by Ana Sparks
There had been a dozen forks in the road prior to this one, different paths we could have taken. We could have turned to the police, had my father turn himself in for what information he had. He could never fathom the idea of leaving me in the care of someone else, however.
“You’re not a bad guy. At least, you weren’t always,” I muttered, rubbing my temples.
He flinched visibly, reaching out to rest a hand on my shoulder.
“After what happened to your mother, I promised I would take care of you. That means keeping you safe. That means, unfortunately, not allowing you to go out on your birthday,” he said wearily.
I found myself gritting my teeth, hands tightening into fists at my sides.
“It’s not fair, Dad. You say the only reason you’re doing all of this is to protect me. You say you want to do right by Mom, but she wouldn’t want me locked away like this!” I bit out, venom beginning to spew from my words.
“I know you blame yourself for her death, but there’s no going back! Taking your poor life decisions out on me isn’t going to bring Mom back,” I continued, my voice rising in pitch.
“What did you say?” my father hissed, tightening his grip on my shoulder.
Seeing the fury in his eyes, I knew I should have taken it back. I should have agreed to settle down in my apartment for the evening, share a glass of wine with the bodyguards, and enjoy what I could of my birthday. Knowing that he was upset did little to abate my own anger, though, and I whipped away from him, pointing a finger in his face.
“I said you need to stop taking your mistakes out on me. Mom wouldn’t want this. Mom never wanted any of this; she never even wanted you to start this life. If she was still alive, she’d hate who you are now!” I screamed.
Silence fell over the room, and all I could hear was my father’s ragged breathing. His eyes watered, but I couldn’t tell if it was from sheer anger or grief. Before I could get the words out to soften the blow, he struck me across the face with the palm of his hand.
“Boss, no!” one of the bodyguards shouted, rushing over to the two of us.
The other crony joined him, helping me to my feet as tears streamed down my cheeks. I couldn’t believe it. My father had slapped me. With all the mistakes he’d made in his life, for all the bad things he had done, he had never been violent with me. I was his only daughter. I was his pride and joy.
“You…” I began, touching my cheek. It stung from the force of the blow. “You hit me,” I choked out, my voice sounding more broken than I’d have liked to admit.
My father began to cry, staring at his hands as if they had betrayed him.
“I’m sorry, Emily. I’m so sorry! You just…I get so upset when I think of your mother, and I can’t…I can’t…” his voice was strangled, and I inhaled a steadying breath before shaking my head.
I knew trying to reason with him was a lost cause at that point, so I could only rub my cheek tenderly and try to meet my father’s gaze. The sorrow in his eyes was nearly deep enough to drown in, but I couldn’t find it within myself to feel any sympathy for him.
“I’m going to my apartment to have some time alone. I hope you understand,” I said coolly.
My father reached out, his fingertips ghosting against my injured cheek. I flinched away, squeezing my eyes shut against the tears that threatened to fall. In spite of everything, it was as if that one action had served to turn my entire world upside down.
“I understand. I’m so sorry, honey,” he whispered.
I drew away from him, trying to keep my breathing steady as I made my way downstairs towards the door. I could hear the bodyguards trying to comfort my father as I walked away, but there was no one to comfort me. There had never been any source of comfort in this wretched place, save my father. Now he had betrayed me, I couldn’t fathom who else I could reach out to.
While it wasn’t the first time I’d felt entirely alone, it was one of the most sobering moments of my life. And all because I’d wanted a taste of freedom.
Truly, I made my decision then.
Chapter 3
Emily
I’d been planning how I would escape my father’s overbearing clutches since the day I turned eighteen. Granted, that had only been three years, but it was plenty of time to realize that I was sick of being a mindless daddy’s girl.
I needed my freedom.
I had no friends to turn to, but I could only hope that would change when I escaped my gilded cage. I could imagine my future with a dozen gal pals to hang out with, maybe a cute boyfriend to snuggle close to at night. I wouldn’t be as forward as to invite him home on the first date, but a kiss would be nice.
I liked to think I’d read enough romantic fiction to know the basics of how kissing would work; I just hoped I would be good at it. I imagined it would take a bit of innate talent, or maybe some gentle guidance. As I strode down the street in the direction of my apartment, I imagined what my handsome stranger might look like.
I was vaguely aware that I may have looked silly fantasizing my life away while one of my father’s most valued bodyguards trailed behind me. At least he gave me a workable distance.
He spent most of his time loitering around the outside of my apartment, seeing that I got home safely, and making sure I managed not to get myself killed in the distance between the building’s entrance and my front door. It was embarrassing to consider how little my father thought of me, and by association, how foolish his cronies must have thought I was. While, deep down, I knew my father had my best interests at heart, I also knew our ideas of my best interests differed wildly.
I paused as I stepped into the building, glancing over my shoulder to where I knew the bodyguard would be waiting.
The large man lit a cigarette, offering me an amicable wave as he sat on the bench outside the complex. I exhaled a sigh, grateful that he would at least allow me a little distance tonight. I didn’t want to think of my father and my entrapment tonight, beyond potential ways to escape.
I had to at least play innocent until I made it inside, however. I realized I had been staring at the man for perhaps a moment too long. He watched curiously as I meandered into the apartment complex, and I counted under my breath for several beats before sprinting towards the stairs. Up to the top floor I went, rushing through the door and slamming it shut behind me.
“That was close,” I muttered under my breath, though I wasn’t quite sure what the bodyguard could have suspected me of doing.
Perhaps just being a weirdo, though I suppose that went without saying at that point. I sagged against the door, sliding to the floor and stretching my legs out in front of myself. I rested my head back, staring towards the ceiling with a baleful expression.
Large dreams weren’t a strange notion to me; I’d been entertaining the notion of escaping and making my way back to the States for some time. Perhaps not even to the U.S.—maybe I’d go somewhere he would never expect to find me.
Whenever I sat down and truly worked the thoughts out in my mind, though, I realized how hopeless the situation was. The odds of me managing to book a flight out of Guam, without my father somehow managing to find out, seemed nearly insurmountable. My father had eyes and ears all across the territory—across the world, really, if I were to acknowledge just how far his power reached.
Perhaps it was foolish to think I could outwit the man, especially considering his status as a papa bear protecting his cub. I had learned much from my father in the time I’d watched his dealings, but how to escape his notice was one of those things I had long given up on trying to pick up.
Allowing my eyes to flutter shut, I exhaled a deep breath as I listened to the distant sound of thunder. It felt as tumultuous as the emotions raging in my heart, the sound that may have been soothing in other circumstances managing to make me feel even more trapped. God, if it rained, I could imagine the damper it would put on my already struggling plans.
Maybe I would be better served to stop entertaining the idea
of making some great escape. The life I had wasn’t an awful one, not entirely. It could be much worse. I never went hungry, I wasn’t abused…
My mind briefly flickered to the sensation of his hand colliding with my cheek, and I winced as I replayed the moments leading up to it. I had pressed him too hard, brought up memories better left dead and buried. I knew he blamed himself for my mother’s death, and I knew how upset he could get whenever I brought her up in conversation. It was as if, all these years later, he was still mourning.
I supposed I couldn’t blame him for that; I was certainly still mourning my mother as well. Still, it had never been enough to drive my father towards physically striking me. It was possible that he’d just been pushed too far.
Even after all I’d been subjected to, I knew in the depths of my heart that I would forgive my father. We would fall back into the complacency of my life at his side; he would teach me all there was to know about dealing and running an empire.
Someday, I was expected to take his place. Everything he did, he claimed to do for me. I couldn’t decipher just how much truth there was in that notion, but I knew he thought he was doing me a favor. I could let him down gently, let him know that I wanted nothing to do with his shady lifestyle. I could tell him I wanted to break free of the two-story walls he had constructed around us. The walls were metaphorical, of course, though they felt literal more every day.
How far would I have to push him until he decided to revoke all of my privileges? I was supposed to count myself lucky that I was even allowed an apartment outside of his estate and to go on supervised excursions. Those were things I had earned through years of good behavior, things that could be ripped away from me the moment the desire struck.
He didn’t want to agree to the small measure of freedom I had to begin with, but how far would I have to push him before I was shoved back into my cage altogether?
If there was one thing I knew about Randy Madden, it was that he wasn’t a particularly patient individual. He made something of an exception for me, his only child. I couldn’t help thinking it was less because I was his child, and more that I was the sole remaining piece of my mother that he could cling to.
Shaking off the thoughts, I stood up and shuffled over to the window as raindrops began to pitter-patter against the glass. I stared out into the city below, where I longed to be. In spite of the hundreds of men that my father had in his arsenal, I like to entertain the idea that I could outsmart all of them.
It wasn’t as if my father’s henchmen were the most highly educated men in the world. If I could manage to slip past them, maybe I would be gone before they could report my absence to my father. It was a thought that lingered in the back of my mind as I pressed my palm to the cold glass of my window.
They had to sleep sometime or another, didn’t they?
I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the first moments of my birthday, though it would be some time until the clock struck midnight. I would just have to keep myself entertained long enough.
I settled down with one of my racier novels, some fantasy story about a knight rescuing his princess from evil forces. It was more smut than plot, to be honest, and I found myself flipping through the ‘filler’, as it were, just to get to the next steamy scene.
A girl has needs after all, and mine certainly weren’t going to be met any time soon.
Taking a sip from my mug, I allowed myself to be swept away to a better world. A world where a knight in shining armor would come and rescue me from my sad life in Guam. A man with eyes that could see deep into my soul, the sort of man who would be all too honored to give me my first kiss.
As thoughts of this mystery man swirled in my head, I stripped down to get comfy, and was startled by a loud beeping sound. I jolted upright, looking for my phone. Realizing I’d left it in the pocket of the shorts I’d just taken off, I rose out of bed to grab it and read the text.
“Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you somehow,” I read the message aloud, rolling my eyes at the meaningless promise my father was making.
There was no way he could make up for the years of loneliness. There was nothing he could do to mend the ache in my heart.
Flinging the phone away without bothering to send a reply, I stomped back towards my bed and checked the clock, which had just struck 12:05.
“Happy birthday, indeed,” I harrumphed, tucking myself beneath my thin comforter and drawing it up to my chin.
I curled up on my side, my mind turning once more to the mystery man who would save me from all of this.
If only he actually existed.
Chapter 4
Owen
Waking up early was a force of habit, though I had a particular reason for doing so that day. I’d caught very few hours of sleep, packing my bags late into the night as I hyped myself up for the mission I’d been assigned.
My mind was plagued with thoughts of the Randy Madden’s gorgeous daughter, and I still entertained the idea of sweeping her off her feet and away from her miserable life. Perhaps it was presumptuous to assume she had a bad life, but I couldn’t imagine living in the shadow of her criminal father was the most pleasant existence.
It was much more troubling to think I might be stealing the girl away from a happy home. It was a possibility that I had to consider, but that didn’t mean I had to enjoy it. I tried to convince myself that I would err on the side of reason regardless of what happened, but I dreaded seeing that pretty face crumple.
Forcing myself to shake off the thoughts, I checked my reflection before running a comb through my short blond locks. I winked at said reflection before gathering the bags I’d packed the night before.
With my supplies in arm, I slipped out of the bunker and made my way towards the office where I would be receiving my final paperwork, fake identification cards, and enough cash to get by on during my trip.
Commander Gomez was waiting for me, and I sat in the chair in front of his desk. He hummed under his breath as he flipped through a file, likely identical to the one he had given me.
“Are you sure you’re ready for such a critical mission after your dry spell, Caldwell?” he asked, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.
I rolled my eyes a bit, nodding readily.
“I was born ready, Commander,” I told him with a faint smile, tapping my fingertips on the tabletop.
He nodded, producing the final stack of paperwork I would need for my departure.
“Your plane has been prepared for takeoff. There are instructions as to where you’re intended to land in Guam, and they’ll be expecting you in around six hours. You’ll be provided a mode of transportation once you get to the military airstrip and base in the area,” Gomez explained, and I offered him a confident smile.
“Sounds easy enough. Here I was, thinking you’d give me something a bit tougher. Are you losing your touch, Gomez?”
He smirked, shrugging.
“Maybe I’m worried that you’ve lost your touch.” He grinned before his expression hardened. “Joking aside, I doubt this mission will be as easy as you seem to think.”
“Just adds a bit more fun to the mix,” I said casually, waving a hand.
He considered me with scrutiny, glancing towards the clock with a slight quirk of his lips.
“We’ll see about that. Just don’t have too much fun, Caldwell,” he said firmly.
I smiled to myself, pocketing the fake identification card and passport I’d been provided with.
“Be gentle with Emily Madden. She’ll be pushed to the extent we deem appropriate once she’s away from her father’s grasp,” Gomez muttered, his meaning clear.
“I guess it’s time for me to get out of here, then. I’d say wish me luck, but I don’t need it,” I said with a grin.
Gomez gave me another eye roll, accompanied by the faintest of smiles, then waved me towards the door. I saluted him before leaving the room, carrying my bags to the airstrip where my plane was
waiting.
It wasn’t often that I got the chance to pilot my own plane, but I liked to entertain the thought that the Commander had come to trust me a bit more. It seemed likely given the mission he had assigned me.
Tossing my bags in the cargo area, I whistled to myself as I climbed into the cockpit and ran through the cursory preparations before taking flight. It was going to be a long and boring flight in all likelihood, but I couldn’t really complain. It couldn’t have been any more agonizing than the snoozefest at the base.
Some moments after checking the gauges and everything else that needed to be monitored, I was making my way towards the end of the airstrip. I smiled wildly as I guided the plane into the sky, a surge of excitement rushing through me. There was something about being airborne that set alight the flames of adrenaline like nothing else could.
The Pacific Ocean provided the perfect backdrop, the military base little more than a distant speck at that point. I focused the entirety of my attention on keeping the plane on its course, allowing my thoughts to drift only slightly.
It was only a matter of hours before I would meet Emily Madden for the first time. I wondered if she would be as charming as she was pretty. I knew it would do little good to get the idea of sleeping with her cemented in my mind, but I couldn’t deny that the chance for a change of pace was tempting. There was something different about this Madden girl.
Her eyes were the deepest shade of brown that I’d ever seen, matching her nearly black hair. Her dark mane fell in gorgeous waves that would make any man hard. I managed to shake off the thoughts, focusing on the ocean that spread out ahead of me and the ocean that glistened behind me.
Several hours and an agonizing period of entertaining potential scenarios later, the airstrip became visible in the distance. I breathed a relieved sigh, maneuvering the plane with skill that even I hadn’t known I possessed. Touching down on the airstrip, I pulled in near the military base before hopping out of the cockpit and gathering my bags.
