King of His Destiny

By Stacy Lee

King of HIs Destiny
Dolva Book 1
*Contains violence. For mature readers only. 18 and up*

Feeling sluggish and nauseated Elle leaves the restaurant located on the NYU campus to wait in the car for her friend to drive her home. In the ten minutes it takes for that friend to follow her out a man slams her against a car and attacks her. When she regains consciousness Elle can no more point a finger at her attacker than she can remember what really happened. Three years later, unable to leave her home for fear of her attacker finding her, shut-in Elle Brighton must fulfill a promise by traveling to a faraway country to attend her best friend’s wedding. Suffering from deliberating panic attacks and overwhelming fear she conquers the airport to arrive in Dolva scared and in need of somewhere to hide.
Unwilling to let her friend suffer any longer Cynthia devises a plan to not only get Elle out of the house but to move her, without her knowledge of course, to Dolva permanently. With the help of Elle’s neighbor she manages to get Elle on a plane and in route to Dolva but now she had to give her a reason to stay. Hopefully the single King, her fiancé’s brother, will snag her attention enough to distract her while Cynthia finalizes her plans and Elle’s future.
One look at the petite terrified auburn haired Elle and Sterling is lost. He fought the plans his brothers and Cynthia threw at him but can he resist the woman herself? In a moment of weakness on his part Sterling convinces himself making love to her while she doesn’t know who he is was a good idea and would help her through her difficult times. The problem wasn’t the idea he could help her but the idea only once would ever be enough. Now he had to convince the scared little rabbit that letting him tell her who he is was the right thing to do because no way in hell can he let her continue to think he is just a random employee of the Royal family. One problem, his destiny was planned for him many years ago. In less than three months he would have no choice but marry the woman he has despised for years. Sterling had only till his birthday to find another woman to be his Queen, a suitable woman. Elle was a foreigner and a woman who couldn’t stand before a crowd without having a panic attack. How can he make her his Queen? Is love enough to enrage an entire country over? Can he prove to himself and to his country that he was more than Dolva’s King? He was King of His Destiny.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stacy Lee
• Release date: Dec 23, 2014
• ISBN: 9781310516733

Stacy Lee

Hello Y'all!I started writing children's books as a way to get my very stubborn younger two children to read. My oldest was an avid reader and still reads everything I write (she is 19 now!) but the younger two still refuse to love the written word as the two of us do. So now I am trying my hand at adult fiction. It is a big change from the simple stories of make-believe I have written in the past and I cant wait to get feed back from ya'll. I am a native Texan (as I'm sure you have figured out!). I have lived in a small coastal town all my life and love our small farm. I am a professional photographer by trade but have always picked up a pen (or peck at the keys) when times turned rough, although now it's more for fun. I hope ya'll enjoy the world I have created!Happy reading Y'all!

Book preview

King of His Destiny

by

Stacy Lee

Dolva

Book One

King of His Destiny

Copyright © 2014 by Stacy Lee

All Rights Reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

This novel is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events: to real people, living or dead: or to real locales are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.

* * * * * *

Acknowledgments

This one is for my sister. I know you aren’t a reader and will probably never see this but I want you to know you have been my best friend, favorite person, hero and who I aspire to be all of my coherent life. (That would be after age three! You were still dressing me up like a doll at age three!) I love you, Tammie Sue. May you find your happiness in the arms of love and remember to never let others opinions take away your moment.

King of His Destiny

Dolva

Book 1

Prologue

Ms. Sampson? I’m Dr. Carlyle. A strong husky voice pulls Elle from a drug induced stupor. Unable to open her eyes she listens to the man and her best friend, Cynthia Sampson, talk in low hushed tones.

How is she? How is who? Elle’s mind races trying to figure out what is happening. Where is she? Who is Cynthia speaking with? Why did she feel like a Mac truck hit her at full speed without ever applying the brakes? And most importantly, why can’t she remember anything from tonight? There’s absolutely nothing there after they left class after lunch.

Physically very little damage was done. There is bruising on her hips and across her front from him holding her against the car. Plus a handprint around her neck along with a small cut from the knife he held against her flesh. Tearing from penetration and vaginal bruising as well. If I had to guess I’d say he was far from gentle with her, but all in all, she is lucky. An irate half sob, half snort comes from Cynthia.

Lucky? The man raped her in a well-lit parking lot on campus in front of half a dozen students and he walked away without being seen! How is that lucky, Dr. Carmichael? Her outraged voice pricks Elle’s memory.

It’s Carlyle. His correction is lost on Elle.

Oh, God!

Cynthia was right. The man came up behind her, surprised her, she never saw him.

Oh, God, Oh God, Oh God!

She can feel her body begin to vibrate and loud noises begin to wail but all she can hear, feel, see, smell is that parking lot, bourbon and the man that assaulted her.

The man that took her virginity.

Nurse, get me a sedative. Cynthia stares down at her best friend of three years and tears overrun her lids. She’d been right behind her. If she hadn’t stopped to flirt with Jeffrey, the new waiter at the pub on campus, she would have been able to stop it or at least called out for help. Ten minutes, that’s all it took to shatter the most vibrant woman she knew. She felt horrible as she stood back in the hospital room and watched the nurse shoot a clear liquid into Elle’s IV. Almost instantly Elle’s flailing body calms.

That will keep her asleep for several hours, Ms. Sampson. Go home and freshen up, come back tomorrow. Cynthia shakes her head. This was her fault, she could have stopped it. She should have walked out with Elle. She knew she wasn’t feeling well. She should have paid more attention to her.

No, I’ll stay with her. Elle was alone in this world, except for Cindy. Her parents died in a car accident when she was sixteen. She didn’t have any siblings and because of her extremely high IQ she’d been deemed a responsible adult by the courts and left alone. She took the insurance money from their deaths and bought herself a small two bedroom home close to the NYU campus and the two of them had lived in it together since one week after classes started.

When Cynthia first saw the little pipsqueak in her chemistry class she had thought the girl was in the wrong class, the wrong school! She walked right up to the more strawberry than blonde teenager with the most expressive blue eyes and told her the high school was two streets over. Elle had rolled her eyes and said ‘You think that’s the first time I’ve heard that line? I graduated at fourteen as valedictorian from a class of over nine hundred students. I am here on full academic scholarship and I have never had below a 4.0 average. Can you say the same, Barbie?"

Cynthia’s mouth had dropped open as she stared at the little twerp. Cynthia’s blonde hair, blue eyes, and less than stellar smarts had achieved her the nickname Barbie in elementary school and she hated it. Later on in Jr High she developed breasts long before the other girls did and the name was thrown around even more but with a totally different meaning behind it. The little brat before her had no idea about that though. Cynthia smiled and let it roll off her back, for now. By the time the conversation was over every other seat was taken and she was forced to sit next to Elle for class.

For the next week she tried to avoid the little brat but she kept popping up in all her classes. Finally, she cornered her at lunch in the small pub on campus and asked her if she was following her around or something? Elle smarted off, Cynthia smarted off, one thing led to another and by the end of lunch they were best friends. Funny how that works.

Two days later Cindy was cranky and upset about her loud, obnoxious, nympho, snoring roommate and her lack of sleep. Elle offered her the spare room in her small home and she had gratefully accepted. The first two years she had paid rent but after she realized Elle was putting it all in a savings account and planned on giving it back to her for a graduation present she decided to put her money to better uses, like shoes. Elle didn’t care, she had money from the accident and her parent’s death, she didn’t need it. The house was paid for in full and all she paid was utilities which with them never home were cheap. Cindy convinced Elle to switch off every other month to let her pay something. After a long debate and Cindy explaining she needed to pay something to feel responsible, Elle gave in. Seeing that kind generous woman lying beaten and broken in the hospital bed before her now almost killed her.

You said she had a drink at the pub, do you know what? Beer, shots, mixed drink? The doctor pulls her attention from her memories and she answers automatically. The policeman who has been hanging close by scoots in to hear.

She is only nineteen, she had a plain coke. Elle doesn’t drink. Her parents were killed by a drunk driver. After her second she complained of being dizzy and nauseous and I told her I’d take her home then return to the small party we were attending for a friend who has just gotten engaged. The flu has been going around our classes and I thought she might be catching it. She walked out before me to lie down in the backseat while I said my goodbyes and assured them I’d return. I followed no more than ten minutes later. A sob wrenches from her throat and she has to pause, giving both the doctor and policeman time to ask a question. The same question they all ask when they find out her age.

Nineteen? They say together, their eyes roaming her body. She didn’t look nineteen, she looked twelve in that big bed, but to the men she probably looked closer to twenty-five. She had grown up since the pipsqueak days of freshman year.

Having her own personal clothing advisor helped immensely. Cynthia didn’t let her step foot out of the front door without making sure she at least looked the same age as her. She couldn’t have people thinking she was taking advantage of the five year difference between them. The last thing she needed was to be ridiculed for hanging with the brainiac Elle. If Cynthia kept her looking the part of the hot BFF then she didn’t have to explain why she was with her. Elle was fun to be with in a private setting but out in public she could be rather shy. The fact she was so much younger than the people Cindy hung with and they made her feel stupid more than they made her feel welcome, could have something to do with it.

But you said you just started your last year of classes, meaning both of you. How is that possible? The irritation in the officer’s voice snaps her temper.

It’s possible Officer….. She raises a single brow prompting a name.

Jordan.

It’s possible Officer Jordan, because she’s a fucking genius! Now back off and do your job. Go find that man before he does this again! With that she plops herself into a chair and refuses to answer anything else till Elle awakens.

One Year Later

Come on Elle. Come with me. It will be a blast and you already know the language. Please? Cynthia begs her one last time before she has to leave to make her plane. She couldn’t believe they were finished with school, finally! Cindy had scored an entry level position as a political liaison for the Prince of a small country no one has ever heard of on the other side of the world. After three long months of begging Elle to join her it was time to leave. With or without her best friend.

You know I can’t. Elle mumbles, never taking her eyes from her computer screen. Hacking into someone’s Facebook with an ability to comb through their life like a stalker then back out without anyone being any wiser should not be so easy for one person. For Elle it was every day work. She didn’t hurt anyone, wasn’t using the information in any way that was illegal or harmful. Matter of fact, she didn’t even look at anything but the photos and that was only to make her job easier. A job the person had paid her to do to begin with.

Yes, you can. You haven’t left this house in over a year, Elle. NYU was generous enough to let you finish your courses online and still give you the credits needed to get your degree but that’s over now. You have to get out of this house, Elle. Hell, you didn’t even go to graduation and you were the top ranked student. Valedictorians should attend their graduation! Elle shakes her head ignoring Cindy for all she’s worth. There was no way she was stepping outside those doors. He was still out there, somewhere. Elle, sweetie, you know they won’t find him. You never saw him, he came at you from behind, held you to the car and hurt you, but you never once saw, smelt or heard anything to identify him. No one saw him! You have to let this go, you can’t stay in this house forever. Cynthia pleads the same case she has pled for a year now. It still won’t work.

Wanna make a bet? She quips sarcastically, but inside Elle was dying. That man not only took her virginity he took her life. Sometimes she wished he had just killed her. She had been a vibrant young woman before the ‘incident’ (she refused to call it ‘rape’, it was crude) who enjoyed life. Now she was a shut-in that barely looked out the windows much less stepped out the door.

Branelle Poinsett Brighton! Listen to me. I am leaving, no one is going to go shopping for you any more, bring you what you need, deliver your paintings to customers, no one will be here! Cindy stomps her foot irritably trying to make Elle see life had to go on. Elle just smiles sadly.

I hired the boy next door to do all that for me. She stands and faces her friend; she hadn’t wanted to say good-bye. She just wanted Cindy to leave and call when she made it, this was too much. Though she knew her friend was looking out for her, she also knew it hurt her to leave Elle alone like this. As reassuringly as she could, she gives Cynthia a hug then steps away. I’ll be fine, Cindy. Go. Make a life for yourself out there. Be happy, for me. Cynthia sighs deeply then drags Elle into her arms. She lets her even though she has never been much on physical affection. Her parents weren’t overly loving or touching, and she had never understood Cynthia’s need to touch, to embrace, often.

Just promise me something? Her brow rises and she waits for Cindy’s request. If I find true love over there and fall head over heels, you will leave this house and come to my wedding. Promise me? Elle snorts, loudly. Cynthia was the biggest cynic when it came to ‘true love’ that she had ever met. She was a touchy feely type person but she had been hurt one too many times by the opposite sex, and she would never ‘fall head over heels’ with anyone!

I promise, Cynthia. If you lose your freakin’ mind and decide to get married, I will be there with big shiny bells on. Another hug to seal the deal and Cynthia finally leaves their home to explore the world. Elle can’t help but feel melancholy. Traveling, working, people, trust, friends, fresh air, sunshine, rain, dating, love. All these things she was missing in life because one man’s need to attack her.

She mentally shakes it off, much like she had been doing for a year now, closes her computer and steps into Cindy’s empty room. Time to make a studio out of this empty space. With a sad smile she concentrates on the only thing she had left that she enjoyed. That man took her freedom, her peace of mind, her confidence, and her innocence but she wouldn’t let him take her art also.

Chapter One

Thanks, Miss Elle. Johnny yells over his shoulder as he trots down the driveway shoving three month’s pay in his pocket. Five foot eight at sixteen, she was sure he would grow to be at least six foot before he hit adulthood. His thin wiry frame has no problem jogging the short length of her drive, his budding muscles from his recent interest in lifting weights flexing under the t-shirt that wasn’t too tight last week but seemed to be this week. His light chestnut hair barely brushed the top of his collar, floppy and curly, his hazel eyes sparkle with amusement he never loses, and his lips grin back at her in a smile she has come to expect on his thinning face. No longer a boy but growing quickly into a man. Elle wishes she could freeze time and stop him from hitting puberty and learning about hormones.

Watching from inside the house, before closing and locking the door, she smiles as he climbs into the old beat up El Camino she had inadvertently paid for over the last two years. When she asked Johnny to be her ‘errand boy’ she convinced him to open a savings account and let her put every penny in it for him to buy his first car when he turned sixteen. He had balked at first, being fourteen he wanted the cash, but with Tammie, his single young mothers, help they convinced him of the rewards. Now she has to smile each time he drove by in the old car.

He was a great mechanic and was slowly fixing the classic up and returning it to mint condition. Again, using her money for repairs. Which is what brought him by so early today. He had asked last night if he could get an advance for the next two months because he needed something for the knock in the engine. A new piston or head or something. She was brilliant, but not when it came to cars.

She happily agreed and had actually given him three month’s pay. She kept a bit of cash on hand for emergencies and was happy to pay him out of that. She will get him to replace it from her bank card a small amount at a time so he isn’t carrying large amounts of cash on his person. She didn’t want to be the reason someone attacked him. She would still deposit his normal salary each month into his account via online. She had more money than she could possibly spend, (Never leaving your home has advantages, like you don’t go on shopping sprees. Although online shopping has made that easier than it used to be.) why not help the boy out. They had been good to her since Cynthia left two years ago.

She could call on him or his mother anytime night or day and they were there for her one way or another. His mother was thrilled he had a decent job that helped take a load off her but she had also expressed her gratitude for Elle’s encouragements and the strength in character that she gives her son. Elle just wanted Johnny to succeed. He was a good boy.

With Tammie working two to three jobs at a time she often found Johnny in her home talking to her and keeping her company versus sitting alone by himself while his mother worked from four in the morning till two the following morning. She had tried to offer Tammie a job to lessen her burden and allow her to spend more time with Johnny but still being young, recently thirty-one, she refused ‘charity’. Elle hadn’t seen it as such. Up until recently Tammie drove Johnny everywhere she needed him to go and although she did pay for all of Tammie’s gas, she wouldn’t let her give her anything else. She claimed that’s why Elle paid Johnny.

Her computer beeping behind her reminds her of the skype call she routinely took from Cindy every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Glancing to her watch she putters over to the computer and turns everything on. In a matter of minutes Cynthia Jean’s face fills the screen. The first thing Elle notices is her smile. Cynthia hadn’t been this happy in a while. Absently she wonders when was the last time she herself had smiled liked that?

Three years, four months, seven days, she glances at her watch again, three hours and twenty one minutes, to be exact.

Hey, girl! You look good. What happened from two days ago? You were so moody! She fakes a shudder and Cynthia laughs just as she wanted.

Something amazing has happened. You have to guess! No, you will never guess! Never in a million years! She giggles giddily and Elle can’t help but smile, even if it’s a bit sadly.

You fell head over heels in love and are getting married! She quips knowing it’s the farthest thing from the truth she could say. That is till Cindy’s mouth drops open in surprise and her head bobs nervously. Elle sits up straighter, her hands grip the desk and she stares her best friend in the eyes. You weren’t seeing anyone two days ago! What the hell happened between then and now?! She sounds belligerent and irate but Cynthia sees it for what it is, panic. She calmly tries to explain.

I was seeing him two days ago, well, no I wasn’t. We had gotten into a fight on Sunday and when I talked to you on Monday I was upset about it and not sure where things were going. But this morning he apologized and set things right just before he proposed! By the time she is done she’s bouncing on her toes in excitement, her left hand inches from the camera showing off a massive diamond. Elle can’t speak, can’t breathe, can’t think! Married?! That meant a wedding. A wedding she promised to attend. She was screwed.

How long? She meant how long before she had to leave the house. She had made a promise and she would keep it, but she was terrified. Caught up in her own happiness, as she should be, Cynthia answers what she thinks she’s asked.

I’ve known him since I arrived but we have only been seeing each other for three months, though it has been kept mutually quite. Aras is powerful in this country and he didn’t want anyone interfering. If wind got out that he was in a relationship before he was ready to own up to it all hell would break loose. She rolls her eyes like she is only repeating something her man has said. Then her nervous tell makes an appearance. She wraps the loose strands of blonde hair by her ear around her finger, over and over again. Elle? You will come, right? Elle takes a deep breath trying to stave off the panic. Her eyes stray to the portrait of her parents she painted a few years back and a small modicum of calm slips into her bearing.

When? The strangled whisper concerns Cynthia but she plows on knowing the only way to deal with Elle is to give her facts. Straight-up-no-holds-barred-truths. That’s what Elle understood best.

The wedding will be in just over two months, on Christmas day! She clasps her hands excitedly, it was just what Cynthia always wanted, before continuing. But I need you here ASAP! A slight nod from Elle pushes her forward. They have all these traditions and things they do. It is a three week celebration with friends, family and country. We will also have private celebrations for the engagement and such over the next four weeks. Meaning I need you at my side no less than two months. She replies giddily, now that she had a somewhat acceptance from Elle she plows on.

They don’t have bridesmaids and such but Aras said that we could make a place for you in the wedding if that’s what I wanted, and of course it is. You are my sister and I would have it no other way! Elle’s head is shaking before the sentence is finished.

I will come but you must promise not to include me in the wedding party, Cindy. I will do good being with all those people and not having a panic attack. Don’t put me in front of them. That’s my condition. Take it or leave it. She puts her proverbial foot down and tries to ignore the disappointment in her friend’s eyes.

Why Cynthia was surprised by this condition, she didn’t know? Elle hadn’t left the house in over three years, hadn’t had contact with anyone but Cindy, Johnny and Tammie in those three years. Besides the policeman, Officer Jordan, that occasionally stopped by to assure her they hadn’t given up (which she knew they had) on finding the man that attacked her, no one came to see her. She was alone in this world and she had been for a long time.

If that’s what you want. As long as you are here, I will be happy. So when can you come? Flash of disappointment gone, she hops up and down on her toes.

Let me search while we talk. I have two paintings I must finish by the end of this week but after that I have nothing on a deadline. Well, nothing I can’t do over there and send back here to Johnny. He can take care of it after that. She doesn’t tell Cynthia of the nursing classes she will have to put on hold till next semester, or the test she was supposed to take closer to Christmas or the fact her instructor had agreed to come to the house to administer both the test and the hands on requirements for the class. To fulfill her promise she will put what little life she has on hold to make her friend happy. It was the least she could do. Cynthia has been there for her when no one else ever was, not since her parent’s death anyway. She had years to finish her nursing degree because she had years before she was sure she would be able to use it. Besides this trip she has no intentions of leaving her house anytime in the coming future.

She minimizes the window holding Cindy and begins to search for plane tickets to Dolva, a small island country way off the shores of Ireland. Governed for hundreds of years by the Royal Bracklav family, it was one of the few places left you could actually meet a real live King and see a castle that wasn’t in ruins. While Cynthia regales her with tales of the charming Aras and advises her on her wardrobe necessities, she searches quickly for what she needs.

Gleaning she will be gone just over two months, she makes the arrangements for accommodations and airfare on what information Cindy tells her. By the end of their Skype call she is booked on a flight leaving early Saturday morning and returning on New Year’s Day. Nine weeks away from her home all because she made a stupid promise. Against Cindy’s protests she has a hotel room reserved and a car rented. It has been three years since she drove but she was sure it was like riding a bike, and she shouldn’t have forgotten much in that time.

Remember to bring nice clothing and more than just your converse. Slacks and blouses not just t-shirts, jeans and sweaters. A heavy coat for outside jaunts in the snow and something light for diners out. You know how cold you get in restaurants. Like I said Aras is important in his country and you need to look your best. Oh, and make sure you put that fire out before you get on the plane. I gotta go. Love ya. Cindy smirks with a comment she had been using on Elle since the first day they met. Her strawberry blonde hair, that was more strawberry than blonde, often looked like a raging inferno around her head. Curly when it’s shorter it was only wavy as it swung past her hips and covered most of her flat ass.

She has never had a problem keeping weight off but has found it difficult to keep the weight on. Her metabolism ran rampant and kept her slim no matter how much cake and donuts she gorged on. The only problem with her thin petite five foot nothing frame is her tits and ass were just as little. Small chest and flat ass aside she was very fit for twenty-two. Especially since she never left her house. Thank you Mr. Treadmill!

Love you to, see you soon. She smiles forcibly and ends the call. Once the screen goes black her world tilts. With no one watching, her breathing races, her heartbeat thunders in her ears and her blood pressure spikes. The last thing she ever expected was for Cindy to fall in love!

No! No, no, no! This isn’t happening! Her heart races faster, her pulse thunders louder, her breathing is harsh and panicked coming in small strangled pants. She pushes back from the desk and places her head between her knees trying to stave off the panic attack. It’s no use. The room closes in around her, growing smaller and smaller every second that ticks by.

Dolva!

She was going to Dolva for nine weeks! Her breath comes in raw hoarse pants, oxygen fights to enter her closed off lungs. How would she survive the trip much less the stay if just the thought sends her into a panic attack?

He’s out there. He will find her. Attack her again. How can she hide if she is in the open in a foreign country? Not just hide from him but men in general. They will be out there, they will see her, touch her, someone will do it again!

She grabs a paper bag from her desk drawer and fights to hold on, tries to breath slowly into the bag, tries to calm down, it’s no use. Once she hits this stage there was nothing short of a miracle that could pull her back from passing out. Not even staring at her parent’s portrait can calm her now. Darkness tinges her vision, clouding in from all sides of the too small room. Her last thought before she gives up the struggle is ‘death would have been preferable to this!’

By the time she regains her wits the sun has set low in the sky and Johnny is beating on her door.

Miss Elle? You okay?! His voice carries through the shut and triple bolted, double chained and knob locked door.

Be right there. She croaks out then stumbles to the door, releasing her locks. She hides behind the large thick wood while Johnny strolls in carrying her bags of groceries. He places them on the desk beside her computer knowing she doesn’t like him moving further into the house. He doesn’t take offense because she explained when he first started working for her why she was how she was. She told him of the attack and how she was afraid of that man coming after her. How she didn’t want people touching her things or coming into the house and invading her personal space because it was rude and not necessary. His mother explained later that it wasn’t her house or her things she was protecting but herself. The man who attacked her invaded her personal space and took her safety from her, now she was protecting the only safe place she had left. Her home.

Glancing at the screen he does a double take before sitting down in stunned silence. He never believed she would do it. She watches him read the itinerary before he glances to her with a huge smile.

You taking a trip, Miss Elle? She nods slowly. The confirmation to her flight and accommodations sits right there for all the world to see. Her vision blurs with the thought and she forcibly shakes her head to push the panic away. Her eyes stray to the portrait of her parents, a little calm overrides some of the panic but nowhere near enough of it.

Do you remember Cynthia? He nods. She has fallen in love and I promised two years ago if she ever got married I would be there. Looks like I’m going to Dolva. I’m going to be gone for nine weeks. I’ll have to send orders to you and have you deliver them. I only have two that will be due before I return, individual portraits of a pair of sisters for a single father, so they will go to the same address. Can you take care of the place while I’m gone? She looks around worriedly. This would be too much for him. He would have to come in without her here. He could go through her things, snoop in her stuff, no, she couldn’t do this. She couldn’t leave.

In the next breath she chastises herself inwardly for being too weak to fulfil her promises. She made the promise to Cynthia and she damn well will keep it. She had only ever made two promises in her life, one to her parent’s memory and the other to Cynthia. In the dark days after their death she made an oath she would never touch a drop of alcohol, not even a single swallow. The man who killed both her parents in one quick moment had been twice the legal drinking limit and well on his way to being twice more over it. She knew the dangers of alcohol and drugs and she would never reduce herself to that level of stupidity. She would keep her promise to them just as she had to keep her promise to Cynthia. It didn’t matter she was leaving her things to be pilfered through, and honestly she knew Johnny wouldn’t do it anyway, it was irrational and not like her at all.

Of course! Dolva is up near Ireland, right? It’s her turn to nod. No offense Miss Elle, but if you are going there you might need to go shopping. Your clothes are…… He looks around nervously before taking a breath and finishing, his cheeks flaming. Old. Out of date and worn. It will be freezing cold and you don’t have adequate attire. You want me to take you to a store or something? Her head is shaking before he finishes, but she is looking down at her torn jeans and faded shirt with concern. He hated making her feel bad but he was on a mission, a well-paying mission.

I can order them online. She states firmly. He was right, she hadn’t bought new clothes in over three years and hers were terribly old and outdated. Cindy would die for her to show up in the same dress she wore their junior year. She never understood why Cynthia went into politics and law when she was so much a debutant. She loved fashion. She refused to embarrass her friend at her wedding.

But this says you leave at four a.m. on Saturday. They won’t be here in time. Let me take you to a store? Johnny was persistent but not pushy. Cynthia had told him not to push or she wouldn’t do it at all. The woman wanted her friend dressed appropriately for what was coming. She hadn’t been specific but she had told him Elle needed to be in her best.

No. I can shop in-store online and have you pick them up for me tomorrow, if you will, that is? Still looking down at her ratty t-shirt and faded jeans she hears Cindy’s voice in her head, ‘Aras is important here…celebrations for the engagement… with friends, family and country.’. She would probably need something fancy. Her mind racing, she barely hears his response.

Of course, I will. That’s what you pay me for. How will you get to the airport, you want me to take you? Her head pops up and her breathing labors. Yeah, I should take you. Reading the panic in her eyes, he knows she will never get on that plane if she is left to do it alone. He had a friend whose dad, Jim, worked at the airline and even before he pulls from her driveway he will be on the phone setting up arrangements to walk her to her gate. The woman needed to get out, she never even stepped over the threshold as far as he knew, maybe didn’t look out the window. Except for him and his mother he had never seen anyone else enter the house. Yeah, he needed to take her.

Making his way to the door he turns to address her once more. She is still where he left her deep in thought. I’ll pick up your clothes tomorrow after school, just text me the store names, and I’ll be here at one Friday night. That should give us plenty of time to get through airport security. Bye Miss Elle. He waits to see if she will move to shut the door as normal but she is lost in thought. Lock up, Miss Elle. He says it louder than normal, pulling her from her mind. He winks at the pretty woman not much older than himself and trots down the porch stairs. He listens for her locks to turn then takes out his phone.

Once the airport is set up he makes the call to Cynthia to assure her he did his part and Elle would be ordering new clothes for her trip. He would have her on that plane looking her age if it killed him. Cynthia was paying him big bucks for this assignment, not that she didn’t pay well just to keep an eye on Elle every month, but this was different. Once and for all they would get her out of that house!

Chapter Two

Come on Miss Elle. We need to get going. I have your luggage in the back, your backpack is here, Johnny helps her into the straps over her large coat, the snow had been falling since early yesterday and he hopped her plane wasn’t delayed. Then again if he couldn’t get her in the car soon she would miss it. you have on your coat, and your e-reader is in your hands. All set. Let’s go. He gently takes her by the arm and urges her to the door. Her feet drag along not taking steps.

Did I give you the key? I need to give you the key. She fumbles with the bag on her back but Johnny puts a hand on hers to still her action. Tammie stands on the porch wrapped in her pink robe and Johnny glances at her for help. She had only arrived home a short time ago and with her sons pleads she went with him to try and load the frightened young woman into the car.

She tries not to chuckle at her sons insistence on getting the woman out of the house. She understands Elle’s problem though she doesn’t agree with how she handles it. They had moved in three months before Elle’s attack and she had been the most vibrant, argumentative, steady, brilliant, rock Tammie had ever met. In that single night that man had crumpled something inside her and devastated her completely. She watched her struggle with leaving the first few weeks she was home from the hospital, watched her eventually refuse anyone’s invitation to exit the house, watched her close in on herself and succumb to the panic that raced through her.

She also watched Cynthia blame herself for the attack and subsequently Elle’s decline. She relentlessly tried to remove Elle from the home because if she succeeded she wouldn’t have to feel as guilty about flirting with a boy she really wasn’t interested in while her friend was raped mere feet from her. But unlike Cynthia and her son, she knew in