“Daddy, please don’t do this,” I begged, and he finally stilled.
“Did you have something to do with this, Willow?” Janet blurted and her voice broke in a way the tore my heart in two.
“Daddy, you asked me to trust you today. Will you trust me?”
His blue eyes met mine, soulful and true and hesitant.
“Don’t send her to prison. Lock her away in a safehouse for a few days while we deal with the Father,” I explained.
“Why, little girl?”
“He has her daughter,” I said simply. His eyes narrowed with anger for a split second before he said anything in return.
“I see,” he replied. “Take Janet into custody. Make sure you don’t hurt her. Take her to the Lisbon house. See to it that she is comfortable. Call in as much help as you need.”
“Willow,” Janet whispered in horror and I turned back to her. I swallowed hard.
“You may hate me now, Janet, but that will pass. Dean and I are going to deal with Father, and I’ll make sure that we bring your daughter back to you in the end.”
She looked at me with anger and fear. I didn’t blame her.
“Go with them. They’ll keep you safe until it’s done,” I added.
Her mouth tensed in a firm line before it finally relaxed.
“You love him, don’t you?” she asked, looking from me to Dean and back again.
“I do,” I answered shakily. “I want freedom from the family and the only way to do that is to kill the Father. You know that and so do I. Dean has the resources to make that happen.”
She was quiet as she studied me and then she took a shaky breath.
“Her name is Elsa,” she whispered. “She has my eyes.”
“She will be protected. I promise.”
“What if he kills you? The both of you? What’s going to happen to me?” she pressed.
“You will be kept captive for one week. If that period of time passes and your daughter is not returned to you, you will no longer be our hostage. You will be free to blame your absence on me,” I explained. I didn’t ask Dean for permission on this. I would explain everything to him later, but this was important to me.
He moved to my side and didn’t say a word. Instead, he just placed a hand on my shoulder in support and just when I thought I couldn’t love him any more, I did.
“We will not keep you prisoner. Please trust me,” I said softly.
Her eyes still held a sliver of suspicion and slid back to Dean.
“You will be kept inside a safehouse within my Lisbon home. You will be given food, water, and whatever else you need within reason. You will not be hurt,” he said gently.
She nodded once with understanding and I could see that her once sharp anger had faded away.
“Take care of yourself, Willow,” she whispered. “I expect to enjoy a glass of wine with you after this is all over where you will tell me all about this Dean and you.”
I smirked.
“I’m looking forward to it,” I exclaimed.
With a deep breath, she walked over to the men in suits, and they led her outside. They formed a tight ring around her, and I sighed with relief at knowing that she wasn’t going to prison for the rest of her life.
“Thank you, Daddy,” I whispered.
“Anything for my little girl,” he murmured, and he kissed the top of my head.
Chapter 11
It took two days to identify possible locations for the Father’s mansion and by that time, Dean and I were already on a private jet back to the States.
Dean had used every single resource at his disposal, from a deep investigation of Janet’s laptop, to a triangulation software that zeroed in on any call made from her cell phone, to a deep dive into the records of nearly everyone who lived in a mansion in upstate New York that was large enough to require a full-time cleaning staff. He didn’t leave a single stone unturned, and he brought whoever he needed to get the job done including his former FBI division. It didn’t take long to identify the right mansion after that.
It was day four when the preparations for a full-scale assault on the compound started to come together and it was day five when it finally took place.
Dean and I oversaw the whole thing from a safehouse location just down the street. He refused to allow me to take part directly because it was exceedingly dangerous. There was the possibility of a massive gunfight and he wouldn’t allow me to get caught up in the crossfire. This was best left to the professionals. Even I knew that.
But that didn’t mean that I wasn’t going to watch the whole thing.
Shortly before the raid was to begin, the FBI director joined us. Dean knew him already and said hello and then the director introduced himself to me.
“It’s nice to meet you, Willow Rose. My name is Robert Luxor,” he said.
I nodded in greeting, echoing his softly. He cleared his throat rather arrogantly and I narrowed my eyes in his direction, suddenly very suspicious of his intentions.
“You’ve been a busy girl for the past several years, haven’t you, Willow? Extortion. Blackmail. Theft. Breaking and entering. False identities, the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?” Robert asked.
“I know.” I flinched. It was only a matter of time before my misdeeds caught up to me. I’d known that ever since Dean had told me that the FBI had discovered me, and I wondered if even Daddy could protect me from my own past.
I watched the massive projection screen at the front of the room. There were men gathered all around the tall iron fencing that surrounded the place. The sun was setting,
