Her Dad’s Best Friend

He sets me down on my bed.

"Rest."

Then he's gone. I look at the ring glittering on my finger. It's a mark of possession. He must have been really scared.

Then I hear a phone ringing. It's not my cell phone's ringtone. I realize that it's the secret phone that my dad smuggled to me. "Kelly, thank God I got hold of you."

"Dad? What's going on? What's with the secrecy? Why couldn't you just call my normal phone?"

"Your normal phone is bugged, sweetheart." He sighs.

"lacopo would never do that."

"Iacopo would do it in a heartbeat. You've been with him for long enough to know that he's ruthless when he wants to be."

I know that. "He's not like that with me."

"Sure, sweetheart. I heard about the fire. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. Iacopo has taken good care of me."

"Whatever you say. Listen, I found out where he was holding the evidence to blackmail me. And you. We can get you out."

"Where?"

"It's in his office in the warehouse."

"So go get it and disappear."

"Not that easy. His office is locked so that only he or someone with the right key can enter. He personally supervises the cleaning staff when they come in."

"So convince him to go into his office, distract him, and leave."

"You're going to do it."

"No way." I start to hyperventilate. I don't know what's going on between us. Maybe it's a little Stockholm Syndrome, but I really do care about him. And even if he hasn't said so, I know that he cares about me. "Listen, Kelly. Don't forget why you're there. You're there to save my life. You're also a hostage for my good behavior. Well, you can save both of us. Just get the RFID card that opens up his office and we can disappear. He might be a Mafia don, but there are places where he can't reach."

"Where?"

"South America. I'll take you to where the cartels will protect us."

"Dad, that sounds like out of the frying pan and into the fire."

"Sweetheart, you have to trust me here. I've built a network of contacts for this day. I thought he was going to shoot me on sight, but you bought me time. Now it's time for us to vanish."

"I can't do that, Dad." I love lacopo. Maybe. I look at the ring on my hand. Whatever we have isn't what Disney princesses have.

"You're going to." Now he sounds like my father, the man who told me that I had to eat Brussels sprouts. "Or I'll call him myself and tell him that you are planning on stealing from him. Do you know how he'll react?"

"You wouldn't," I whisper.

"You and I both know him well enough to know how he'd react to even a hint that he'd be betrayed by you. So go along with the plan, please. It's what's best for all of us."

I close my eyes. "I can't do this."

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