He rolled his shoulders forward and stiffened. “Well, I would like your assistance but also his. My connections can’t seem to reach Mr. Anderson, so they believed you two had a familial connection.” He cleared his throat.
I didn’t speak.
He continued on, “I have a delicate matter of sorts. The people I know have told me that your services go beyond that of attorney/client for a courtroom, but rather you and your business partners have a reputation for giving people what they seek in life and doing so inside the lines of binding agreements. I have acquired a young woman in a transaction. She’s not, shall we say, seeing things my way.” He paused for dramatic effect. It did nothing for me. “I’m a ruthless man, Mr. Monroe. I’m sure you can understand, I’m not a man who likes to be challenged. I do not have the time or patience to break her myself, so I would like Mr. Anderson to help me hide her away.”
I laughed in his face. I couldn’t help myself.
Even sitting here watching the scene replay, I found myself giving a huff in the absurdity of his request. He was a ruthless man, so he said. But his plan for this woman was seclusion. Solitude didn’t bend someone to your will; no, it simply broke their spirit. It was cruel and rather ineffective, honestly. A broken person was not a pliant person, but rather a spirit floating and existing until they found their end.
He had no idea the man he was sitting in front of. He had no idea the lengths of which I would go to protect someone I loved, the lines I would cross for revenge, or simply the shit I would do for entertainment’s sake.
I watched the tablet with the lighter still in my hand. The weight of what four teen boys did all those years ago was nothing compared to the ounces of the Zippo lighter. Years had passed us by. Together we knew what it was to fall and rise up again. I didn’t regret what we had done. I had no remorse. I didn’t need atonement, saving, and I didn’t need to help the smug bastard in the video.
Except, I was going to do as he requested.
I was going to meet his woman. I was going to carry her away to my private home in the Virgin Islands. Yes, I was that smug bastard with an elite home like a famous fuck. Only I wasn’t known, and I liked it that way. There she would be sheltered from the world. No escape. No way to find help.
I sat back in the glider as a smirk danced upon my lips. I wasn’t doing this for him, though. No, Charles Beacon had no clue that this woman he procured was no longer his. I was going to whisk her away.
Enissa Mitchell was mine, and she didn’t have a clue.
No one did.
That was what made this whole thing even better.
1
Enissa
“You don’t have to do this, Enissa,” my mother whispered, tears shimmering and threatening to fall. “I don’t care what they say.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat as I fought back my own tears. This wasn’t supposed to be my life, but it was all the same, and no matter what I’d get through it.
Gripping my mom’s shaking hands, I tried giving her my strength. “Momma, I’m strong. I’ll go, and I’ll make the best of a bad situation.”
“Please, just take this.” She again kept her voice low as she handed me a small dark brown leather pouch. The one she always kept in a safe place in our home. It was special to her, given to her by her mother before she passed away, and it meant the world to her. “It’s not much, but it’s all I’ve got to give you, baby girl.”
Wetness fell down my cheeks and splashed down to the ground. I couldn’t stop them. “Momma, no.” She needed it more than I did.
“It’s my wedding band, a necklace, and some money. It won’t get you far, but take it, find a time, and run as far as you can. A daughter isn’t meant to atone for the sins of her father. Even if they came from the right place. It’s not right for you to pay for our mistakes.”
Well, if that wasn’t the damn truth. It didn’t matter, though. There was no choice for me. If I didn’t leave with the driver and get on the plane to California, then Mr. Beacon was bound to make my family pay … in the worst of ways. He wasn’t a kind man even though I didn’t actually know him, only having short conversations with him to make this deal. What kind of man would do this? Rip a family apart over money? The evil kind, that was who.
My mother didn’t ask to get sick and have her body attack itself. She didn’t ask to be crippled and unable to take care of herself. None of this was within any of our control. Now this stranger was manipulating our situation for his benefit.
Mom begged my father many nights to leave her and carry on with his life. He stood by her refusing to give up. A man in his sixties working three jobs and trying to provide fell for a bad deal from someone he thought he could trust. He was wrong. Now they had a debt they couldn’t repay and somehow, someway, I was the tradeoff. What kind of monster did that?
“Momma, I’m going to go and do the best I can in whatever Mr. Beacon asks of me.” My stomach rolled in revolt at the thoughts of what he may require of me. “And in return, he will pay for you to have the best medical care and clear the debts. Momma, this is a chance to save your life. I’m not running from that. I won’t. So don’t ask me to. Together we’re gonna get through this.”
The doorbell rang reminding me of back in the day when the guillotine was being lowered, and I knew my time was done. The home I’d loved would now be a memory. My life was no longer my own.
Embracing my mother, I swallowed down all of my emotions and prepared for the battle ahead. Stepping away from my mom, she sobbed and I hurt for her, but she was out of options. It was either this, or we all died. My father working himself to the bone didn’t help. My mother still couldn’t get the care she needed to survive. And I was the one who could fix it for them. I could put their life back on track. How could I not do everything possible for her? Them? For us all?
“I’m so sorry.” Her voice was broken, and my heart hurt for her.
“Enough, Mom. You get better. That’s the only job you have right now. He said I can call once a month, maybe more, so I expect you to answer each and every time telling me you’re getting better and better. That’s your job, and I’ll do mine.”
She squeezed my hand. “When you’re a mother, your job is never done.” This crushed me inside, but all I could do was hope she’d be able to let this go and attend to her health.
“Love you, Mom. I’ll be perfectly fine.” At least I hoped so, but I wasn’t about to tell her my fears.
One thing at a time. One step at a time.
Pulling away, I grabbed some Kleenexes from the box and began to wipe down my face then blot my eyes. Thank goodness for waterproof mascara. I wasn’t about to let this asshole of a man see me broken in the slightest. Getting dolled up wasn’t for Mr. Beacon. No, it was for me. A shield to not let my emotions show. He didn’t get to have those. None of his people could have them either. I would wear my makeup like armor, day in and day out until my time was done.
He might have money, but that didn’t matter to me one bit. My hate for him ran deep. He wouldn’t see my pain, discomfort, or get any part of me inside.