaning it couldn’t withstand the weight of a car, let alone my giant truck.
And what most people didn’t know is that it only took a couple inches of water to wash a car away, especially with the force of the river. Since you couldn’t see the bridge until you approached it, unless you stopped on top of the hill like I did and really knew what I was looking for, you wouldn’t even notice the danger until you were in the middle of it.
I got back in the truck and dialed Teddy’s number. Teddy was the sheriff of the town and in a round-about way, extended family. He was a good guy, and though I knew he was swamped at work, he needed to close the bridge as soon as possible to prevent any casualties.
Teddy answered on the first ring.
“Hey man, it’s Graham,” I said. “Just wanted to let you know that the bridge on Lick Creek Road needs to be shut down.”
“We’re already on it,” Teddy answered. I should have known he would be on top of it. “I have some of my guys headed there now, but thanks for the call.”
“You’re welcome—” My voice cut off as I noticed a car approaching from behind. They were driving way too fast for the type of weather we were having, and they were headed straight for the bridge. “Someone’s headed this way. Send help just in case I can’t stop them.” I hung up the phone abruptly.
The car whizzed past me, going well above the speed limit for the road. I tried to flag them down, but they were going too fast.
Dammit. This isn’t good.
I hung up the phone and dropped it into the center console of the truck. I reached down onto the floorboard and picked up a hammer from my toolbox. Sometimes being a little messy paid off.
I ran after the car, knowing there would likely be trouble. I rushed down the hill just in time to see it stalled just short of the bridge.
I hurried to the vehicle just as it was lifted by the water. The river was hitting the sides of the car with such force that the tires wer
e no longer touching ground. It would only take a minute for the car to be washed away, likely less.
It would be difficult to open the car door as the water pressure pushed into the car, which was why I’d brought a hammer. I yelled at the driver, “Move aside! I’m going to break the glass.”
I prayed they heard me over the rushing water around us. I could hardly see inside, but I glimpsed movement. I was on the passenger’s side, and from the looks of it, no one was sitting in that seat. The rushing water made it hard to stand, I wouldn’t be able to stay put like this for long. I had one second to react. I slammed the hammer against the passenger’s side window, smashing it. Glass shattered inside the car, and I saw someone huddled in the driver’s side. A woman. Her face was covered by her thick, black hair.
“Give me your hand! We need to get you out! Now!” I yelled at her.
She reached for me, her tiny little hand in mine. I pulled her toward the window, then when she was close enough, I reached inside and pulled her out. I had her in my arms, and I didn’t put her down. The rushing water could sweep her off her feet. I had more experience navigating rough terrain. I was sure. I carried her, half swimming-half walking, to higher ground. It wasn’t until we reached dry land and I put her on her feet that I realized I knew this woman.
I’d thought I recognized her thick, curly black hair but didn’t have a chance to react. But now that we were both safe, I realized it was her.
“Emmy?” I asked, surprised.
“My car,” she cried, her eyes still focused on the water and the bridge behind her.
I turned and watched as her BMW was washed away down the river. “I’m sorry—”
“No, it’s okay. It’s just—I could have been in there. If it wasn’t for you…” Her words cut off as she looked at me for the first time, her eyes widening in shock. “Graham?”
“It’s me,” I said. “But that’s not important. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
Emmy shook her head. “No, I'm fine. Thanks to you.”
In the distance, I heard the sirens. Help was on the way.
