Chapter Two

_________

 

Dominic

 

 

 

 

When you start out with nothing in life, you learn somewhere along the way that every opportunity is a potential leg up. No matter how dirty the work or how small the job, it could take you somewhere bigger. You could meet the right contact, gain the right sort of notice. You could surprise yourself with what you’re capable of. I’m not saying this always happens – honestly, it usually doesn’t. But you have to go into everything like you think it will. Like you know it will. Because sometimes, every once in a while, you’ll be right.

I’d been working at Canton Holdings for almost a year, and it was incredibly difficult to catch me off guard on the job. Actually, it was hard to catch me off guard, period. I saw it all in the three years I worked the doors of clubs in Brooklyn, and even more just growing up in my neighborhood back in Chicago. All of which served me well when I started working security. From the beginning, even when I was mostly doing event venues, I was privy to an insane amount of bullshit and rich entitlement. It was different from when I worked the clubs, because the people at the club doors wanted something from me, and they were always trying to schmooze and kiss ass in order to get it. In security, they didn’t even see me, and they didn’t bother holding back who they really were. But you learn pretty quickly to turn a blind eye to it all. You’re not there to parent or judge anyone, and your personal opinions don’t matter. You’re there to do a job. That’s where your focus is, where it always has to be. On the job.

So, yeah. It took a lot to surprise me. I rolled with the punches and did what was in the best interest for the team and for my career. I wasn’t squeamish, I didn’t hesitate, and my morals weren’t exactly cut and dry. But as I faced Thomas Reed, Director of Security, from across the desk of his twenty-sixth floor office, I found myself completely and utterly stunned at what was being requested of me.

“You want me to kidnap the boss’s daughter?”

“Not kidnap,” Thomas said flatly. “We need you to locate her in L.A. and bring her back here as quickly and discreetly as possible. You won’t touch her or use force unless she runs.”

“Force?” I blinked and tried to find words. “So, basically, you want me to kidnap her.”

“If that’s the way you want to put it,” he sighed. “But I’d rather you didn’t.”

My brain was still having trouble wrapping itself around the implications of this, and so it took me a second to form a reasonable response. “Look, why doesn’t he just file a missing person’s report?”

“She left voluntarily. Not much the police can do about it. And I’m pretty sure the boss doesn’t want any exposure in this.”

“Isn’t she still in high school, though? As in, underage?”

Thomas blinked, then shook his head. “You’re thinking of Eleanor. Leah’s the older daughter. She’s twenty-one and in college. You were still training last summer when she interned here, so I don’t think you’ve actually met her.”

I was positive I hadn’t. I only knew of the serious little blonde who occasionally came to the office and always had a shadow from one of the team. Mr. Bertelli didn’t let her go anywhere without security, and if he had another daughter, she probably received the same treatment. So, I asked Thomas, “Doesn’t she have a bodyguard who can go after her?”

“She did,” he said with a short nod. “Isaacs. He no longer works for us. She slipped out under his watch, so Mr. Bertelli asked me to assign someone new for the job. And you were the first one I thought of. She’s too comfortable with most of the other guys. I’d prefer someone without a prior relationship who can get the job done objectively. I’m choosing you, Dom, because your head is always in the game and you don’t fall for any shit.”

It was true, I didn’t. Especially from spoiled rich girls, who were as commonplace in New York as hole-in-the-wall pizza places and wide-eyed tourists. They typically thought way more of themselves than was really warranted, and I was sure this girl would be no different. The reveal that she’d gotten Isaacs fired made my muscles tighten in agitation. Never mind that I didn’t really like the guy; it was the principle of the thing. “Are you really asking me to do this? I mean, this is seriously illegal. And it won’t be the boss who goes under for it. It’ll be me.”

Shaking his head, Thomas said, “She won’t fight, not really. Don’t get me wrong, she’ll be mad as hell, and she’ll try to run. But there’s no way she’ll go to the authorities. I’ve known that girl for most of her life, and believe me when I say she wouldn’t cross her dad like that. Not only does he finance her education, but she happens to love the guy.”

“So I’m supposed to, what? Physically force her to the airport?”

Thomas sighed, looking tired and like maybe he wasn’t especially down with all this himself. “I’m hoping it won’t come to that. Officially, you’re there to provide security while she’s in L.A. Unofficially, we need you to get her on the plane home, and the quicker you can do this, the better. You’re good with people, Dom. Talk to her. Make her see reason.”

But what if I couldn’t? Was I supposed to force her onto a plane in front of cops and TSA and everyone else? This was the kind of question I couldn’t ask straight out, though. It showed doubt in my ability to get the job done, and I never showed doubt. So, I went down a different track. “I can’t provide security to a legal adult unless they authorize it. Without consent, it’s pretty much just stalking.”

“Like I said, she won’t call the cops. You don’t have to worry about that. Your biggest concern will be in finding her and not losing her before you get her on the plane. I love the girl, but she’s just as stubborn as her father when she wants to be. Don’t let her out of your sight, and don’t trust her alone. She was halfway across the country before Isaacs even realized she was gone.” With that, he slid a small stack of papers across the deck, as if the deal was done. “Here’s some paperwork I had prepared for you to look over and sign, and then we’ll have a few more things to go over if you choose to take the job. Do you need some time to go through it before you decide?”

And this was where opportunity came in. As much as I was reeling from the entire proposition, I could feel it in my bones. This was a level of responsibility, a level of trust, that I had not yet been given. And that meant something. If I turned the offer down, I’d probably still have a nice position at the bottom rung of the team and be no worse for the wear. But the door wouldn’t open for me again. At least, not for a very long time. If I took the job and carried it out successfully, I’d get a healthy bonus, respect from my team, and most importantly, notice by the boss as a serious player. On the other hand, if I fucked it up I could be back to working concerts and hire-by-day bodyguard jobs before the week was done.

I warily began thumbing through the paperwork. There was a document drawn up by Mr. Bertelli’s lawyers for the daughter to sign, essentially saying she agreed to board the plane to New York under my protection. Then a non-disclosure agreement and contract. Another document had a long list of job duties for me to initial, mostly obvious shit like bringing her directly home after landing in New York. It also stated I wasn’t supposed to touch or speak to her unless it was absolutely necessary. Scanning the list, I looked for “use force if necessary,” but came up empty. I guess that was going to be by verbal understanding only.

Under the legal documents, I found a glossy 5x7 picture of the daughter. She was posing in front of a lavish fireplace, dressed in her Sunday brunch best, and I quickly committed the image to my memory. Long, wavy dark hair, big brown eyes, full lips pulled into an easy smile that accentuated her cheekbones. It was hard to tell under the conservative dress she was wearing, but it looked like she had a decent figure under there somewhere. She was definitely cute, no question. Smiling into the camera, she looked relaxed and completely confident of her place in the world. Unfortunately, I knew her type all too well. She’d never had a moment of real worry in her lucky little life, never had to fight for anything. She would float through with every success handed to her and never bother to be grateful for any of it. People like her were empty and, frankly, they weren’t worth my time or energy. That might sound harsh, but I’d been working around the rich way too long to take them seriously.

I tossed the photo down and looked up at Thomas, the wheels in my mind spinning.

“Do you need some time to decide?” he asked again. “I can’t give you a lot, because time is an issue. But if you need to take fifteen, twenty minutes to think about it, feel free. Mr. Bertelli wants someone to fly out in the morning. You’d be taking his private jet and there will be a car waiting for you at the airport.”

“In the morning? As in, tomorrow morning?”

“Yes. As in tomorrow morning.”

“Just making sure,” I muttered dryly. The fact was, I did still need time to think, but I wasn’t about to admit it, so instead I started asking questions.

“What’s the deal with the girl’s mother? I get the feeling there’s some animosity there.”

Thomas gave me an unimpressed look. “I’ll answer that only because I think there are some things you should know before you go in there. She and Bertelli split up early on, and she moved to L.A. to pursue her art career when Leah was five. She’s barely been in Leah’s life since. So, yes, there is some bad blood there, and Bertelli’s a little overprotective of his daughter, to say the least. He likes to know where she is, what she’s doing, who’s around her. That actually brings me to something I wanted to discuss with you. It’s about Leah, and how you approach her initially.”

I had some smartass comment ready on my tongue about gagging her and throwing her in the trunk, but I kept it down. Thomas was my boss, and while we had a pretty easy-going relationship, there was only so much he would take from me. I nodded once, encouraging him to continue.

“There was an attempted kidnapping when Leah was fifteen. That was when the security presence at their home was increased, and why the girls are under constant surveillance. An ex-employee of Canton showed up at the house while she was there alone and tried to force her into his car. She fought him off and a neighbor intervened, but it was obviously traumatizing for her. So I need to be sure that when you approach her, you pull your badge immediately and contact me as soon as the situation is secure. I don’t want to scare her. We just need to get her back home.”

I couldn’t say I wasn’t a bit surprised by this information. “Did they catch the guy?”

Thomas furrowed his brow for a second like he didn’t understand the question, but then he relaxed and nodded. “Currently serving a fifteen year sentence at Westchester County Correction.”

That seemed like a lot for an unsuccessful kidnapping attempt, but I guess the consequences were bigger when you assaulted a rich white girl. “And you still want me to use force? Even after all that happened?”

“The word ‘restrain’ would be more applicable, and not before you confirm who you work for. After, well…only if necessary. We can go over the details on that a bit more if you take the job. What it boils down to is, you can’t let her get away from you. You need to get her on that plane and back home.”

My eyes drew back to the photo of Leah, smiling and self-assured and looking unmarred by life. So, maybe there had been a time when she’d had to fight for something. I thought about the way she’d ditched Isaacs and flown across the country before anyone even knew she was gone, and it occurred to me that maybe she wasn’t as guileless, or as soft, as she looked. This made me sit up a bit straighter, a new interest sparking through me, along with something else: the stirrings of challenge.

I was never one to turn down a challenge.

“I don’t need time to think. I’ll do it. What time am I leaving?”

 

 

It didn’t take long to pack. I wouldn’t need much for what I hoped was going to be a short trip, and my one carryon was by the door and ready to go less than an hour after I got home that night. I studied the files Thomas had given me for awhile, then tried to look Leah up online for any additional information I could find. But that search came up empty. If she used any social media, it was locked down tight. Finally, with work taken care of, I called to check on things back home. My mom’s phone went to voice mail, which was typical, so I tried my little brother, Lucas. He answered after the second ring.

“Hey.” Lucas was sixteen and well into his phase of feigned detachment. I couldn’t really fault him for it, though it was aggravating as shit. I’d had a bad attitude at that age, too. But he was acting more and more distant lately and, combined with the physical distance between us, it was making things kind of strained.

“Hey, Luke. Where’s Mom?”

“Out with what’s-his-name.”

Dryly, I prompted, “Mateo?” I knew Lucas knew the guy’s name; our mom had been dating him for several months.

“Yeah.”

“What’s Cory doing?”

“Watching SpongeBob.”

It was like pulling teeth trying to get more than two words out of this kid lately. Impatiently, I said, “Why don’t you play with her or something? Don’t just stick her in front of the TV all night.”

“I do play with her,” Lucas said, an edge creeping into his voice.

“Alright.” I backed down, because it wasn’t worth it. “Put her on the phone.”

He didn’t bother to respond, but I heard some rustling before the small voice of my six-year-old sister Cory came on the line.

“Hello?”

I smiled just hearing her voice, like I always did. Even with that one word, she sounded so innocent and sincere. “Hey, Cory. What are you doing?”

“Watching SpongeBob. Patrick was taking a nap and there was an alien jellyfish that got on him and he turned into like a different person. Well, he looked the same except for his eyes were black, but SpongeBob didn’t know it wasn’t really Patrick.”

Long used to hearing about the exploits of SpongeBob and Patrick, I let her get it all out before I gently said, “After this episode, why don’t you turn it off and do your reading, okay?”

“Mama says I don’t have to do my reading every night anymore ’cause it’s summer.”

Of course she’d said that. She’d never been one to enforce rules, and the few rules she had always went out the window once summer came. “You don’t have to, but maybe do it here and there anyway. That way you won’t forget by the time you start first grade.”

“I’m not gonna forget!” She said this on an exhale of laughter, like the idea was ludicrous to her.

“Still. It’s good to stay in practice. Do it for me, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, drawing the word out in disappointment. “When are you gonna come here again?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been kind of busy at my job. Soon I’ll try to take a Friday or Monday off so I can come home for the weekend.”

“Is your boss mean?”

It wasn’t the first time she’d asked that. Somewhere she’d gotten the idea in her head that bosses were mean, most likely from Mom, and now she wouldn’t let it go. “No. My boss is not mean. There’s been a lot of work to do, that’s all. I’ll come home soon, I promise.”

“When do I get to come to New York and stay with you?”

“Honey, I live with a roommate and there’s not much room in our apartment. It’s easier if I come stay with you.”

“But Lucas said he’s gonna stay with you.”

From the background, I heard my brother mumble something. We had talked about it last time I was there, in very loose, maybe-possibly-someday terms, but that’s as far as it had gone. “Yeah, well, Lucas is older and can sleep on the couch if he needs to.”

“I can sleep on the couch,” she protested.

“We’ll talk about it later.” That was my go-to way of putting her off when I didn’t want to come out and say no, and wanted her to drop the subject so I wouldn’t have to. Obviously, I wasn’t going to put my baby sister on the couch. “Listen, do your reading and be good for Lucas. Then maybe he’ll read you a story at bedtime. I love you.”

“Love you, too.”

“I’ll talk to you soon. Put your brother back on, okay?”

When Lucas took the phone again, he said, “I never said I was going to stay with you.”

Ignoring that, I said, “Look, I want you to come, but I have to get a few days off work first. We’ll try to work something out before summer’s over. I have to get off here, but I’ll talk to you in a couple days. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to call tomorrow because I’m going out of town on a work thing.”

“Big baller,” Luke said in a bored voice. He loved giving me shit about my job, and about pretty much everything. “Somehow I think we’ll get by without you.”

“Good to know. Hey, read Cory a story at bedtime, will you?”

“Whatever. Bye.” It was curt, but it wasn’t telling me to fuck off, so that was something. Maybe coming out to New York for a weekend would be good for him. Maybe it’d be good for me, too. I hadn’t seen him, or any of them, for way too long. My job at Canton had pretty much been my sole focus for much of the last year, and my days off had been almost nonexistent. But it was starting to wear on me. I was starting to feel irritable and on edge, like I really needed a fucking vacation. Flying out to California to kidnap flighty rich girls didn’t qualify, though admittedly, it was the first thing that had given me a spark of excitement in a long time. I wasn’t happy about it exactly, but there was an interest I couldn’t really deny. Probably because it was so outside of the box, such a far cry from the day to day corporate surveillance routine I’d settled into. It was a little closer to the private security jobs I used to do, where you didn’t always know what you were going to walk into. Where pretty much anything could happen, and often did. I never would have thought I’d miss anything about those days, but as I went to get ready for bed, my nerves were buzzing with something a lot like anticipation.