Cassandra straightened out the blankets and pillows. They were hiding in an awful place, but she grew used to it. The sun shined through the window and onto the desk. Her nipples stood erect thinking of what he did to her on it. The room wasn't as bad as the basement hideout, and she didn't mind being there with him if she remained his sex-slave.

Her back was toward the door when she heard it open. Tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up, and she didn't understand why. She heard footsteps headed her way and assumed the perimeter checked out. "I hear you baby," she whispered seductively.

"Where is the son-of-a-bitch?"

Cassandra's father stood before her. All fears of dying faded, thinking he would send her off to a safe place and have his security team watch over her. "Daddy, thank God you're here." She realized he would assume Anthony was out to hurt her and needed to explain before anything happened. "This isn't what it looks like."

He didn't embrace her and the hairs on her neck rose again. Cassandra's instincts told her something was wrong as he stepped closer to her. The cold nose of a gun pressed into the side of her head.

"Daddy?" She bawled. "What are you doing?"

"I always hated when you called me that." He growled.

Do you realize what you've done? Anthony's words echoed in her head. Everything made sense, Anthony's anger when she attempted to call her father, not once but twice. She wondered why Anthony never told her who the real killer was, not that she would have believed him.

Cassandra couldn't breathe. Her father couldn't have killed her mother, her memory recalled he was out of town on business that night. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting to die at any moment, but he hadn't pulled the trigger. Yet.

"I should have done this long ago. If you didn't escape, you would have died the same night as your mother. She was nothing but a whore." William Frame watched her pop her eyes open and then he followed them down to the makeshift bed on the floor. "Looks like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree." He paused and shuffled his feet to get a better stance. "You're not my daughter, Cassandra. She tried to hide that from me, but I found out."

Cassandra needed to be braver than she'd ever had. Even when Anthony portrayed himself as an abductor, she always sensed the good in him. Her father didn't give her the same impression. He raised her, she thought. Even if what he said was true, he must have loved her. "You killed Mama?"

"Shut up," his voice growled harsher than Anthony's ever did. "I didn't do it myself and you got away. I can't have the same mistake happen again."

"Why?" she cried, trying to buy herself time. "That was fifteen years ago. Why do you want me dead now?"

Cassandra dared to look in his direction. She wanted to believe he would not hurt her. "Now?" he mocked. "I planned this for years. I've always wanted you dead. When you got away that fateful night, I had to act like I cared. Oh, my poor baby girl," he taunted. "Thank God she's safe."

Cassandra shook her head in disbelief. Her mouth opened to speak, but no sounds came out.

"If anyone killed you shortly after, it would have set off red flags. I have a business and reputation to withhold. So, I sent you away, as often as I could. Now, you've inherited your grandmother's millions." Cassandra's eyes widened. The inheritance wasn't a surprise, knowing he wanted the money more than her, was. "Now it's time for you to die."

The gun pressed further into her skull and she closed her eyes. Instead of hearing the trigger, Cassandra heard a loud thug and heard the gun hit the floor. Cassandra opened her eyes and found Anthony standing over her father's body. "Is he dead?" she cried hysterically as she noticed the bloody brick in Anthony's hand.

Anthony shook his head. "No, I told you I'm not a murderer." He pulled her close and pulled her a safe distance from William, just in case the older man woke up. Her hands shook as they wrapped around his neck. Anthony lifted her chin and looked her in the eyes. Cassandra trembled as she noticed his blue eyes pool up with tears and she knew the danger wasn't over.

Cassandra took a step back "I'm not strong enough for this," she cried as he lifted her chin to give her instructions.

"You need to get out of here as fast as you can, Cassandra."

"Not without you," she leaned in to kiss his cheek. Anthony held her at bay and tears blurred her vision.

He looked down at her father. "He's not the only one here. They're all here, and it's you they're after." Cassandra reached for his waist and hung on tight. Anthony pushed her away. "Run, Cassandra, out the door and take a right. Run as fast as you can down to the end of the hall. There's an exit there, the only one they can't see. Keep going straight, don't look back. Cross the bridge and turn left. Go up five blocks to the overpass. You'll see a yellow Mustang. Get inside."

"No," she protested again. "Not without you."

He pulled her to the door as the man who raised her as his own stirred. "Trust me," he cried with her, but she didn't budge. "I love you, Cassandra, now run!" Anthony pushed her out the door.

Cassandra had no choice but to do what he said. The sun blinded her as she exited the building. She shielded her head as she ran as fast as she could and prayed she remembered the correct directions. After crossing the bridge, she was unsure which way he told her to turn.

Run, Cassandra, run. Her mother's words haunted her. She kept repeating them in her head until she said them too.

 

~~~~

 

Cassandra's legs were like jelly and she stumbled a few times. In the distance, she saw the car, just like Anthony said. She prayed for safety. It could have been a setup, she imagined, and maybe this was how she would die.

The memory of his kisses gave her strength. She trusted him and knew Anthony wouldn't send her away to her death. A warmth spread through her like wildfire as she remembered her protector telling her he loved her. She didn't have time to say it in return.

The Mustang's passenger door opened. She raced toward it and jumped inside when she arrived. The door slammed shut and Cassandra hid her head between her knees. A gentle hand rubbed her back, and she jumped.

"Governor Johnson?" Her mother's dear friend sat beside her. He had been a family friend long before Cassandra's birth. "You're the one responsible for saving me?"

"You're safe now, Cassandra." The governor rested his hand on her shoulder to calm her.

A half smile formed across his face. Cassandra studied him, his hair color, his nose and jawline. She'd never looked at him like that before. She saw herself in his image and wondered why she'd never picked up on that before. Her breathing slowed down, but her sobs were out of control. "Are you my," Cassandra choked on the emotions that raged through her. "My," she couldn't say the words.

He nodded. "It would have put you in great risk to tell you. I didn't know until a few years ago." She cried as he continued with the story. "One day I felt lost without your mother around, and I looked at some things she left at my house. There was a note from her, dated the night she died, telling me about you. I put the pieces together and checked into William. He's been planning your death for years, and I've been planning your safety."

Cassandra leaned back onto the seat and rubbed her eyes. Her mother saved her life, her true protector. She shuddered to think what could have happened if the governor never saw the note. He reached over and took her hand. The governor had been there for her many times since her mother died. William must have kept up with the charade to allow him to be there when she graduated and when her grandmother passed away, along with many other times. Unless, Cassandra thought, the man who raised her didn't know the identity of her biological father. Cassandra felt comforted, but only for a while.

She looked ahead out the windshield. The warehouse stood in the distance below them. She glanced at the governor and wondered if he thought the same thing as her. "We need to get Anthony," she told him.

"Can't now," he frowned. "The police and Feds are already on their way." She looked his way with puzzled brows. "William called them, figured out who was behind your 'abduction' and used it to his advantage."

"No," she screamed and reached to open the car door. The Governor pulled her away from it. "They'll take him back to prison."

He held her shoulder and looked in her eyes. "Has anything gone on with you two?"

"Yes," Cassandra wasn't afraid to tell him the truth. She thought she heard Anthony mumble something to himself about her being forbidden to him, but she wasn't afraid to admit the truth. "Please don't punish him," she begged. "The feelings were mutual."

To her surprise, the governor didn't seem upset. "I suppose those things are natural to young people like yourself." He cocked a half grin and looked away from her when speaking. "I knew he'd do the opposite of what I told him." He started the car but didn't put it in gear. "I promised to pardon him, Cassandra, and I don't break promises. You have to trust me."

Cassandra sensed something horrible. Before she could say anything to him, he reached over to protect her as a loud blast caused the road to rumble. She looked up to see the warehouse explode, flames were shooting out the windows and rooftop. "Anthony," she hollered.