Chapter Two

Sierra

I climb into the backseat of Ambrose’s town car. I am a mess. I am upset and heartbroken. My father left not too long ago. It was one of the hardest goodbyes of my life. I don’t know what I am going to do without him. I can’t even call him. Anything that could be tracked has been left behind.

“I could have driven myself.” I snap as he slips in next to me.

“Someone will drive your car to my place.”

“Or better yet, you take it to my apartment because tomorrow I will be going back there,” I say firmly and cross my arms over my chest.

“No, you won’t be. You will stay with me until your father returns, or we get word you are out of harm’s way.”

“I am not staying with you.” I hiss, getting more irritated by the second.

“Yes, you are. I promised your father.” He hisses back.

“You can’t force me to stay!”

“Yes, I can. You are staying at mine. End of discussion, Sierra.” He says sternly.

“What are you going to do? Lock me up in your fucking basement or cuff me to the bed.”

Who does he think he is?

I watch a smirk curl on his lips. “If I need to.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head, “Go and screw yourself, Ambrose.”

I turn away from him and stare out of the window. The tears brim in my eyes. There will be a lot of tears, worry, and sadness for a while.

Ambrose sighs from next to me, “I know this isn’t ideal for either of us, but it is how it needs to be. I made a promise to your father, and I intend to keep it. You are at risk, Sierra and with me, you will be protected.”

His voice is softer than what I am used to.

I wipe my tears away and turn to face him. “It isn’t like he will know. He isn’t here. How much danger can I really be in?”

“I will know. You are in danger; that is all you need to know. If you don’t come and stay with me, I will come to your apartment to stay. It doesn’t matter either way. I will be around.”

My roommate doesn’t need him hanging around.

“And what about my classes and my work? Do I have to stop those, too?”

“Of course not. You can still go, but I will drop you off and pick you up. If I can’t, someone will. There will also be someone nearby in case you need them. Discreetly, of course.” He replies.

“Why don’t you just lock me up and throw away the keys?”

Sarcasm drips from every word.

“Stop being such a drama queen. There could be worse places for you to stay.”

I don’t even say another word. I am too exhausted to continue with the argument. I wish this were all a bad dream. It would kill me if I lost my father. The tears fall, and I don’t try to stop them this time. I don’t know how I am going to deal with staying with Ambrose. I am sure I can find a way to get away from him. I will stay for a few days until I can come up with a plan. There is no chance in hell that I will stay longer than needed. I can take care of myself. I sure don’t need him to protect me.

The rest of the ride is in silence, which is fine with me.

“What am I supposed to sleep in?” I ask as we pull up outside of his massive, fancy home. I have been here before with my father. I won’t be sleeping tonight. I will be too worried, but I would rather hide in a bedroom, in a bed, away from him.

“I will give you something to sleep in.”

“Okay,” I reply and climb out of the car.

The last place I want to be is here. I sigh as I wait for him to let us in. I need to get away from him. He finally appears and lets us inside, locking up behind us.

“Follow me.”

There is no emotion in his voice. I nod, and he leads me upstairs. He stops outside one of the many bedrooms he has. He opens the door and switches on the light.

“This will be your room. I will give you something to sleep in,” he says and walks away.

I head in and sit at the bottom of the bed, glancing around. I would rather be at home or at my father’s house. I wait for him to return. He does a few minutes later and comes into the room.

“Here. Sleep in those. Goodnight.”

He walks out and closes the door. I groan and change into the tee and joggers he gave me. I climb into bed, lie down and stare at the ceiling. I hope my dad is okay. I wish I knew where he planned on going. I assume he is out of the country if he is using a private jet. Wherever he is, I need him to be safe.

I close my eyes and try to think of other things, more positive things. It isn’t working. It is going to be a long night. I wish they would have told me more of what was going on. I can handle it. I am not a child.

I hate secrets! My father and I didn’t have them until now. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am angry with him. He wouldn’t have put either of us in danger on purpose, but I can’t help how I feel. Too many emotions are running around at once.

***

It is five in the morning, and I haven’t had a wink of sleep. The house has been quiet for a while. I assume Ambrose is asleep. Maybe this would be a good time for me to leave. He can’t stop me if he is sleeping.

I am as quiet as possible as I climb out of bed. I change back into my clothes. I can’t go home; Ambrose knows where I stay. I can find a friend to stay with. Anywhere is better than here. I sneak out of the room and downstairs. I listen carefully as I approach the front door, making sure he hasn’t woken up. I reach to unlock the door and smirk as I do.

Suddenly, a light comes on from behind me. I freeze.

“Where do you think you are going?” Ambrose’s annoyed voice says from behind me.

I roll my eyes. “Away.”

I hear him approach me. I am still going to take my chance. I pull the front door open. As I go to take a step outside, he grabs me from behind and pulls me back inside. He kicks the door closed and presses my back to it. I gasp, not expecting it. He steps in and traps me between him and the door.

“You aren’t going anywhere. Get back to bed.”

“No! Why won’t you just let me go? I don’t want to be here. You don’t want me here.”

He slams his hand against the door. I jump at his action.

“Stop acting like a fucking child. You are staying here, end of. Your father has enough to worry about. You don’t need to add to it.” He snaps, his breathing heavy.

He is staring down at me intensely. Is he trying to be intimidating? I place my hand on his chest and push him away from me.

“I fucking hate you.” I snarl and storm off.

“The feeling is mutual sweetness.” He calls back.

I honestly don’t know why we don’t get along. It didn’t really matter when I was younger. He just ignored me. The older I got, the more we clashed.

“And you call me a child,” I yell and rush upstairs.

I am twenty-three years old, but he is thirty-three. He should be more mature than I.

“Try and sneak out again, it will only make things more difficult for you.”

It is going to be torture! I can try and find a way to get away from him, but something tells me he isn’t going to make it easy for me. If I have to stay here, I need to make the most of it. I can make his life a living hell. He will tire of me, hopefully, and tell me to leave. It won’t take much to get under his skin. He already hates me, and he has no patience.

I toss myself back onto the bed and groan in frustration. Thank God I have a free day tomorrow since I won’t be sleeping. I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything with so much on my mind. I can’t even talk to anyone about it. I am on my own.