Braylee and Cecily both looked up at him with concern in their faces. He didn’t want to worry them even though he was worried. He took his seat and re-fastened his seatbelt.
Braylee attempted to sound lighthearted. “Everything okay?”
“It’s monsoon season. We’re going to have to fly through a storm. The good news is we should be landing in the next hour or so.”
*****
The last hour aged Alex and Braylee, at least, ten years. It was a horrifying experience. They each quietly thanked God they made it and were about to land.
Once the plane touched the ground, there seemed to be a sigh of relief from everyone. No one moved from their seats until the plane came to a complete stop. It was a small airstrip.
“Uncle Alex?” Cecily looked up at him with true remorse in her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He was so thankful that they’d arrived safely that he couldn’t hold on to his anger. “Me too.”
Braylee couldn’t help thinking that one day Alex was going to be an amazing father. He’d already proven it with Cecily.
As they descended from the plane, the rain was still coming down so hard that they could barely see anything in front of them. She had to squint to see the cars with headlights directed towards them. Security tried to keep them covered with umbrellas, but it wasn’t much help with the howling wind and almost torrential rains. Yet, the closer Braylee walked to their cars, the more a shape came into view. A woman stood in the rain with several men surrounding her, holding an umbrella over her head.
Her eyes locked onto Alex. She yelled out over the rains and wind. “Welcome to Guilin.” Gina’s stare turned angry when she noticed Braylee. But, the hardness of her features all fell away when Cecily stepped from behind her.
Cecily’s eyes grew large as saucers. She looked from Gina to Alex and back to Gina. She whispered. “I thought you were dead?” The wind and rain carried the sound of her voice away, but Gina was able to make out every single word.
Her lips tightened as she stared at her. “She shouldn’t be here Alex! It’s too dangerous for her to be here.”
Cecily couldn’t take her eyes away either. She drank in all of her features.
“Cecily is my concern, not yours. My men and I will keep her safe. If anyone should be worried, it should be you.”
Quickly, her eyes darted back to him. “I’m not your immediate concern. If you want to remain safe while you’re here in China, you should follow me to my home.”
There was so much Cecily wanted to say as she looked from Alex to Gina. They’d lied to her. They LIED to her! They knew her mother was alive all this time and kept it a secret. Why? Why would they do that to her? Why would her father deliberately lie to her?
“That won’t be necessary. I have my own plans.”
Her eyes softened for a moment. “Alex! Listen to me. My father has eyes and ears everywhere. If you don’t think he will find out you and Cecily are here you are crazy. I have people who are loyal to only me. If you won’t do it for yourself, then, at least, think of Cecily.” Gina’s eyes moved to Braylee. “I didn’t have anything to do with your car exploding, or…” She swallowed as she looked at the shell-shocked Cecily. “Or, the death of Luciano. That was my father’s doing.”
Alexandro debated what to do. Braylee touched his hand. “We can’t stand out here in this weather.” The last thing she wanted was to share the same space as Gina, but she felt the woman was being sincere.
He made the decision to trust Gina on this. China, after all, was her turf. “We’ll follow in our cars.”
Gina nodded as her eyes stole one more glance at Cecily. The little girl looked as if she were going to break into a million pieces.
When they all piled into their cars, Braylee sat in-between Alex and Cecily. He didn’t know what to say. He was at a loss for words. Her body was tense as she gazed out of the window. What could have been rain on her pretty little heart shaped face, he quickly learned were tears.
“Cecily….I…”
She wouldn’t—she couldn’t even look at him. “You lied to me. You all lied to me.” She put her hands into her face as she cried. “My daddy lied to me.”
Chapter 16
The drive to wherever Gina was taking them was made in silence. The weather was getting worse.
It couldn’t have been more apropos, since, on this night, the innocence of a little girl had been lost. The people she trusted the most had betrayed her and she didn’t know who she could count on. All she knew was that her mother had been alive all this time. This felt like a nightmare that she couldn’t wake up from. Cicely had so many questions. Why didn’t her mother try to reach out to her? The obvious answer was because she didn’t want to. She didn’t want her. Is that why they lied to her all this time?
Braylee was wrapped up in her own thoughts as well. The energy between Alex and Gina was undeniable. It wasn’t something she’d imagined. While Gina may have chosen Luciano, it was quite clear that there were some unresolved feelings between her and Alex.
It had only been a few hours, but it seemed like a lifetime ago that he’d looked into her eyes and told her
