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Finally, Jack broke the silence. “We just saw Frank King,” Jack said.
My father stayed quiet, not even acknowledging that Jack had spoken.
“Daddy, did you hear him?” I snapped my fingers in dad’s face, but he still didn’t say a word.
“You need to tell us what’s going on,” Jack said, harshly grabbing my father’s hand and shaking his arm.
Daddy appeared to snap out of a trance, and noticed Jack for the first time. “Of course I do,” my father said, as if he was telling us it was sunny outside.
“Daddy, why are you acting so strange?” I asked. I wondered what kind of hold Frank King had over my father. It was probably about money.Everythingwas about money. I didn’t get a response. Jack wasn’t going to wait for our discussion with him about our wedding.
“Great,” Jack said. “We’re going to hold the wedding this Friday. And you’re going to give us the best wedding money can buy.”
I loved that Jack could talk to my father this way, the way he held his own, and didn’t care that my father was everyone’s boss. Jack wasn’t just anyone, he was the one who could ride out the strongest of tempests unscathed. My father was child’s play to Jack. We both walked out of the room, and Jack grinned at the guard.
“Wedding’s this Friday,” Jack said, high-fiving the guard who’s jaw dropped at that as we passed by.
“Wow, this is all going by so fast,” I said. A sudden panic was going over me, and my mental world came falling down all over me. I was in a living nightmare. Jack talked me through the panic attack, doing everything right to quell my fears. I could sense that he was a tender man, as much as he was a man capable of some magnificent violence.Jack is the one.
When we got back to my room, we decided to change for a nice lunch on the back patio garden. Jack went to the kitchen to get our meal ready, and he met me outside with a straw basket that looked promising. It was nice and breezy as we walked through the colorful garden. Reds, pinks, blues, whites, and yellows created the illusion that we were in a boundless paradise. Jack sat down at a long table in the center of a gazebo, which didn’t seem like it saw much use. Jack didn’t seem to mind, and I loved that he lived by his own set of rules.
“What did you get us?” I asked as Jack started opening the basket.
“Celebratory meal,” Jack said, pulling out a nice, crispy loaf of bread and a knife. Jack handled the knife adeptly, taking a second to inspect it. “And a weapon. Just in case.”
Jack’s words made me feel uneasy, but the way he held the serrated knife assured me that I was safe. I pushed the worst thoughts away, but I was also aware that anything could happen. The way Frank had talked to us earlier…was concerning. My father acting strange didn’t help.
Jack didn’t seem phased by it, though I could tell he was always aware of his surroundings. He cut some slices and pulled out more items to get our meal going. He took out a nice bottle of something dark, and, when I gave him a look because I couldn’t drink wine, he smiled. “It’s safe,” he assured me. “Just juice.”
Being uneasy in fair weather is like the moments before a summer storm hits you by surprise. You know it’s going to happen, but it almost doesn’t feel like it will. This and the forced marriage on us did not crush our souls, though. It only made us stronger in love. We enjoyed our picnic without event and as Jack was pouring me a second glass of juice, an alarm was raised.
The siren was ear-piercingly loud, and my heart raced fast as I felt a cognitive dissonance with my circumstances. It felt like the world was going to fall apart, but everything looked perfectly normal. No men ran, there were no shouts fired, just an alarm.
“I wonder what that was about,” Jack said. He looked around and shrugged. “Better to enjoy this picnic for what it is and not worry about their mess.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.Is he really not worried? It almost seems like he’s the one who planned this.It was very clear by Jack’s body language that he controlled whatever situation we were in. The man always had a way of doing things. I put my arms on him, and could feel his energy, so calm and so very much in control. It very much turned me on. Jack touched me in a way that told me there was more for later. I felt a surge of pleasure within me, and we didn’t wait for a later time to fulfill our primal needs. , I couldn’t quite believe myself, and felt a tinge of guilt for being so public with our lovemaking.
When we made our way to the room, everyone was standing guard like it was any regular day. There were even a few guards making small talk with one another. We passed them by, and I could feel their hateful glares since Jack had killed two of their friends. The guards stopped talking at our approach.
“He won’t kill you,” I said, turning to the guards.
One of the guards placed his hand on his weapon belt. The other had his hands up at about shoulder height.
“No, he won’t,” said the one with the weapon. The one with his hands in the air seemed ashamed of his submissive gesture.
Jack was already walking away, bored.
I rushed after him. “We’re going to be here a while. Don’t you think we ought to treat them a little better?”
“They said it,” Jack said. “I’ve already killed two of them. Can’t come back from that.”
I found it hard to believe Jack could be so brutal yet be so tender when it counted. He was almost too perfect.
“What was that alarm about?” I asked.
Jack opened the door to our room, and plopped on the bed. He had made it this morning, and I was always impressed with the way he conducted himself, even privately. Jack was self-sufficient, and with him, things got done. He had moved up our wedding date, and now I suspected that he had devised a plan to get us out of here.
“The Reeds are here,” Jack said. “Braden Reed and Frank King are going to our wedding.”
