Freedom!
I still can't believe my dad listened to me. I'm actually attending college and staying in the dorm! For the first time in so long, I feel normal. The first nights I spent wide awake expecting my father to bust open the door and take me back home, saying he’d changed his mind or there was some new threat, and he planned to lock me up in the tower again, but so far, I'm free.
There were a few rules. Of course, I knew there would be, and I was ready to agree to anything. I had to go to school here in Charleston. No problem, as I didn't want to go far anyway. I have a boatload of bodyguards and have to use a fake name and tell people I'm some tech guru's kid. Also, I have to come home for Sunday dinner every week.
But I'm here.
My roommate was vetted like crazy. She’s another rich kid with bodyguards. On our first night together, we bonded over the no-privacy issue because of having bodyguards. After coming back from orientation together, I found a Midnight Rose on my pillow.
He's here, and that alone makes me feel safer than all the bodyguards. Though, I’m not sure why. While I still haven't seen him, the roses have kept coming almost once a day, and the sense that he's nearby hasn't left me.
Knowing he's watching and that he's close is all I need right now. I don't dare push my luck. Today is only my second day of classes, and I’m already in love with it. It's much more relaxed than any of the tutors I've had. The material so far is easy because I was on such an advanced curriculum at home.
I'm not treated any differently and was even invited to a party this weekend. I’ll skip it because I don't need to give my dad a reason to pull the plug my first week here, even if I want to experience a college party.
My female bodyguard walks beside me in plain clothes and acts like a student and my friend. It was my request, so I wasn't a huge freak with a bodyguard in places like the bathroom. My dad agreed to the undercover guard, but I suspect she’s not the only one undercover.
Then there are the four uniformed male guards always walking behind us. They look like the Secret Service guys you see on TV. Black suits, white shirts, dark black sunglasses, and an earpiece. They don't talk, but they see and hear everything.
Knowing they’re there and have my back allows me to zone out a little to make a study plan for this weekend. I want to get ahead in my classes so I can take some fun reading courses.
I'm so lost in my study plan that I don't see the two people in my room when we arrive. My roommate isn't there, so my first thought is that they’re waiting on her, but my guards are on full alert. These two strangers only see me and my female bodyguard, who looks like another student, until she drops her books and goes for her gun.
"Don't even try it. One move and Ruby is dead," the female says. She and the guy she’s with have guns pointed at me.
Being unable to move means the four male guards are in the hall behind me, and only the female guard is beside me. There’s no way to overpower them before someone, probably me, is hurt.
I calculate the possible scenarios and exit routes. On my dad's orders, one of the classes I was forced to take was for situations like this.
"What do you want?" I ask, trying to keep my voice steady.
"Money. Five million will do it," the male sneers.
"I have to call my dad to get that kind of money."
How sad is it that this is something I've been trained for? Once on the phone, we have different code words to let him know everything, from how many people are in the room to if I'm injured.
"Do it," the male says, nodding at me.
"My phone died in class. The charger is on my nightstand. If I plug it in, I can make the call." I say, knowing if I can move into the room, the male guards will have room to act.
They hesitate, but finally, the female nods, and I move slowly, with no sudden moves.
This allows the men behind me they haven’t seen to get in and tackle them. When a gun is fired, I turn and run out of the building. Relief at being safe hits me at the same time that I realize my dad will never let me out of the tower again. He’ll marry me off to the highest bidder. I can't let that happen.
I have to run. I need to disappear as fast as possible. There’s no way I can go back to the tower, and I won't be forced into a marriage to someone I've never met.
When I’m out of the building, I look back to check I'm not being followed and run faster. I can lose them if I get to the tree line beyond the parking lot. I’m halfway across when I hear footsteps behind me, so I run harder.
No one yells for me to stop or slow down. Then an arm wraps around my waist. I’m pulled against a solid body as a hand goes over my mouth and thrown into a black car that pulls up beside us.