by Ruby Forrest
When she finished, she packed everything up on her tray, trying to ignore the ache in her throat, the pain that thundered through her body and her skin, the way the book made her ache, and made her happy, all at the same time. She shook her head to herself, smiling quietly as she swallowed back the lump. This book did that to her, every time. It was hard hitting and she could not help it. Isabella- Fae shuddered and set the book down with a small smile, packing it into her bag. She felt sad, but happier somehow, more fulfilled. She packed up the rest of her things, making sure that she had everything ready to go, ready to move for the rest of the trip. Then Isabella- Fae shut her eyes, settled back and drifted into sleep, the lull of the plane engine settling her to sleep, settling her into a warm and peaceful lull that she couldn’t avoid, could not escape. She loved it, loved the peace.
Her last thought before falling asleep was a twisted mess of the book, and of her father, her thoughts of the day echoing again, as if they were on loop.
She was lucky. She was so lucky. And she was going to make it all up to him. She was going to be here now, now when he needed her the most. It was going to all work out- Isabella- Fae could not bear to think of the alternative.
She would find him. She would bring him home. Everything would be okay.
Chapter 2
When Isabella- Fae woke, the plane was landing. She stretched and got ready to leave the plane. It did not take long for the plane to park. It was then time to leave and she grabbed her stuff, undid her belt, stretched and smiled as she stood. She was ready for this.
Nervousness was twisting in her stomach, uncertainty about what lay ahead of her, what lay ahead in this strange new place, with strange new rules, this place where her father had gone missing, where her father had disappeared from her life. She would meet with Darcy and he would help her find out what had happened to her father, what had happened to him and where he had gone. She had a feeling that Darcy would be good at filling her in. He had sounded like he really knew his stuff, really knew what he was doing and for that, Isabella- Fae was endlessly glad.
Isabella- Fae needed to know that whoever she had on her team was good at what they did, was competent in ways that she was not. He seemed to know what her father had been doing and he seemed to know the country itself pretty well. Isabella- Fae did not know much about him, other than that, and it made her a little nervous to think about going to meet a man, a man who she did not know, without any sort of backup. Everyone in the office, knew where she was and where she was going. Isabella- Fae supposed that this was really a fantastic thing, as it kept her safe, made sure that everyone knew not to mess with her, or it would be reported.
This brought Isabella- Fae only a small amount of comfort, as her father had been a bigger player than she was and they hadn't seemed to give a damn about that. As she wandered out, Isabella- Fae was hit with a wave of warmth, hot humid, the type that just seemed to keep coming and coming. She shuddered, feeling sweat bead on her skin already. She had been warned of the hot weather here, but she hadn't really understood what she was up against until this moment. It was really warm. And she could feel the heat dripping down her skin, making her bite her lip and try not to give into it.
Isabella- Fae swallowed as she walked down the hallway. This was something that she had been working towards all week. Now that it was here, she was feeling nervous and uncomfortable, feeling the stress build in her body, and in her mind. She knew that she was doing the right thing, but it did not make it any easier to deal with, any easier to settle within herself when it came to her nerves. She forced a smile, ducking into the bathrooms.
A quick check of her hair, a fix of her makeup and a straightening of her posture and Isabella- Fae felt more confident, more able to tackle the problems ahead of her, take on the world. Isabella- Fae took a deep breath and walked out towards the meeting area. She was not sure who she was looking for, so she scanned the people who were holding up signs. When she found her name, she felt a jolt move through her. The sign was propped up beside a large man, who seemed disinterested and intense all at the same time. She took him in, feeling heat flush up her cheeks at the sight of him. He was a large man, a big guy with broad shoulders and a tall build. He was big, in more ways than one, with a larger than life presence, and at the same time, Isabella- Fae had a feeling that he could blend into nothing if he so wished, if that was what he needed and wanted to do. It was a thrilling thought, a thought that she liked, before having even met the man.
His eyes were dark, the color of the darkest night and his hair was the same, a deep black color that seemed to suck the very reflection from it. He had broad arms, which were folded over his chest. He wore a black shirt and black pants and dark boots. He looked like he could blend into the very shadows and he did not look corporate at all. He looked like he belonged in the forest or on a battlefield more than he belonged in an office. Isabella- Fae wondered how he knew her father and just what he had been doing when he had disappeared. Isabella- Fae shivered, pushing the dark thoughts away and trying to focus on the task ahead of her.
She tried to ignore the burning that had started somewhere in her chest the moment that she saw Darcy. She tried to ignore the desire that was twisting inside of her like a snake. This was business, entirely business and this was something that she needed to keep in mind if she wanted to find her father and save him. She did not come here to meet a man like Darcy and fall for him, she came here to meet Darcy so that she could save her father and the business and everything that he had built. She had come here for him, not for Darcy. Not really.
Still, she smiled, needing to make a good impression if she wanted his help. She repeated what her father had taught her, steadying herself, as she headed towards him with a bright smile, "Hi, you must be Darcy."
The man looked up with a casual sort of movement. He looked supremely confident in himself, incredibly at ease in his own skin, like he was born to be here in this very moment. It was a confidence that was both immensely attractive and very unsettling. For some reason that Isabella- Fae could not explain, she was very unsettled by him, by the way he looked at her. She felt like prey under the gaze of a predator, a very strong predator who could kill her in an instant but had, instead, chosen to let her live.
Isabella- Fae shivered. Darcy nodded, a long slow movement, "Yes. Miss James?"
Isabella- Fae nodded and Darcy said, "Good, let's go."
He turned, and was walking to the luggage conveyor belt before Isabella- Fae even knew what was happening. He did not take long to grab her luggage and carry it for her, and Isabella- Fae was left startled and wondering how exactly he had figured out her luggage, figured out what she had brought with her and how he was so damn sure it was hers. She never tagged her things, not in any obvious way, so she was not exactly sure how he had done that.
Isabella- Fae was left racing to keep up with him, feeling confided, unsettled and a little bit frustrated, "Could you please wait?"
"For what?" Darcy did not break his stride, "You wish to find your father, correct? Then we must move."
That stopped Isabella- Fae dead, and she bit her lip, feeling the frustration rise inside of her. He was right, of course. He was completely right. She needed to make sure that her father was safe, that he was found. Petty arguments and what she took for bad manners, would just be a waste of time, and he was probably just focused on the job at hand.
She did not need to take it so personally. Still, something about the way that he was treating her, already, had her frustrated, feeling herself get her back up, feeling the frustration course through her. She shook her head, trying to get over it. Finding her father was the priority here. Nothing else mattered. Not really. Not when you really got down to it. She needed to find him and she needed to do it quickly. She had already wasted a week and now she was considering wasting more time.
She struggled to keep up with him, trying to collect her thoughts, "Darcy, what was my father doing here?"
"We’ll talk in the car." Something about his tone was very serious and Isabella- Fae bit her lip, wondering what her father had been doing that was so secretive. She wondered what was going on that she was not aware of, what was going on that she did not know about or hadn’t been told about. She swallowed, feeling dread creep into her heart and her mind and burrow down like a cancer. She swallowed deeply, feeling the stress push down on her shoulders. Shrugging it off, she followed Darcy as they made their way to the car. As they stepped outside, the warmth of everything hit Isabella- Fae for the second time and she winced. It was so damn hot here that Isabella- Fae was not sure how people coped with it, was not sure how people dealt with the heat pressing down on them like a blanket.
Darcy did not even seem to notice and she supposed that he had gotten used to it by now, gotten used to the oppressive heat pushing down on him, especially in the black clothes that he was wearing, with the dark shade of his hair. He must be very used to this, she assumed, to be able to deal with it as well as he was.
Darcy did not say a word as they approached a large, dark colored SUV. The car itself was dark, a brownish color and she supposed that it probably made for great camouflage. She did not know if he needed that but she had a sneaky suspicion that yes, he would be the kind of man who appreciated camouflage. She looked the car up and down. It was clean, it was well maintained, and it looked like it could get a lot of jobs done. Darcy flipped the boot and put her bag in the back. Then he opened the passenger door, and slid into the driver’s seat. Isabella- Fae hoisted herself up, and slid into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind her.
She was starting to feel, quite keenly, the burning weight of all of the questions that she had for Darcy, all of the things that she as longing to know, that she was desperately thinking about and seeking answers to. She did not know if he was ready to talk, but she was well and truly ready to listen.
Darcy shut his door like a whisper, and Isabella- Fae felt her courage build now that the doors were shut. She turned to him, looking at him intently, "Darcy, what was my father doing out here?"
Instead of answering right away, Darcy turned on the engine, letting it idle for a moment. Then he slid the car into reverse and twisted out of the car park, "A few things." Darcy paused and shook his head, "Look, Isabella- Fae....You want to help your father, I understand..."
Isabella- Fae did not like the patronizing tone in his voice, the way he sounded like he was about to belittle her, talk down to her. She could feel herself bristling, feel the tension building and burning in her body, making her feel dizzy with frustration, "Don't you dare." She said, before Darcy could say another word, "Don't you dare talk down to me." She could feel the tension rising up like a wave and she shook her head, "I might not know everything, and I don't know everything my father was doing, but I am more than capable of being a part of this, Darcy." There was tension in her voice and she turned to him, "I am managing the company and I can manage this. You promised me answers."
Darcy sighed, looking like he was resigned to this, but there was tension in his jawline, "Your father would never forgive me if something happened to you. You know that, don't you?"
Isabella- Fae shrugged, "Then maybe, instead of trying to shut me out of things, you could let me in and educate me so that I don't go and get myself killed like some idiot."
Darcy snort and Isabella- Fae could have sworn that it was a laugh, that amusement was building in his eyes, that were as dark as the deepest obsidian. He shrugged and shook his head, "This doesn't reach the press, you understand?"
Isabella- Fae nodded, "Again, I'm not about to put the company in danger, Darcy. If my father is involved with something he should not be, I won't tell."
Darcy shook his head, "Oh, he should not be involved with this, alright, but it is nothing illegal." Darcy paused, "At least, your father was not doing anything illegal. He was being too damn nosy, that's what he was doing."
Isabella- Fae felt sickness twist in her stomach. Already, she was getting a terribly bad feeling about this, a horrible, sick feeling that alerted her to the fact that things were going to get bad pretty quickly.
Darcy turned onto the highway and Isabella- Fae was greeted by the sight of the country's nature on either side of her. It seemed like the whole area was one big jungle, ranging from smaller areas of trees to large, towering ones off in the distance, only broken up by buildings, and stretches of road that seemed to carve a map and huge scars in the land. She shivered. It was huge, it was majestic. It made her feel like she might never be able to find her father in all of this. Darcy seemed to understand what she was thinking, sense the worry, because he sighed, "At least he was smart enough to hire backup."
"Backup?" Isabella- Fae questioned.
"Yes. What do you think I am?" He smiled, and it looked grim, "He hired me to watch him, to keep him and the rest of the party safe." He shook his head, "In the event that they went missing, I was to look for them." Darcy frowned, a dark look in his eyes, "I was not to contact you, or anyone else." He shook his head, "Your father wants you safe."
Isabella- Fae swallowed, feeling more and more of the dark clouds of worry descend over her, "Why did he hire you?"
Darcy glanced at Isabella- Fae, as if weighing her up, "He hired me because he's taking on some dangerous people. He's more use to them alive, instead of dead, and I think that we still have a hope of finding him. They may have him, or he may be in hiding." Darcy shrugged, "So far, I have had no luck in finding him, but the moment I drop you off at the hotel, I'll be going straight back out there."
Isabella- Fae felt a spike of worry and anger, merging to twist inside her like a dangerous poison, "Dropping me off?"
"Yes, at the hotel. You sent me through the details, if you recall."
Isabella- Fae felt the anger rise inside of her stronger than ever, "Darcy, you have just told me that my father is in serious danger, that my father might be dead, or at least captured by these dangerous people, and you expect me to just let it slide?!" She shook her head, "You expect me to just hide out at a hotel room and do nothing at all? She laughed and shook her head again, "No way, Darcy, no way."
"And what help do you suppose you're going to be?" He snapped back.
"I might not know much about this situation, but you're going to tell me and, more importantly, I know my father! I know him and I am here to save him, so you can just suck it up."
His jaw was tight, his grip on the steering wheel white. Isabella- Fae felt a twinge of pleasure in getting past the calm façade that he was holding so tightly until now, "He's my father and I'm going."
"Well you're not coming with me." Darcy's voice was short.
"Oh? I thought my father wanted me safe? You seem to give a damn, so why would you just abandon me? In fact, why did you answer me at all?"
Isabella- Fae could feel the realization dawning on her and, suddenly, she understood his frustration, the anger that seemed to be pouring off him in waves. She shook her head, "You have to, don't you?" She swallowed, a smile breaking out on her face, triumphant, "My father hired you to guard him, but in the event that he went missing....and I showed up..." It all made sense now, "You have to keep me safe too."
"I don’t have to do anything." He snapped back, a dark look on his face,
"Of course not." Isabella- Fae nodded, "But I'm sure he paid you to, and if you have any sort of honor..."
Isabella- Fae could tell that she was striking a chord with him, but she did not care. She had figured it out and she was planning to take full advantage of that. She was going to use it to look for her father and fulfil her intention of coming here in the first place.
Darcy was gritting his teeth, "I will keep you safe and if you insist on coming with, I will do everything that I can. But I do not take orders from you and you had better stay the hell out of my way. I have a job to do."
Isabella- Fae felt determination twist like a knife in her heart, "So do I." T
his was it. She would find her father, no matter what. She would find him and save him and they would figure all of this out. Darcy's words, of dangerous men and her father being in trouble kept echoing in her head. She would make things right, and she would get more answers later, from Darcy, from her father, from the men who dared to threaten her father's safety in the first place. She was not about to lie down and die. She was going to succeed and she was going to get her father to safety, even if it was the last damn thing that she did.
She glanced at Darcy, with the strong, determined edge to his jawline, the way the tension rolled in his muscles. She looked at the anger and intensity in his eyes and realized, with a jolt, that he did not scare her. He was dangerous, that much was very clear and Isabella- Fae was not cocky about her ability to take him, not at all.
There was something about him, no matter how much he frustrated her, no matter how harsh he sounded...there was something about him that screamed loyalty, that screamed honor and integrity and a man who could get the job done. She knew that, if her father was in any sort of danger, he would have hired the best man for the job.
Isabella- Fae could only hope that they found her father, so that they could get everything sorted out and straightened out. She only hoped that she was not too late.
She only hoped that she could help.
Chapter 2
Isabella- Fae woke the next morning, exhausted but ready to take on the world. She sighed, stretching out and reaching for the old familiar comfort of her book. She ran her hands over the pages, sighing quietly as she thought back to yesterday. The hotel was good, the sheets lovely and cool, everything incredibly lovely and luxurious. She sighed, smiling quietly to herself. None of it meant anything, not with her father missing, but she still appreciated the comforts.
Hoping to steady herself for the huge day that loomed ahead, Isabella- Fae reached for her book and flicked through its pages.
Isabella- Fae flicked through the story she had read on the plane, flicked through it again and sighed. She did not know what was wrong with her, but she just could not settle, could not get her mind to rest, not even for a second. She needed to focus, and the only thing she had brought was this book.
