by Alice Everly
“Lydia, I’d love nothing more than to have you as my girlfriend,”
“Really?” she looked up at him, her eyes so wide and vulnerable.
“Really,” he stated firmly, “but I’m not going to be your boyfriend, not right now.”
“Why not?” she pouted.
“Because,” he lifted her chin when her face dropped, “because right now you’re in protective custody, do you know what that means?”
“Kinda,” she mumbled.
“It means that it’s my job to keep you safe and there are rules,” he explained, “I can’t date someone who is in my protective custody, that would make me lose my job.”
“I don’t want you to lose your job,” she said, finally understanding what he’d meant when he overheard Daddy telling Katie that she was his job.
“After you’re out of protective custody,” he said, pulling her into his arms, pulling her into his lap so he could hug her fully, “then I’d really like to talk about this, but right now, I just can’t.”
She pressed the side of her face into his chest as he held her so tightly, “Daddy?” she asked.
“Yes, Lydia,” he chuckled.
She looked up at him, “Do you think it would be really bad if you kissed me, just once, on the lips,” she asked, then quickly added, “it’s been so long since I’ve been kissed I’ve forgotten what it feels like.”
Oh he was definitely going to hell, he thought. He didn’t answer her, not verbally at least, instead he cupped her face, his eyes fixed to those lips that were so sweet, so innocent. Lord help me, he thought as he lowered his head to hers, his lips first brushing hers. He was going to stop there, he truly was, but the sweet moan that hummed in her throat had all rational thoughts fleeing from his mind.
His lips had a mind of their own as they fused to hers, desperate, hungry, needy. She either remembered what a kiss was like or she was able to feed off of him because her arms were roping around his neck as she shifted to straddle his lap, taking the kiss deeper.
Brian let out a low curse against her mouth, his hands gripping her hips and pulling her fully onto him, his need obvious as she settled right on top of him. The only thing between them being the thin boxer shorts as her nightgown had hiked up.
Brian pulled her to him, desperate to have her closer to him, her mouth nearly devouring him. Just one more moment he thought before setting her back, deliberately.
She pressed her fingers to her lips, “I liked that,” she said, dreamy eyed.
He rubbed a hand over his face, “me too, Lydia, but we can’t, not now.”
“I know,” she said with a smile, “thank you for kissing me.”
He smiled, shaking his head. He didn’t know how this woman had become so important to him and why she wanted him, but he wasn’t going to question it. He turned out the lamp again, both of them resuming their normal sleeping position, Lydia curled up to him, her head pillowed on his chest. Yes, he wanted this. He wanted her, for the rest of his life. First though, he needed to close out the case.
Chapter Fifteen
Lydia had been talking with the therapist so many times that she couldn’t even count. The therapist tried to convince her that she enjoyed coloring and finger painting, but Lydia did not at all. She pretended to though, even though she knew she was a fraud, but she played along because she knew it was what Daddy wanted and she only wanted to make him happy. So she colored and finger painted and made Daddy smile.
Lydia knew something was wrong, something big. She’d already been seeing Christina, the therapist on a weekly basis, but when Daddy brought her almost every day now to talk to her. She first thought it was because of what happened to her at the hands of Katie. When she and Christina had gone over all that and still she was sitting in that office every single day, Lydia was certain there was something much bigger going on.
She’d known Daddy felt guilty about Katie and that she’d suffered so much under Daddy’s care, especially after he promised her that she was safe at his house. So Lydia hadn’t minded the sessions at first because Daddy felt better when she talked to Christina. When the sessions went farther than just talking about Katie and began to dwell into talk about her time she’d spent at Papa’s house, well that just made her really uncomfortable.
She decided she just needed to tell Daddy that she didn’t like talking about it before he took her back to Christina’s office again. He’d been waking her up really early each morning so she could get ready and they could go into the station together. That morning he was busy dressing her when she finally spoke up.
“I don’t want to talk about Papa’s house,” she said firmly as he pulled a dress over her head.
“I know you don’t want to talk about it, Lydia, but talking about it will help you heal from it.”
“I am healed from it,” she frowned as he led her into the bathroom, “I don’t ever have to see Papa again, you promised me that.”
“And you don’t have to see him ever again,” he agreed patiently, pulling the brush out of the cabinet, “even though you don’t have to see him again, that doesn’t mean you’re all the way healed,” he pulled the brush through her hair then handed it to her, “now put the brush back where it belongs before I decide to use it on your sassy Little bottom.”
Lydia pouted but stuffed the brush in the drawer before leaving the bedroom with him.
He was buttoning up her winter coat and she knew he was just going to take her back to Christina’s office, “It isn’t fair that I have to see a therapist,” she whined, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Lydia, that’s enough,” he lifted her chin and planted a peck on her lips, “now get your Little bottom in the car so I don’t get chewed out by Captain Barnes again for being late.”
“No,” she stomped her foot, “I’m staying home today, I’m watching television like you let me do before. I don’t want to go.”
Lydia,” he warned, but she put her arms over her chest, clearly very adamant about her wants.
“Alright,” Daddy said with a sigh, “I’ve had enough of your attitude,” he took her by the arm, “you’ve had plenty of time to heal from Katie’s spanking and I’ve obviously let you get away with far too much attitude.”
Lydia yelped as his hand spanked her bottom a half dozen times as she stood there. She tried to move out of his reach, but he had a good hold on her arm and her feet were moving as if she were running but she went nowhere, his hand firm and steady on her arm.
Escaping would obviously be near to impossible as his palm continued to land rapidly over her dress with precise accuracy until her bottom was burning and she was crying.
“This attitude of yours is not going to help you any, Lydia,” he said, pulling her up and into his arms.
She wrapped her legs around him, letting herself cry into his chest, “I don’t want to talk about it Daddy, I didn’t like it at Papa’s house.”
“I know you didn’t like it there,” he swept his hand over her hair soothingly, “but I promise it will make things better for you if you talk about it. Do it for Daddy, okay?”
“I’ll do it for you,” she promised.
Chapter Sixteen
“Why don’t you like talking about Papa,” Christina asked as she handed her the red crayon.
“Lydia shrugged her shoulders as she colored large red slashes across the page, “I don’t have to go back to Papa’s house, Daddy promised me,” she looked back at the door of the office, knowing he was out there in the station, somewhere.
“No, you don’t have to go back,” Christina agreed, “but sometimes talking about bad things that happened to us can help us heal from it.”
Lydia sighed, “Daddy says the same thing to me, but it doesn’t make much sense,” the picture she was coloring was out of a special book that Christina had for her. The picture was of a little girl and her father, but the father was standing outside the house and the little girl looked sad that she was inside all alone. The pic
ture made her think of Daddy. Sadness washed over her, she didn’t want to be separated from Daddy, never ever. She wanted Daddy to be inside the house with her and to understand her.
“Papa had a lot of rules, didn’t he?” Christina asked, continuing to color her own picture even after Lydia stopped.
Lydia pushed back from the table, the memories tumbling over her, overwhelming her.
“Papa isn’t my real father you know,” she stood and moved to the window, she looked out into the parking lot but it wasn’t the parking lot that she was seeing anymore, her mind could draw up the view she’d had in that room, that awful room that she’d spent hours, days, months, years in. So much time hoping and wishing she could escape and go home.
“I know,” Christina said from behind her, her voice soothing, encouraging.
“Papa would get mad at me, a lot,” Lydia’s voice was barely a whisper, “he would spank me,” tears fell from her eyes, but she knew that she had to continue, something was urging her on. She had to say everything, even if it broke her, “he would take me into the punishment room,” here her breath hitched, “he would take me into the punishment room…and…” a sob escaped.
“Tell me about the punishment room,” Christina urged.
“It was awful,” Lydia shuddered, “so many paddles and whips and they all lined along the walls,” she wrapped her arms around herself, “Papa would tie me down. I screamed for him to stop and begged him for mercy but he never stopped, he always just kept hitting me. He told me that I was a bad girl and I needed to learn,” she turned to Christina then, “I should have stayed away from there, I shouldn’t have ever gone there.”
“What do you mean you should have stayed away, Lydia? Away from the punishment room?” Christina asked.
Lydia shook her head, “I should have stayed away from his house,” her eyes were wide with fear, reliving the time with Papa, “he made me stay there, he wouldn’t let me leave and I had to stay in that room, locked there all the time,” a sob escaped and she put her hand over her mouth, “he told me that it was my fault, that’s the reason I had to watch them suffer.”
The vision washed over her, red-so much red, reality fading as the memory became all too real. The screams echoing in her head.
Lydia shut her eyes tight and clamped her hands over her ears, she needed to block out the sound, she couldn’t handle it, but the screams persisted and she fell to the floor on her bottom, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face as her thumb went to her mouth.
“You aren’t at Papa’s house anymore, Lydia,” Christina’s soothing voice broke through, “You’re here at the station with Daddy and Christina, you’re safe now,” her hand grasped Lydia’s, warm and soothing, seeming to draw her out of the nightmare, “tell me what you saw, Lydia.”
“My family,” her voice broke, “I saw them, he hurt them,” her eyes opened wide, “fire,” she whispered.
Christina nodded.
“You knew?” Lydia’s eyes narrowed, she pushed back on the floor, her bottom scooting along the linoleum, “you knew and you didn’t tell me,” she accused.
Brian watched from the two way mirror, his heart breaking. He had enough, he could go pick up Mike Christopher right now. Lydia was held at his house, against her will. Mike Christopher was dealing in human trafficking, kidnapping women, training them to his whims and then selling them off. It was what he’d always suspected and now he had enough to close this case out.
But first he needed Lydia, he had to see her before leaving. He’d be with Lydia first, he needed to be near her, needed to hold her. He went to the office, lifting Lydia in his arms and she sobbed into him, “It’s okay baby,” he said, “you’re safe now,” he held onto her, rocking her as she sobbed in his arms.
“My family,” she looked up at him, “they’re gone.”
“I know honey,” he tucked hair behind her ear, “I’m sorry, baby.”
“How?” she stared at him, “when did you know?”
“I figured it out when you gave me your last name,” he confessed, “I ran your name and it came up as a casualty in the same accident with your family. I knew Mike was involved but I couldn’t get proof, not until now.”
She pulled from him, she needed her distance, she needed to think.
“I didn’t know how it all happened,” he said, “the entire family was lost in a fatal car accident,” he said, giving her the details he had, “it was believed you were in the car with them, that you’d been killed in the crash as well. There was so much damage to the car, they could never determine exactly what happened and the resulting fire destroyed almost everything.”
She shook her head, “Papa killed them before the accident. He had it on video and made me watch. I heard their screams,” a sob escaped, “he showed me the fire he set after that, he showed me.”
“I’m guessing the accident and fire were just tools to cover his crime,” he said, pulling her to him again, “oh baby, I’m so sorry you had to see that, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“It’s all my fault because I went to his house, I never should have been there,” a sob ripped through her, “they’d all still be alive if I’d just stayed home.”
“You can’t think like that Lydia,” Daddy said, “he was a very bad man and he will pay for his crimes now, I have enough to arrest him.”
“You’re leaving me?”
“I’m only leaving to go arrest him, and then I’ll be right back,” he promised, “you stay here with Christina and I’ll be back as quickly as I can.”
Daddy left her at the station, the only place he said she’d be safe right now, plus he hoped Christina could help her understand that Mike Christopher’s actions were not her fault, no matter how she came to be in his home.
It didn’t take long for Brian to assemble a team and surround the stone house, but he had a bad feeling, he knew it was already too damn late. The grey stone was far too quiet and the house stood dark and still in the dying light.
“This doesn’t feel right,” Brian said, seconds before they stormed the fortress only to find it empty, no Mike Christopher, No Alexis.
“Dammit,” he shouted orders and sent teams to the local areas he knew Mike liked to frequent and he left one team for surveillance at the stone fortress.
After 48 hours of surveillance and a sweep of all area clubs, it was clear that Mike Christopher had disappeared.
With Mike on the run, he hadn’t let Lydia out of his sight. He had her go everywhere with him, and anytime he had to work out in the field, she stayed at the station, the only place he knew she’d be safe without him.
“He has the money and resources to hide,” Brian told Captain Barnes, “he could hide forever if he wanted to.”
“Well, we put out an APB and we have his face circulating amongst the media, it’s the most we can do right now.”
“He’s a recluse Captain. He’ll just go underground.”
“Then we will get him when he surfaces again,” Captain Barnes patted him on the back, “it’s the best we can do with the resources we have.”
“what about Lydia,” Brian asked, “He’ll come after her.”
“She’ll be assigned to the witness protection program,” Captain Barnes threw an envelope down on the desk, “I’ve already been working on it all.”
Brian couldn’t speak. He lifted the envelope and opened it, reading the contents. Lydia would move to Iowa. Her life had already been arranged without any input from Brian. She would have the credentials to work as a school teacher and have a 2 bedroom apartment already furnished and waiting for her.
“This isn’t Lydia,” he threw the envelope back on the desk.
“Well, that’s the point Bishop,” Captain Barnes said slowly.
Brian ran his hands through his hair, sighing. This was going to be the hardest thing for him to do, but he had no other choice. He promised he’d keep Lydia safe, and this was the only way possible.
***
> Lydia was sitting in the conference room lazily flipping through a magazine. Daddy had left her in there for hours already and she was getting really tired of being in the station all the time. She just wanted to be at Daddy’s house. She didn’t like having to go everywhere with him because it was boring at the station.
When Daddy entered she looked up expectantly, “Did you find Papa yet?”
He wanted to say yes, oh god how he wanted to say yes and see her face light up with sheer happiness, but he shook his head instead, watching her face fall.
“What do we do now? Just keep looking every day? I don’t like being here,” she pouted.
Brian sat in the chair beside her, pulling her into his lap and burying his face in her hair for a moment.
“They’re going to go over everything in his house and collect all the evidence they can to try and find him. He was really careful to try and not leave trace of any of his dealings, but nobody is perfect.”
“Oh,” was all Lydia could say as she clung onto him, knowing he was her only protection.
“You can’t stay here, Lydia,” he took a deep breath; “he’ll find you here. Captain Barnes has already set up for you to go into Witness Protection. Do you know what that is?”
“Yes,” she sat up, pushing against him to wriggle out of his lap, “yes, I know what that is,” she glared at him, “I won’t go. I won’t do it, Daddy,” she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest defiantly.
“Lydia,” it was a warning she knew, but she shook her head.
“No,” she stomped her foot on the carpeted floor, “you promised I wouldn’t have to leave. You promised.” She said stubbornly, “and now I have to move away and forget about this place, forget you?” she choked on a sob as she shook her head.
“There’s no way I could have predicted this Lydia,” he reasoned, “I never expected any of this to happen,” he pulled her back towards him, wrapping his arms around her, “Dammit,” he breathed into her hair, trying to steady his jumping nerves, “I never expected to fall for you Lydia, I never expected we’d get so close,” he buried his face in her hair, holding her to him.
