No Way Forward

by Tressie Lockwood

  “Yes.”

  “Huh?”

  The phone slipped from her fingers and clattered on the floor. He darted forward to retrieve it then sank down on her bed. As she clutched her phone in her lap, he kept his hand over hers. Chills of delight and terror raced over her body—delight that he touched her and terror that he was about to let her down gently.

  Wait, what am I thinking? I wasn’t serious—was I?

  “My answer is yes, Novette.”

  She wasn’t hearing right. Her mind spun. This was a fantasy. She must have come upstairs and fallen asleep. After all, she’d only been back in her dad’s home a short while. Before she left, she and Zaid were close, but they were never lovers. On her part, yeah, she’d wanted him. The threat of being married off had driven her away from Zaid.

  “Your answer is yes?” She sounded like a buffoon.

  “You probably think I’m too old for you.”

  “No, ten years isn’t that much with adults. I mean…” She bit her lip, trying to make sense of her thoughts. “I’m not clear why we’re talking about this. If you’re worried about that kiss, I—crud I have no idea what to say.”

  He reached for her chin and turned her head so he could look into her eyes. “Are you saying it was a whim, that you don’t care about me or want to marry me?”

  Now she panted.

  “If you’re frightened to say how you feel, I’ll start.”

  “No, you shouldn’t. I mean, you don’t have to.” She surged to her feet and moved away from him. There was no way he was about to confess he loved her. No way in the world. It didn’t make sense.

  The bed creaked. Every muscle in her back ached. She didn’t turn around to face him but strained to hear if he approached. When his touch never came, she relaxed.

  “I know I’m too old for you, but I love you, Novette.”

  Her heart stopped.

  “When you left, it almost killed me. All I wanted was to be sure you were safe. If I knew that, I wouldn’t have forced you to come home. I wanted you to be happy, and you weren’t happy here.”

  She spun to face him. “You love me?”

  He offered her a half smile that made her dizzy. “You’re still on that?”

  “Um, pretty important info, dude.”

  “Alright, let’s start over.” He approached her, but she stumbled backward, shaking. He caught up and brushed hands over her arms. The goose bumps she didn’t know had erupted were soothed a little. He touched his forehead to hers. “I love you so much, Novette, and I want to be your husband.”

  “Oh God, I think I’m going to faint.”

  He tugged her over to the bed and sat her down. Then joined her. The room shrank some more. His arm encircled her shoulders, and he drew her tight to his side. Some of the fear and nerves dissipated, and she tucked in to him.

  “This is a sugar-induced dream. Wait, I didn’t eat the cake.” A nervous laugh escaped her. “I love you too, Zaid, but I was convinced five years ago that I would be forced to marry some idiot my dad chose for me. I thought it was a matter of time before I caved to his will.”

  “I know.”

  “No matter how old I get, he’s larger than life. It feels impossible to stand against him.” She looked at Zaid again. This wasn’t some elaborate plan on his part to trick her. He wasn’t that type of man. Nor did he care about money as far as she knew. He wouldn’t marry her to get his hands on whatever inheritance her dad would give her later. “This is weird, me asking you to marry me and you accepting? Who does that?”

  “We do. I agree it’s not conventional, and I might not have asked you.”

  “You don’t want to marry me?”

  “It’s not that.”

  “You’re hesitating. There’s no way my dad’s going to lie down and take this. He’ll try to get in the way before we ever get to the altar. I picked up a thing or two while on the run, and I know I can do it again. This time, you can come with me. We don’t need his money.”

  “No.”

  “Say what?” She jerked out of his hold and moved over so no part of her body touched his. That way she could think clearly. “What do you mean ‘no’? You’re not saying you want my dad’s money?”

  “I have no interest in Richard’s money, but we are not running away.”

  “Zaid, my dad is a force of nature. He’ll plow us down and tear us apart. He’ll send you away. I won’t see you again. The worst case scenario would be that he frames you for something and sends you to jail for the rest of your life.”

  “You don’t think highly of him.”

  “And you do?”

  “You don’t understand, Novette.”

  “Please explain it to me,” she snapped. “You say you love me, but you want me to stay here under my dad’s roof and under his control.”

  “Not his control, but we must slow down and think about how to get him to agree to our getting married.”

  “Don’t hold your breath. Are you scared we won’t make it out in the real world? I’ve done it, and it’s hard. There were rough times, sure, but I’m strong enough to stand on my own two feet. It was harder because I had to hide, but I still made it.”

  “Sweetheart.”

  He reached for her, but she jumped off the bed and backed away. He came after her and took her into his arms. She lost the will to resist. He stroked her back with a gentle touch.

  “I’m in a hard place that I can’t explain,” he said. “I’m only asking for a little time to work it out. I promise I will. Trust me.”

  “I do trust you.”

  She looked up at him, and he kissed her lips. The world and all its problems slipped away. They stood in each other’s arms a long time. She wanted to ask him what he wrestled with and why he should prioritize her dad when it meant he couldn’t be with her.

  Rather than question him, she stayed close, absorbing his warmth and his love. “I never thought you would tell me you love me, Zaid. I dreamed of us being together. I even considered asking for one night when I decided to leave.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  “Because I was twenty-one. There’s no way you would have said yes.”

  “You’re right, but I would have been tempted.” He wrapped a lock of her hair around his finger and stared into her eyes. “I didn’t allow myself to dream about being with you, but I loved you. It was enough to be near you, to train you, and to talk to you. Are you sure about us getting married?”

  “I’m sure. Don’t get hung up on our ages. It’s just a number.”

  “You don’t know me well, not on a personal level. I want to change that.”

  “It will have to be after my date tomorrow.”

  “What?” He didn’t look too happy with her at that moment.

  She chuckled. “Hey, buddy, you’re the one who wants to wait. My dad just told me we have a brunch with his two best choices for my husband.”

  Zaid’s expression darkened. A muscle twitched in his jaw. She thought he might change his mind, but he just nodded. “We’ll deal with it.”

  “We can still get the heck out of here.”

  “Novette, did you forget what happened when I came to get you?”

  “You’re not saying my dad was behind that, are you? I mean I don’t think much about his practices, but I can’t believe he would put me in danger. Not entirely.”

  “Rest assured he wouldn’t.” He hesitated to continue.

  “If you know something, you better spit it out, Zaid. I’m not playing.”

  “I’m waiting to hear back from a friend, but I believe I know who was behind the kidnapping.”

  She gasped. Fear stirred in her chest that it could be someone on the household staff. “I was hidden for five years, and then when you found me, here come these kidnappers. Do you think it’s someone who works here?”

  “Easy, sweetheart.”

  He kissed her briefly and then guided her over to the bed. They sat down together with him holding one of her hands. Their f
ingers tangled together. Zaid brushed his thumb over her skin, raising tingles along her spine.

  “Your dad hired one of the best private investigators in the business, but he couldn’t find any trace of you—at first.”

  “He told me he started hiring anybody after that.”

  “He did, but he went through several before hitting the bottom of the barrel. Then the first investigator brought results. Over two years, he continued to bring us hints to where you were.”

  “I moved around a lot in the beginning.”

  “Yes, and he seemed to be one step behind you. The fact that he had proof like photos and fake IDs, kept him on the payroll. He seemed to just miss you in every location.”

  “Wow. I had no idea. When was this?”

  “From the first year you were gone. His intel started two months after you left.”

  She was dumbfounded.

  “It took me some time, but I started to think he avoided giving us information that would lead us to you.”

  “You’re saying he was milking my dad but keeping him on the hook? Here I thought I was so clever, and he knew where I was right away?”

  “Not right away, and no one else found you.”

  “So what does the investigator have to do with the kidnapping?”

  “The last time I visited him, I started pushing, telling him I was suspicious. He saw his cash cow disappearing and somehow got wind of the fact that I did my own investigating to find you. As a last resort, he tried to kidnap you. That’s my theory anyway. I have no doubt he would have demanded a ransom.”

  She shivered, and he hugged her close. “You’re telling me he risked throwing his career away just for a little extra cash? If he had the reputation you’re saying he had, then he should have had some top clients already.”

  “People will do anything for money, Novette. Like I said, I’m waiting to hear back from my friend. Plus, I’m going to look into this man’s financials through another friend. I’ll get to the bottom of it because no one threatens you and gets away with it. Not without me feeding them their own teeth.”

  “Yikes.”

  He stood. “I should go so you can get some sleep. Tomorrow, try to turn those two guys off.”

  “It won’t take much. Look what happened with Felix.”

  “Don’t think that way. You’re beautiful and perfect.”

  “I’m glad you think so. Zaid?”

  He had moved to the door, but she held her hand out to him.

  “Stay.”

  Chapter 15

  Azalie stuck her head into Richard’s office. He sat behind the huge desk, sorting through a pile of papers. Someone with a dull voice droned on and on over his phone’s speaker, and Azalie’s mom sat nearby typing away on a laptop. She must be taking notes.

  Azalie couldn’t figure out how her mom could do the same boring job year after year. Sure, there were perks, like when Richard flew to Paris for a conference and took Sheila along, but those bonuses were too few and far between. Azalie would rather spend money than make it, and to do so in an exotic location would be the ultimate.

  She shoved the door wider and strolled into the office. “Hey, Mom, I came to see if you want to buy me lunch today.”

  Richard glanced up and glared. He pressed a finger to his lips for her to be quiet. Azalie wrinkled her nose. God, he was listening to that guy? Why bother? She heaved a somewhat noisy sigh, and her mom jumped to her feet to drag Azalie toward the door.

  “What are you doing barging in here, Azalie?” her mom whispered in a fierce whisper. “I’ll talk to you when we have a break. I have to get this information down.”

  Azalie stumbled on the four-inch hot pink stilettos she wore. “Jeez, Mom—”

  “Wait.”

  They both stopped and looked back at Richard. He stabbed a button on his phone, not bothering to ask the man on the other end of the line to hang on. The man continued to speak while on mute. Richard stood.

  “I need to talk to you, Azalie. Sheila, take a break.”

  “Wha—?” Sheila looked from Azalie to Richard.

  “It’s about Novette. Give us a minute, Sheila.”

  “Of course, sir.”

  Azalie’s mom left the room, shutting the door behind her. Azalie studied the man behind the desk. He might be old as the earth, but he still looked decent. Strong, fit, and tanned during the warmer months of the year, Richard could give a younger man a run for his money.

  And money will always put him over top of the competition.

  She sashayed over to his desk and slipped onto it to cross her legs. The movement raised her skirt and showed off her figure to advantage. She loved the shoes and the outfit she wore because it made her look fantastic. It should since it cost a fortune. Not that she’d paid for it.

  “What’s up? You want to buy me lunch?” She smoothly ignored the fact that he’d said he wanted to talk about Novette. That was another boring conversation if she ever heard one.

  “Who is she interested in?” He didn’t beat around the bush.

  “Interested in? What do you mean?”

  “Don’t play games with me, Azalie. I don’t have the time. This case is far more complicated than any I’ve had in a long time. Tell me. Is my daughter seeing someone, and if so, who?”

  “She just got back. I can’t see Novette dating anyone so quickly. She’s always been a slow starter.”

  Richard’s frown deepened.

  “Uh, I mean, she’s a sweet girl. Picky and all that.” Azalie waved a dismissive hand. “Unless she changed while she was gone, Novette has to be really into a guy to get serious about him. We’re talking love.”

  She rolled her eyes and shivered like love was disgusting. Of course, every time she went out with a guy, she called it love. That was beside the point. Azalie knew it wasn’t love she felt when she chose a new man. It was all a part of getting what she wanted at the moment. Novette was different.

  Richard rubbed his chin, thinking about her words. She wondered what brought all this on. Then she recalled Richard was always trying to marry Novette off. It made Azalie question whether he loved his daughter. Didn’t doting fathers try to beat off their daughter’s suitors? Maybe in the movies they did.

  Azalie suppressed a laugh. Richard might regret ever adopting Novette. She couldn’t help feeling good about the idea. After that scene with Felix the other night at the party, she didn’t blame him.

  After Richard blew her off, Azalie spent most of the party in a bedroom with—whatever his name was—and had missed the drama between Novette and Felix. She heard the news through gossip. What a pity.

  Felix insulted Novette right to her face and in front of everyone. He was bold. She had to give him that. Then his mom almost had a heart attack. She lived in fear that Richard would turn against her. A lot of people in his circle feared him, but not Azalie. She had been trying for years to seduce him without success.

  Azalie slid over on the desk until she sat right in front of Richard. She ran the toe of one foot along the inside of his leg. “If you want, I can talk to her and find out all the juicy details.”

  He moved out of reach. “Yes, do that for me. Let me know as soon as possible.”

  Azalie grumbled under her breath. Why didn’t he ever fall for her? Not even once. It was as if he didn’t recognize what she was doing. A man couldn’t get more clueless.

  She jumped to her feet and pretended to stumble. Falling to the side, she let her hand bang down on the phone and disconnected the call. “Oh shoot, I’m sorry, Richard.”

  He growled in annoyance. “Don’t worry about it. Just go, and send Sheila in here.”

  “You got it. I’m always glad to do you a favor. I’ll call you, K?” She blew him a kiss and tipped out of the room while swinging her purse. Richard was already dialing on the phone, obviously having dismissed her from his thoughts.

  Azalie dropped the smile and the act and stomped over to her mom’s desk. She flopped into the nearest chair. “
Why is he so obsessed with her?”

  “Azalie, you’re too loud, and if you’re talking about Richard, why wouldn’t he be interested in his own daughter? He loves Novette. He’s happy to see her again after so long. Knowing she’s safe is everything to him.”

  “Huh!”

  “You’re not acting like her best friend.”

  “I am her best friend.”

  “Well, stop complaining about her relationship with her dad and get out of here. I have to work.”

  “Aren’t you curious about what he asked me?”

  “Not really.” Her mom’s head never came up as her fingers flew over the computer keyboard. “If you put as much energy into making something of your life, you could find a lot of success. You’re an intelligent woman, and I would love for you to go back to school to get your degree.”

  “I hate school.”

  “Okay, I’m sure Richard would overlook your lack of experience and education. I’ve talked to him about you, and he said he can create a position just for you. Isn’t that kind of him?”

  “Amazing.”

  “You can’t lay around forever, Azalie.”

  “Why not? It’s working so far.”

  Her mom stopped typing to face her. “You have always wrapped every man you meet around your little finger. It started with your dad and then Richard, and a parade of lovers. When will it end? Your looks won’t last forever, and honestly I won’t hold this position forever either. I’m not getting any younger.”

  “Mom, you sound like him.”

  “That’s not a bad thing. Don’t you have a plan? Aren’t you worried about the future? What about your dreams?”

  Azalie pretended to gag. Her mom raised a hand like she would smack Azalie. Azalie jumped to her feet to get out of the line of fire. “I have a dream. It’s to be rich. Eventually, I’m going to marry someone with money—or maybe I’ll get a super big inheritance.”

  “Good luck with that second one. My 401K is for retirement, which I’m thinking about more and more lately. I’m starting to think if I remove you from this environment, you’ll learn we aren’t like the Kagens. We have to work for a living, and that’s alright.”

  “Remove me? I’m twenty-six years old, Mom. You have no control over my life. Don’t get any ideas from your boss.”