by S. Nelson
“Hurry up. Walter’s on his way over. They got another note.”
“You couldn’t tell me that from the doorway?” He laughed before closing the door, leaving me to finish washing up. Once I dried off, I was dressed and ready in five minutes flat.
As I walked through the house, I couldn’t help but recap what had happened earlier. When I’d walked out on the patio, I’d seen Emily sitting in one of the loungers reading a book. She wore a bathing suit, a one-piece. She was beautiful and had a great body, but I didn’t look at her like that. Besides, my brother would be pissed off if I let my eyes linger too long on her, not that he should care, seeing as how she was our client and all. But I knew better.
Then as I walked toward the deep end, that was when I saw Cara in the pool. I blamed the sun for shining too brightly for the reason why I hadn’t seen her sooner, or maybe I was too busy praying I wouldn’t run into her anytime soon. Unrealistic, I knew, but I did it just the same.
She was practically naked, but that was to be expected. During the small amount of time I’d known Cara, I realized she loved to push the envelope in any way she could. As soon as I saw her exposed skin, my thoughts had drifted to last night, and I struggled to push them to the side, focusing instead on doing what I came outside to do. Use the damn pool. Then she invited me in with her. Well, not with her, per se.
While I’d caught her watching me as I swam, I never gave her any indication I was aware of her attentions. Not that I hadn’t glanced at her every now and again, but I’d never admit as much.
I heard Owen and Walter conversing in the kitchen of the main house and hoped I hadn’t kept them waiting too long. Whenever my mind wandered, I lost track of time.
“Hi, Ford,” Walter greeted, extending his hand as soon as I was close enough to reciprocate. “How are you? I hope my daughter isn’t giving you too much trouble.” His strained smile indicated he knew she was. I never told him about Cara’s escape to Kurt’s house and what she’d done while there, deciding it was best to keep that one under wraps. But if she tried it again, all bets were off, and whatever consequences landed at both of our feet, we’d have no choice but to deal with them.
“Everything is fine,” I answered, hoping he believed my lie. He dipped his head slightly before walking into the living room to join his wife and daughters. The three of them were seated on the larger sofa, their eyes quickly finding those of the patriarch.
“Show them,” Diana instructed. “They need to see it.”
Of course, we needed to see the newest note, but it must’ve been more unnerving than the other two to have her this upset. Not that she hadn’t been before, because she was, but this time was different. I could feel it in my bones.
Owen and I took our seats on the free sofa, leaning forward with unease. Walter pulled the note from inside his jacket pocket and handed it to me.
“We’ve already had it tested for fingerprints, and like the others, there aren’t any.”
I was more comfortable handling it knowing I wasn’t ruining the chance of finding who’d sent it. Carefully, opening the paper, I read the contents.
‘The farther away they are, the easier it’ll be to make you pay.’
It didn’t take a genius to know that whoever sent this note knew something about the impending trip the women had planned to California. Question was, was the threat enough to make Walter put the brakes on their birthday celebration trip?
“They know,” Diana offered, her chin quivering in fear. “How do they know? Who is it?” She spoke quietly but loud enough for all of us to make out her words.
“I’ll find out, sweetheart.” He pulled her close and kissed her temple before rising to stand by the corner of the couch. His attention zoned in on Cara and Emily, who were locked on his stare, waiting for what was coming next. Cara’s shoulders tensed while Emily seemingly remained unfazed by it all. She was more agreeable, so I doubted whatever Walter said would anger her like it would her twin.
Walter paced, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He stopped every few steps, looked at me and Owen, then his children, before continuing. It went on for several moments before he paused and finally spoke.
“I think it’s best you cancel your trip to California.” As soon as the last word left his mouth, I homed in on Cara, waiting for the explosion. She was seconds away from losing it, not a care in the world for the tiny bits of deluge that would soon cover her family.
She stood abruptly, and just when I thought she’d dive into a rant about how it was unfair of him to suggest such a thing, she took a breath and raised her head, her posture straightening with poise. She opened and closed her mouth several times but never spoke. She appeared to be at a loss for words, which was uncanny, given she’d never had the issue before, not while I’d been in her presence, at least.
Cara turned toward her mother. “I’ll be on my best behavior. I promise.” She didn’t include Emily with her plea because we all knew her sister wouldn’t be a problem. “Besides, these guys”—she pointed toward me and Owen—“won’t let anything happen to us. We’re in good hands.”
Walter contemplated her plea, even though it’d been directed toward Diana. Their parents exchanged a coded look. “I don’t like it,” Walter finally spoke. “You’ll be too far away from us if anything happens. It’ll be the perfect opportunity for whoever sent this note to follow through with their threat.” He shook his head. “No, I’m not comfortable with any of it.”
I glanced at Cara from the corner of my eye. Hers were filling with unshed tears, her cheeks flushing pink in the moments that followed. Her sister, however, hunkered down on the couch, sneaking peeks at her parents then at Owen, looking like she wanted to say something, but never did. She also didn’t seem as if she was upset. Maybe she was thankful she didn’t have to let her sister down by canceling their birthday celebration. Emily didn’t strike me as someone who enjoyed partying, and with her father insisting they cancel their trip, she might even be relieved. It was all just a guess, of course.
“Please don’t punish me,” she whispered. “I know I haven’t been the best daughter, and I know I’ve embarrassed you more times than I can count.”
“Cara, this has nothing to do with—”
“We promise to listen to everything Ford and Owen say.” The reluctance in her voice screamed she was lying, but I suspected her parents hadn’t picked up on it. I had no doubt Emily would be on board with our directive, but I knew, as surely as I stood there, Cara would put up a fight. “If they think wherever we are is unsafe, we’ll leave. No questions asked.”
“I don’t think it’s such a good idea.” Her father shook his head softly, his pensive demeanor conveying he was conflicted about whether he should give in. In the end, it was Diana who pushed him toward the final decision.
“While I don’t want either of you to be so far away from us right now, I believe Ford and Owen can keep you safe from harm.” She pinned us with her stare. “You are not to let them out of your sight, not for one second.” Her husband parted his lips to speak, but she just grabbed his hand and nodded. Another coded message.
“Fine,” Walter reluctantly agreed. “But you’re taking the private jet, and you’re not staying anywhere other than our place in Modesto.”
Cara’s lips turned upward in a genuine smile, Emily mirroring her reaction, although there was something behind her expression that told me she’d rather be staying home.
“We planned on both of those things, so it all worked out.” Cara gave her parents a hug before disappearing upstairs. I was left to wonder if she would try and stay true to her word to her parents. Would she give me a hard time, or would she follow instructions if a situation arose that we felt wasn’t safe?
Only time would tell.
* * *
Cara
The day had finally arrived. July twenty-fourth, the day before mine and Emily’s birthday. Twenty-five on the twenty-fifth. It only happened once in a lifetim
e. Was I going to celebrate a little bit extra because of it? No doubt. Any excuse to have a great time. I only hoped no one got in my way of doing so.
I’d promised my parents that if Ford and Owen truly felt we were in danger at any point during our trip that we’d leave wherever we were, no questions asked. But the more I thought about it, the less I believed we were in harm’s way, and I refused to cower under ridiculous threats I was confident were bullshit.
Whoever had sent those notes to my dad probably just wanted to freak him out. Maybe it was an actor he’d refused to hire. Or it could be a delusional fan, looking for their fifteen minutes of fame and nothing else, barring they left enough evidence to trace the notes back to them. Hell, it could be a simple prank from someone close to him. That would be warped and perverse, but it was a possibility.
My dad had arranged the flight on the smaller of his private jets. The one we were taking sat twelve comfortably, and since there were only seven of us, it was plenty spacious. Emily was bringing Karen Tulson, her best friend since grade school, and Naomi was bringing her new boyfriend, Benji Masten. Their relationship was fairly new, and I’d only met the guy a handful of times, but he seemed to really like my BFF, so he was okay in my book.
I counted down the minutes until we were able to board the jet and take off. I needed this little getaway so badly. After everything that had happened in the past few weeks, I craved some time to unwind and focus on one thing and one thing only. Celebrating my birthday. Our birthday.
My sister, my parents, or even Ford would tell you I celebrated something on an almost daily basis, but this was different. A quarter of a century birthday only came around once. Naomi told me earlier she had a surprise for me once we landed in California. I tried to make her tell me, reminding her how I hated surprises, but the woman was a goddamn vault.
The flight time was just under five-and-a-half hours. Enough time to get the pre-party in full swing, although the atmosphere wouldn’t be as carefree and fun with Ford on board.
Ever since he’d been hired, I felt trapped. God forbid I did anything without my shadow breathing down my neck, and I had no doubt his eyes, even while shielded behind those shades, would be watching every move I made. But there was only so much trouble I could get into thirty-thousand feet in the air.
Emily didn’t mind Owen’s presence at all. Whenever I’d asked her about him, she’d smile and tell me how nice he was, or that she was attracted to him, but that was as far as it went. I suspected she wasn’t completely honest with me, though. She never used to keep things from me, but I supposed once I started hiding certain aspects of my life, I’d shoved a wedge between us.
Not to get me wrong, I loved my sister like no other. She was my twin. I’d even go so far as to say she was my better half. We had an unbreakable bond, one that just happened to have some cracks. My hope was that we could become as close as we once were… before.
Not wanting to dwell on the past, or the seemingly impossible hopes for the future, I was pleased to have the distraction of the flight attendant passing out glasses of champagne. Everyone took one except Ford and Owen.
“You don’t need to sit so close. No one is going to kidnap me on the plane.” Ford sat directly across from me, ignoring all the other available seats on the jet. He didn’t banter back, instead dividing his attention between the window and his phone. I had no idea what he was looking at, and I doubted he’d tell me if I asked.
He remained quiet among all the chatter, his shades securely in place. He appeared to use them as a shield, something he could hide behind so he didn’t have to interact. Or he was creeping behind them, watching everyone without them being aware. But I was aware. I was all too aware of his presence, whether his focus was on me or not. Most times, it was the former.
I snatched an extra glass off the attendant’s tray and presented it to Ford. “Take it,” I instructed, leaning forward until I breached his personal space. He turned his head away from the window and toward me.
“No, thanks.”
“Come on. I won’t tell.”
“I don’t drink on the job.” He leaned farther into his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. I couldn’t help but stare at the way the fabric of his shirt stretched over his flexed biceps.
“You’re always on the job. Don’t tell me you haven’t had one single sip of alcohol this entire time.”
He didn’t answer me; instead, he directed his attention back to the outside world. Rude. I was only trying to be nice, and look where that got me. I swore, if I didn’t know better, I’d say Ford deliberately went out of his way to ignore me, or incite me in some way. Maybe it was the second glass of champagne talking. Alcohol sometimes made me more sensitive to my surroundings, even though all I usually wanted was to be numb, even when I was trying to have a good time.
“You’re impossible,” I mumbled, but before I could leave my seat to join the others, Owen plopped down next to Ford, bumping his shoulder with his own.
“What’s up?” he asked Ford.
I watched the interaction between the brothers with slight fascination. I’d only seen them chat a couple of times prior, but it’d been all business. This time, however, Owen seemed to be enjoying himself, all while remaining professional. His older brother should take some pointers.
“Just counting down the minutes until we land.” Ford’s attention remained out the window.
Owen leaned in and talked quieter, but because I sat so close, I heard every word. “You need to lighten up, brother. Get rid of that chip on your shoulder for the next few days.”
Ford shifted in his seat. “Don’t lecture me on how to act.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I suddenly felt like I was intruding on a personal conversation, which in reality, I was indeed doing.
“You know exactly what I mean.” Ford finally looked at his brother, but not before glancing my way beforehand. “You better get your head out of your ass and stop fucking around. You were hired to do a job. Nothing else.” His words were low and clipped, and had I not had the same suspicion about Owen and Emily, his words would’ve gone right over my head.
Owen’s response was to look over at me and flash me a strained smile. He left his seat and walked toward the back of the plane where my sister was seated next to Karen. I watched him the entire way, witnessing the scowl on his face as he sat across from Emily. Because of the noise of the other’s, I couldn’t quite hear what she’d asked him. Whatever it was, he just shook his head, pulled out his phone, and diverted his focus to his screen.
Deciding to take a chance and see if Ford would talk to me about something we both suspected, I changed seats and sat right next to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked, shifting and leaning closer to the window.
The champagne provided me with a bit of liquid courage, or maybe it was seeing Ford in such a sour mood that prompted me to take that seat.
“Don’t worry. I won’t bite.” My tone was light and casual, lacking the typical snippiness of many of our prior and short conversations. “Would you please take off your sunglasses?”
“Why?” He continued to lean away from me, an action which I found delightful. He’d just proved I made him uneasy, much like he did to me.
“Because I’d like to have a conversation with you where I can see your face.”
“You can see my face just fine,” he retorted, taking a deep breath while continuing to keep his distance.
“You know what I mean.” Five drawn-out seconds passed before he lifted his hand to his face and removed his shades, placing them in his lap, his agreeability surprising me.
“Happy?”
“Yes.” I wasn’t sure if it was the soft tone in which I used to answer, or the fact my hand was so close to his on the armrest, but he turned to look at me. His eyes roved over my face, his brows creating a deep crease in between. He seemed confused by the interaction. I couldn’t say I blamed him.
�
�Well?”
“Well, what?” My frown mirrored his, but my body language was different. Where his was standoffish, mine was to be perceived as engaging. I’d gotten nowhere with him acting like myself, so I decided to kill him with kindness, so to speak. Or, at the very least, not be so damn bitchy.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” Oh yeah, I wanted to have a conversation. Initially, I planned to ask him about his thoughts on Owen and Emily, but the more I became mesmerized with his eyes and all the secrets he hid behind them, the more I wanted to talk about him.
“I figured it was time for us to get to know each other a little better.” I took a small sip of my drink, intently studying him.
“I know everything I need to. But thanks.” His response was curt.
“You think you know me, but you don’t. Most people don’t,” I offered, shocked with my comeback. I drained the rest of my champagne and snapped my fingers at the flight attendant.
“Typical,” Ford grumbled.
“What is?”
“Your attitude.”
Baffled, I urged him to continue, surprised he hadn’t stood and sat somewhere else. “Do tell.” Normally, I would’ve blown him off and drank myself into a stupor, but my inner voice told me to stay put and make him talk to me. Or attempt as best I could. I doubted anyone could make Ford do anything.
“You’re fully aware of how you act. You don’t need me to break it down for you.” The corners of his mouth curved up, but he wasn’t smiling. His expression was more of a snarky grin. I pushed him to talk, and now it seemed he wasn’t going to hold back. He shifted his body to face me and leaned uncomfortably close, his eyes searching mine for something. Anything I assumed. “What happened to you?” Gone was my fascination with getting him to open up about himself, his question knocking the air from my lungs.
“Wh-what do you mean?” No one had caused me to stutter in ages. My tongue poked into the side of my cheek, and I drew a long breath before responding. “Nothing happened to me,” I barked, drawing the attention of my sister, who turned in her seat to look at me. She mouthed, “You okay?” to which I nodded.
