The Virgin and Her Bodyguard

Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

NOLIA

M y dad is up to something. I can tell by his mood. He may think he's hiding it from me, but I can sense it. I’m sure he can tell I’m off too. He hasn't mentioned that I didn’t come home the night before, and he had to know. Still, neither one of us is mentioning it.

“Hey, sweetheart.” My dad knocks on my own door, and I notice he’s not dressed in his normal jeans and shirt. He’s wearing black pants and a black shirt.

“You’re going somewhere,” I say before he can.

“I have a few things I need to handle.” He comes in to sit down on the bed next to me.

“What do you have to handle?” My dad never goes anywhere. Not even to visit my aunt, his sister. He calls her from time to time, but that’s about it. I swear this place has an invisible chain on him.

“Just some things.” I hate how vague he’s being. It’s making me paranoid. “I’ve been thinking about what you said.”

“What? That you should stop sneaking bacon?” Dad chuckles, but the laughter doesn’t meet his eyes. In fact, his eyes seem sad. The same way they get when he talks about Mom.

“About getting out of here.”

“Really?” I sit up on my bed and cross my legs. This sounds too easy. Why has he suddenly had this change of heart? Does he know about Luca or think we might be in danger?

“It won’t be easy, but when the sun goes down, I want you to sneak out of here with the intention of never coming back.” Of course, he’s aware of my escape route. I never told him as much, but my dad sees more than most people realize. “Do you understand?”

“Okay,” I say, but this doesn’t feel right. “What about you?”

“I’ll meet up with you tomorrow.”

“Dad, why don’t?—”

“It has to be this way, Lia. I pulled you into this world, so I’m going to get you out of it.” He's serious about this. Right now I know that no amount of arguing will change whatever he has his mind set on.

“We should go together.” I try once more. I need to get word to Luca. If my dad is going to leave, this is my chance. I wonder if Luca will have to stay behind to finish what he’s started. I don’t think my father and me leaving would draw attention to Luca, but I don’t know for sure.

“This is how it’s got to be.” Dad stands. “At nightfall, you have to leave.” He gives me a pointed look, and I nod my head. At least it elicits a smile from him. He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” I say back before watching him leave my room.

I sit there in a daze of shock, but when I hear the front door open and close, I jump up and run over to the window. I watch my dad make his way up the path toward the main house until he disappears from sight.

The sense that something is off gets heavier. Knowing that I need to do something, I grab a bag and shove it full of my stuff. I don’t have much, but I treasure the few pictures I have of my mom.

When I’m finished, I change into black yoga pants and a black hoodie. If my dad is in stealth mode, I should be too. I’m certain he’s going to be sneaking around—the question, though, is why.

Against my better judgment, I go into my father’s bedroom. His room is simple, with a queen-size bed and nightstands on each side. He has a dresser with a television on it, and there are a few framed photos of me and Mom, but that’s about it. His small space is pristine, though. Even his blanket is crisp white and tucked in tight like he’s in the military and someone is going to come in and bounce a quarter off it.

I’ve never ventured into my father's room, mostly because there wasn’t a reason. We hang out in the living room together or in the kitchen. Our bedrooms are too small, and this always felt like somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go.

There are only a few drawers, but I go through them. I pause when I see a handgun in the nightstand and debate taking it. Other than that, there isn’t much so I try the closet next.

The moment I step inside, I know something isn't right. I have been living here for many years, and this space feels shorter than it should be. I step back, my eyes roaming over the closet before I run my fingers along the base of the wall and up the sides. Eventually I push his clothing out of the way, and I notice a small crack in the wood.

“Score,” I mutter to myself and slip my fingers inside. When I tug on the wood, the wall opens, revealing guns, knives, and other items I'm unsure of. These are obviously weapons of some kind, but there’s also a laptop with a file on top of it.

Why the hell did my father need so many freaking weapons? I might not be as good at reading him as I thought. I grab the laptop and file and toss them on the bed before I move the wood back into place. Just in case someone comes in here, I don’t want them to know what he’s hiding.

When I take a seat on the bed, I notice a photo has slipped out of the file. I pick it up and see it’s a picture of Pru and Vitaly.

“What the fuck, Dad?” I whisper to myself. Why in the world would he have this? Then I see the paper with today’s date and a time and location. It’s tonight. “No.” I shake my head, stepping back from the folder, willing this to not be real.

What if he went to warn them? I want that to be true, but I’m not so sure anymore. Clearly there’s a whole other side to my father that I didn’t know about. Either way, I need to get to Luca and tell him what I’ve found. This can’t be good, no matter what it is.

I grab the laptop and put the papers and photo back into the folder before shoving them down into my bag. I glance out the window and realize I still have some time before nightfall, but I'm not sure if I can wait. I have to act now before someone gets hurt.

After what my dad said to me, I don’t think he plans to ever return here. And I’m not sure that he’s going to meet me afterwards like he said he would. Now his words sound more like a goodbye than a true future for us away from this estate.

I have to stop him. If he does try to make this hit, he’s as good as dead. I go to slip my bag on my shoulder, but I’m stopped when an arm wraps around me from behind. A hand covers my mouth, cutting off my scream.

I’m too late.