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10
Jessa
“I hate suits.Why the hell do we have to wear these again and not just our tactical gear?” Wes whines, his hand in mine. I’m a little nervous about how tonight will go. I didn’t want to see my father. I just want this nightmare for all of us to be over.
“Because it makes us blend in, and right now we need to blend in,” Trey whispers, gritting his teeth as he forces a smile to a group of passersby. My father has been here for an hour now. He smiles, sips at his beverage as he always does, and talks with his friends. No one would know that his one and only child is missing. No, because he doesn’t show a single shred of remorse, of guilt, shame, or care.
We stay out of sight, mostly hidden in the background. I have seen a few people that I know and who know me, but no one has even acknowledged my presence. I’m guessing it’s because I look nothing like I normally would at an event like this. In the past, my dresses have been modest and almost childlike. The dress I’m wearing today is neither. It is simple but sexy. So sexy that the guys were basically drooling when I came out of the bedroom.
I look and feel more like a woman than I ever have before. My hair is curled and down, where I would usually have some up-do. And last but not least, my dad used to love putting some expensive diamond jewelry on me, showing off his wealth. I am not wearing any jewelry at all today.
“You okay, Princess?” Declan questions, his voice ghosting against my ear.
“Yes. I just hate how he can stand there and act like nothing is going on. Like he didn’t try and kill me. Like I didn’t go missing. He carries on with his life like nothing happened at all. I could’ve...I could’ve died, and he wouldn’t have cared.” Sadness grips me. I don’t want to cry over that man, he doesn’t deserve it. Declan looks at me with sadness in his eyes.
“You know, I didn’t really want to hurt you. I was overcome with anger. I thought…” I shake my head, all but telling him he doesn’t need to finish. I know what he thought. He thought if he killed me, hurt me, it would make him feel better.
“When and if he makes his way to the bathroom we attack,” Wes interrupts and I flick my eyes out to the crowd, finding my father’s suit-clad body in the mass of people. “Jessa, remember how we are going to do this?” I nod.
“Wait till he goes to the bathroom, walk up to him, catch him off guard. Declan takes the opportunity to come up behind him and inject him with the sedative. You make sure his security team is occupied and taken care of, and Trey will be waiting at the back door in the getaway car while keeping an eye on all the security cameras.”
“Last chance to back out, Princess,” Wes tells me, but there’s no way I’m going to back out now. We’ve come too far, and I want this. No, I need this. I need closure and so do the guys.
“Let’s do this.” We all look between each other one last time before departing to get into our positions. I watch Wes and Trey disappear into the crowd just before Declan and I walk away from the main room, and down the corridor leading up to the bathrooms.
He walks down one side, while I walk down the opposite side. I make it to my spot, leaning casually against the wall a few feet away from the ladies’ room. All that’s left now is to wait. I look down the hall, Declan is so far down the hall and hidden in the shadows that I can’t see him, and I hate it. That he’s out of sight.
With every passing minute, I get a little more anxious and a whole lot more worried that something is going to go wrong. Seconds tick by but it feels like hours have passed. I wish I could see at least one of the guys, but they’re all out of view now. It’s just me and that scares the crap out of me.
I’m so used to being with the guys twenty-four seven that suddenly being on my own seems to be the scariest thing in the world. I almost laugh at the thought. I’ve been alone for most of my life, and only with the brothers for a few weeks now, but after living with them, realizing that I don’t have to be completely alone anymore, I’ve become accustomed to that life.
Taking in a deep breath, I try to calm my nerves. I turn and look up to the entryway to the main room, and it’s then that I spot him. All thoughts come to a sudden halt. My heart beats unnaturally slow and the blood in my veins freezes as I look straight into my father’s soulless eyes. This is the man that I’ve loved my whole life, my father. And for a split second, as I stare at him, doubt overcomes me.
Can I really do this?
He sees me, his eyes taking me in. Shock transforms his features. Some childish part of me still wishes…hopes that he does love me. I imagine his eyes warm and loving, happy to see me alive and unharmed. I imagine him walking up to me and taking me into his arms, telling me how glad he is that I’m alright, and how much he loves me.
Like a needle popping a balloon, my daydream about my father’s love is destroyed. The look in his eyes turns dark. Instead of happiness and relief, anger and annoyance fill his gaze. An ache spreads through my chest, and even after everything, knowing how this would be…it still hurts.
Remembering the plan, I force my legs to move toward him. Just as we had hoped, he starts moving toward me without looking around or calling for security. I try to keep my eyes on my father, even though I see the blur of a large body moving behind him.
Only when Declan is right behind my father, do I dare to look past him and find my lover’s eyes. When I see the shock and worry in Declan’s gaze, I freeze where I stand, knowing that something is wrong. I open my mouth to speak, but it’s too late. Something slams into me from behind. Before I can even consider righting myself, I lose my footing and tumble to the ground. It’s not until I’m being crushed by something that I realize that the something slamming into me is actually a someone.
I try to push him off of me, flailing my arms and legs, and fighting to get to my knees but all movements cease when I feel the sharp blade being pushed against my throat. Every muscle in my body tenses, not even my lungs work, and I’m pretty sure my heart has stopped beating altogether. I’ve come so close to death lately that I wouldn’t be surprised if things ended right now.
Twisting my head, I look up at my father who is pointing a gun at Declan’s head. My father’s menacing eyes lock on mine as he stares down at me, and a sinister smile pulls at his lips. “Kill her,” he says with that same sickening smile on his face.
“No!” Declan yells simultaneously with another male voice. Turning my head, I see where the second voice is coming from and find Harrold, my father’s head of security, standing just a few feet away from us.
Harrold shakes his head. “Not here, it’s too public. Let’s take them out back,” he suggests as if he is talking about taking out the trash. I cringe inwardly. Harrold has been a part of the security team since I was a little girl. He watched me grow up, and is like a grandfather to me, so his betrayal cuts me just as deep as my father’s. Though I don’t know why I’m even surprised by his betrayal, why did I expect him to care for me if my own father doesn’t?
The man on top of me pushes himself off, but keeps one hand on the back of my neck while keeping the knife pushed against my throat with the other.
In seconds I’m being pulled up from the floor and dragged toward the back door. Unable to look back at my father and Declan, I keep my eyes on Harrold instead. He opens the back door and holds it open for the man holding me.
We are just about to step over the threshold, I can already feel the cool April air on my skin when I see Harrold moving with superhuman speed. He grabs the knife pressed against my throat, and I gasp at the movement. My assailant is so surprised he lets go of me right away. I spin around and watch the scene in front of me unfold.
Harrold pushes the man against the door frame, by the throat. The man struggles, but Harrold’s faster. With the same knife that was about to slice through my skin, Harrold grabs the end of the blade and stabs it into the side of the guy’s neck. The man’s eyes go wide, and his mouth opens as if he’s going to scream, but no sound comes out.
