by Lexi Ward
“You deserve way more than what you have,” he said softly.
She sipped her coffee. “This was the life I was born into. I can’t do much about it right now.”
Zach smirked. “I could always just beat the crap out of your dad.”
“I wish it were that easy…” She stared into her half empty coffee cup.
“Speaking of beating people up, I have a match tonight…” He took her hands, squeezing them. “I would ask you to come but I doubt you could get away with it without getting caught.”
She sighed softly, liking the feeling of his hands. “I would if he would let me go. The last time I lied to him I couldn’t leave the house for a week.”
“It’ll be much longer than that this time. I told you he’d get it if you disobeyed me again.”
She froze as Daddy pointed a gun at Zach’s head. She wasn’t surprised he came to find her, but he was supposed to be at work. He couldn’t just leave a job unfinished, could he? She knew he couldn’t just go and kill someone in public and expect to get away with it, but what could she do? She looked around quickly but the only person paying any attention was the cashier. Daddy seemed to notice this as well, and kept his eye on the cashier.
Zach didn’t move, knowing if he did it would mean the end of his life. Sophia laid her fork down as calmly as she could, carefully calculating her next words. “Your quarrel is with me, not him.”
“You came to see him, did you not?” He clicked the safety off. “He can be easily disposed of. In public or not.”
She swallowed silently. Fear engulfed her and she found herself lost for words. Her mind went blank under the pressure and she began to sweat.
“Is this how you deal with all of your daughter’s suitors?” Zach asked. Sophia glanced at Daddy, who was taken slightly off guard but didn’t dare show it to Zach, who slowly stood up and turned around to face her father. He was bolder than Sophia gave him credit for.
“Hardly behavior I would expect from a man who kills for money. What do you gain from killing me? I’m not rich.”
Sophia couldn’t figure out what Zach was trying to do. A mafia member didn’t need a reason to end a life but right now Zach was giving him a reason. Just as she was about to speak up and protest Daddy spoke first.
“I don’t need a reason to kill you, boy.”
Zach licked his thumb and put it on the front of the gun. “I have a deal to make before you shoot. I’m sure you’d be interested in at least that.”
Sophia’s mouth went dry. He was deliberately challenging a mafia boss. She couldn’t help but to question Zach’s sanity.
“And what would that be? It won’t save you either way, so think over your last words carefully,” Daddy said, holding the gun steady.
Zach narrowed his eyes at Daddy to which Daddy responded with a growl.
“I challenge you to a match.”
Sophia’s heart clenched and she stood up, knowing she had to intervene before Zach got himself and her into more trouble. “What are you trying to do? Just leave, Zach!” she screamed.
“No! I won’t let him control you anymore.”
Zach ducked back and Sophia dodged, leaping out of the way. Daddy’s gun went off as Zach made his move and the bullet crashed through a window, completely tearing it to shreds. Sophia’s heart raced but she quickly saw in less than two seconds that Zach had the large man disarmed and on the floor. It was the first time she’d ever seen her father beaten, and beaten easily at that. Zach had his knee to Daddy’s face and his arms pinned down. “Are you going to listen to me now?”
Around her, people ran from the café screaming as the gun went off, including the waiter and cashier. Soon they were alone in the café. Zach ground his knee in to Daddy’s throat when he refused to give an answer. She heard Daddy choke a little and while she felt sorry for him, she also felt he completely deserved it. Inwardly, she was cheering Zach on.
Zach leaned in to Daddy. “You probably have five minutes to get your ass out of the area before the cops show up, after hearing that gunshot. So what’s it gonna be?” He lifted his knee a little.
Daddy and Zach shared an intensely angry gaze for all of five seconds before Daddy shoved Zach off of him. “I’ll accept your challenge but you won’t be fighting me, boy. I’ll be bringing someone to fight in my stead.”
Zach kicked away the gun before Daddy could grab it. “That’s fine. I’ll take down whoever you bring.”
Daddy growled at Zach. “Tomorrow, same time, at the town park. It’s a wide-open space so you’ll have plenty of room to fight. What will be my prize? Let me tell you now, boy, it had better be worth it.”
Zach picked up the gun himself with a cloth and put up the safety. “If I win, Sophia will be free to marry who she chooses, that’s it. If I lose…”
Daddy seemed to be happy with the proposal. “If you lose?”
Zach looked up at Daddy and placed the gun on the counter. “Then you can kill me and she’ll marry the next day…if I were you, I’d probably be leaving now, though.”
Sophia heard sirens in the distance. She wasn’t sure if it was police sirens or the sounds in her head telling her to get away from Zach because he’d completely lost his mind. Daddy eyed his gun but Zach refused to give it up. So instead of fighting for it, the man quickly turned and briskly left the café.
“We’d better get out of here too if we don’t want to be suspects,” Zach said. He took Sophia’s hand and led her out of the café.
CHAPTER THREE
They walked for a while in the opposite direction of the café and her home until they reached the park Daddy had spoken of. There, Zach stopped and surveyed the area. Sophia followed his lovely blue eyes as he looked around.
The park, as Daddy had said, was spacious with few places to hide. There were trees placed sporadically around the park and benches along the paths leading through. In the middle of the park there was an open-space clearing in between the paths that Sophia assumed would be the arena. She watched a little girl walk her dog and some children play with a Frisbee. If she didn’t know better, she would think that tomorrow would be the same carefree day for the people here.
“Zach…” She finally tried to catch his attention. It was better than standing there looking at the park where Zach would die.
“Daddy is setting you up.”
He didn’t turn to look at her, his face concentrated. “I know he is.”
“Then why are you walking right into his trap?” She urged. Sophia took his shoulder, feeling more nervous than she had since her father had first killed someone in front of her.
“You’re going to die tomorrow!”
Zach put his hands on hers, gazing at the arena and smiled. “I’m sure that’s what he thinks too,” he said.
The tone he used immediately eased her nervousness. She felt that he knew everything that Daddy might have up his sleeve. He was a highly trained MMA fighter, after all. He required mental quickness and discipline. She eyed him curiously. “What are you thinking then, Zachary?”
He finally turned to her.
“I need your help.”
Sophia’s eyed widened a little. “My help? With… Daddy? But I can’t-“
He put a finger to her lips. “You’re not fighting. I need you to do something for me. This fight will change our lives and it all depends on you.”
The gravity of the situation hit her at last. If Zachary did not win, he would die and Sophia would be doomed to a lifetime of violence and servitude. If he did win, though, nothing would change for him, or her. She would still live with Daddy, she just wouldn’t have to marry a mobster. She could marry whomever she wanted, but Daddy would forever be in her way if she chose to marry Zach.
“It all depends on me…?” She wondered aloud.
Zach nodded. “This is not just about whom you marry, Sophia. You have the chance to change everything.” He kissed her hands.
She pondered that thought for a moment. Daddy would be th
ere along with his chosen contender, Zach would fight said opponent… what was there that gave her the chance to change everything? She was good at details but she had to see it first.
“I need you to help me see what you see” she urged him.
Zach wrapped an arm around her and lead her to the park clearing. They stood in the middle of it, with a bench off to one side. She supposed that’s where Daddy would sit and watch, and since the fight was for her she would sit there as well. She decided to sit down and see everything from her own vantage point. Zach stayed in the clearing. Not far to the right, there was a tree that split in two halfway up the trunk. To the left and behind Zach, there were paths and open space, and even further off there were more trees. She tried to imagine what might happen, but her mind came back completely blank. “What am I missing here, Zach?”
He went over to her and sat down, squeezing one of her hands. “From here, you can see almost everything. I trust you to spot anything that wasn’t here today. So memorize what you see now, Sophia. And tomorrow, your blind spot – behind you and Daddy – will be covered by the police.”
“The… police?” The realization dawned on her. “If we tell the police we’ve found the mafia boss they’ve been searching for, do you think..?”
Zach nodded, smirking. “They’ll work with us and wait for the right moment to seize him, and tomorrow with be the end of Daddy.”
She smiled brightly and threw her arms around him.
“You’re a genius!” She squealed.
He embraced her tightly and kissed the top of her head. “Don’t worry about me tomorrow, don’t focus on the fight. Just worry about finding anything out of the ordinary. Shout at me if you see anything and I’ll retreat. I promise you, Sophia. Tomorrow, your life will change for the better.”
Sophia looked up at him. “You can’t make that kind of promise… you can’t guarantee that you’ll win.”
He smiled at her gently. “As long as I can rely on your attention to detail, I’ll win.”
She searched his expression for any indication he might be lying to her but could find none. He legitimately believed he could win and win her freedom from the mobster life and she truly hoped he could. She buried her face in his chest and took in his smell – a mix of cologne and fresh sweat from the warm sun. The smell reminded her of the ocean and she smiled, allowing herself to lose track of time in his arms.
After what felt like an eternity he finally pulled away from her and put his finger underneath her chin, softly lifting her face upwards to face him.
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” he asked her.
Sophia nodded vigorously. “I trust you.”
He took her hands and they stood up, heading out of the park. “We’ll go to the police station and tell them what we know. Then I have a match tonight, but don’t worry about it. I’ll consider it practice for tomorrow.” He smirked at her. “And then after the match…”
She smiled knowingly. “I look forward to seeing you.”
CHAPTER FOUR
The moon had begun to wane when Sophia snuck from her bedroom in the early hours of the morning, fully dressed for her journey to Zach’s home. This would be the last night they could spend together and Sophia wanted to make it last as long as possible. She waited until she heard Daddy snoring down the hall and then quietly slipped through the front door, making sure the door made no click as she closed it. The house was completely dark and she had nothing with her except a dress on her body, her wallet, and her shoes in her hands.
She snuck carefully through the shadows, knowing that Daddy would wake if he were to hear someone outside at this hour. She hadn’t even bothered to put shoes on, knowing it would have made too much noise on the hard wood. She did slip on stockings though, and she’d slid out without even so much as a peep. The grass made almost no noise as she tiptoed across the yard and away from her house. It was only when the house had disappeared from view that she was able to relax a little and walk normally, putting her flats on. She and Zach had agreed to meet on the corner of the street and he would lead her the rest of the way home.
She thought about the day before as she walked. The police had agreed to work with them, just as Zach had planned, and they would position themselves just outside the park - out of sight and undercover, until the signal was given. The signal would be a hair ribbon in Sophia’s raised hand. She was careful to remember to tie her hair with one before she left.
Zach’s handsome face appeared before her as got closer and she smiled at him.
“Hello,” she said softly.
He didn’t respond with words but instead, bent down to softly kiss her, his hands holding her face, his thumbs caressing the apples of her cheeks. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation, wrapping her arms around his strong shoulders.
It was a small eternity before he finally pulled away from her. “Hey,” he breathed. He took her hand and walked with her, their footsteps barely a sound on the concrete sidewalk.
She noticed then that one of his fingers was wrapped with a cast. She furrowed her brow. “What happened?”
He looked at his hand as if he’d just seen it for the first time. “Oh, I, uh… I broke my finger during the match.”
She realized what that would do to him tomorrow. He was at a severe disadvantage now. She opened her mouth to protest him fighting her father once again but he put a finger to her lips and then kissed her. She sighed into it, wishing her life with him would last more than a night.
“Sophia… I’m still relying on you. My finger being broken doesn’t change a thing. It makes it a bit more difficult, but…” He kissed her fingers. “I’ll still win this for you.”
Sophia felt her heart pound against the walls of her chest, desperate to escape. No one had ever said that to her before. She’d only ever seen it in movies… but unfortunately her life wasn’t a movie. She was afraid and every part of her screamed for her to just beg Daddy to spare him - to let him live and forget about her. The strange things people would do for love astounded Sophia.
Ten minutes later they reached his home and Zach locked the door behind her, checking his house and making sure everything was in its place. He seemed to be extra cautious today but Sophia couldn’t blame him. Daddy could send someone to kill him at any time if he didn’t feel like he could win. The front door was the only way in or out, though, because Zach lived in an apartment on the third floor and kept all his windows locked. He checked the closets and curtains, as well as under anything big enough for a person to fit in, but the apartment was completely empty aside from the two of them. When Zach let this fact sink in, he relaxed and went to the kitchen.
“Do you want anything to eat or drink?” he asked.
There was no lack of food in his fridge but she didn’t feel the need to eat any of it. She didn’t want to waste any time. She wanted to be close to him, for as long as they had to be with each other. She took his hand and led him to the bedroom. “I just want to be with you, Zach.”
He said nothing as he shut the door to his bedroom and wrapped his arms around her. They stood in each other’s embrace for a long time before Zach kissed her, pushing her towards his bed. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t done anything with him before so she didn’t feel nervous about anything he did. She was just concerned for his broken finger. She sat on the bed and looked up at him anxiously. “Are you sure? Your hand…”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry. It can’t move in the cast anyways. I just can’t get it wet.” He smirked. “Guess I’ll have to use my other hand.”
She blushed and looked away from him. He wasn’t a very bold person with her but when he was it embarrassed her. She much preferred him talking that way to everyone else and being gentle with her. She didn’t respond to him.
He put a finger on her chin and gazed in her eyes. “There is nothing wrong with your desires, Sophia.”
She blinked at him. “My desires?” She wanted to go to college for what she wanted, she w
anted to be free… the realization hit what he was actually speaking about and she pursed her lips. “I…”
He kissed her and pushed her onto her back, onto his soft bed and climbed over her, trapping her where she was. She didn’t mind one bit and wrapped her arms around his waist, feeling his muscles underneath his shirt. He undid her hair and put the ribbon on his end table and returned to kissing her – on her lips, on her cheeks, on her jawline. She felt her loins flare a little but she wasn’t interested in her own pleasure. She just wanted to be close to him for as long as she could…and if this was the way he wanted to do it, she would never complain.
He slid his bad hand under her skirt and caressed her thigh, while his other hand unzipped the back of her dress. She really did want skin-to-skin contact with him and so her hands roamed to the hem of his shirt and tugged it up over his head, and threw it to the side. He pulled down on her dress, exposing her bra. It wasn’t lacy but it wasn’t completely bland either, with pink and blue strips. He smirked.
