by Lynda Filler
“Daddy! Put that cigar away!”
Allegra waltzed through the door, all five-feet-ten inches of stunning beauty in a Vera Wang Couture lilac gown. The chandeliers reflected the spun silver embroidery, a design feature reminiscent of the precious metal of Mexico. She threw back her waist-length auburn locks and bent down to give her papa a kiss.
“Do you like papa?”
Allegra curtsied as she had been taught the summer she spent in a finishing school in Switzerland. Her Mother said when a woman is as beautiful as Allegra royalty will want to make her acquaintance. Allegra smiled at the memory. She decided to keep her partying with Prince Harry a royal secret.
“Allegra, you are my joy, my heart, Mi Vida.” Papa grabbed her as close as his massive paunch would allow.
“Papa! My hair, my makeup! Stop!”
Laughing, they joined arms, called out for Maria Consuelo, the judge’s wife, and from whom Allegra’s beauty flowed. And exited their suite.
4
“WHERE IS GABRIEL?” Allegra cried. “I can’t make an entrance if he’s not here yet!”
“Shush mi Amor, he’s here. Don’t worry.”
Glittering under enormous chandeliers, they ascended the circular staircase the three levels to a private lobby area.
Raucous applause filled the expanse. The room was jubilant with Old World Mariachi music. Allegra adjusted her crown and sash and smiled for the photographers and International News cameramen waiting below.
“Thank you, Papa. This is the most amazing night! I feel like Cinderella. Ah, there’s Gabriel!”
A handsome young man with a California Kurt Cobain look smiled proudly at Allegra. He nervously stroked the lapels of his Tom Ford tuxedo purchased for this occasion.
At the bottom of the stairs, the music silenced. A glass of champagne was handed to the judge and to Allegra.
“I thank you, my friends, for joining us tonight. May I present to you Miss Jalisco 2018!”
Allegra Alves Diaz had realized a childhood dream. Every little girl wants to be a Princess. She also had another goal. Her dream was to apprentice in a dominant fashion house in Paris or Milan. Allegra had talent, but not that kind of talent. But daddy could make it happen. He always did.
Gabriel lifted her hand and in a charming gesture kissed her fingertips. The crowd roared. Then the room silenced as Gabriel went down on one knee. He offered Allegra a four-carat diamond ring from Tiffany.
Only those who knew Allegra well would have recognized her astonished look as panic. But what could she do? She looked around. Her father beamed, her mother was already planning the wedding. She was cornered, so she did what any great actress would do. She accepted her lover’s ring and then kissed him with the crowd’s approval.
As Gabriel took her in his arms, the panic subsided slightly. She loved Gabriel. But she felt trapped. But the large solitaire was like a cement block dragging her down to the ocean floor.
5
Yelapa, Bay of Banderas, Mexico
“LENA, LENA LOOK!” The tiny adorable child danced on the patio of a villa in the Mexican fishing village.
“Do you like your new silver necklace baby?” Lorena laughed.
“Yes Lena, gracias. Momma give for me?”
“Yes baby, it’s from your momma.” Lorena, ex FBI agent, a current member of the Raven Group, hugged sweet Alice. Luci, aka Samaar, an ex-Mossad agent had recently joined the Raven Group and left Lorena in charge of four-year-old Alice.
Everything was tranquilo, but Lorena felt more comfortable with the ID necklace around Alice’s neck. Luci had inscribed Raven’s e-mail address and Lorena’s cell phone number. And if she knew Luke Raven, there was probably some type of locator embedded in it as well. You can never be too careful.
“Momma comes?” the sad jade eyes looked up through long luscious black eyelashes.
“Soon baby, soon.” Samaar, Alice’s mother, had joined Luke Raven, to take care of business up north. Samaar, code-named Luci had a cartel chasing her. The Raven Group gave mother and daughter a safe haven. The Group also required Luci’s expertise in cyber warfare after the Chinese hack on the Office of Personnel Management of the United States. After much soul-searching, she had entrusted the care of Alice to Lorena here in Mexico and became an operative for Luke Raven’s group.
But it worked out perfectly for Lorena. She’d fallen in love, and Alice filled the hole in her heart. After her husband, a firefighter was killed in 9-11 Lorena had joined a task force to hunt Osama Bin Laden. It took years of work to find and assassinate the leader of Al Queda. Over that period of time, Lorena had fallen in love with a team member, Zach, a Navy SEAL. But Zach had demons, and those ghosts were impossible to erase. What had she been thinking? It was a source of her sadness that she carried an unrequited love for a confirmed bachelor.
At thirty-six, she’d pretty much given up on the idea of having her own kids. She would be sad to have to give Alice back to her mother. But eventually, she knew Samaar would settle up north and return to retrieve Alice.
“Let’s take the fast boat and go see a movie at the Galerias. What do you say?”
“Movie? Frothen?” Her lisp was most pronounced when she got excited. Alice jumped up and down on the wooden pier.
Tears for her mother were momentarily forgotten.
“Yes Frozen!” Lorena laughed out loud. They’d seen this movie on Netflix so many times she’d stopped counting.
“Kithy también?
“Yes, we will go to the Hello Kitty Store and buy you something special!”
“Dolly come too?”
“I’ll carry Dolly in my knapsack. She needs a nap.”
The little dark girl, her sadness forgotten, snuggled into Lorena’s arms.
“Okay baby, let’s go get ready.”
Alice struggled in her arms and declared: “I’m not a baby! Big girl now!” She scrambled down to belligerently stand beside Lorena.
“Yes Alice, you’re a big girl now!”
Hand-in-hand Lorena and Alice went into the villa to prepare for the Panga ride into Boca de Tomatlán and on to Puerto Vallarta.
6
Guadalajara, Mexico
“I KNOW, I KNOW, but I don’t have the answers. I don’t want to sell while everything is so chaotic.”
Gabriel paused at the entrance to his father’s study. He was still smiling, reliving last night’s fantastic party for Allegra. The joy on her face had been worth the hefty amount his father had paid for the diamond. She looked so perfect. And she is mine, he mused.
“Look. I’m trying to figure another way to get you your money. Yes. Yes. Let me look at what else can I do.” Gabriel waited. His father had not yet noticed his presence.
“Leave it with me. Yes, I know there will be consequences. Please. Don’t do anything crazy. Yes, I will be there tonight and see you tomorrow.”
Gabriel watched his father nodding, overcome with anxiety.
“Yes, we are delighted. Thank you. Yes, Allegra is everything I dreamed of in a daughter-in-law. My son is thrilled. Tomorrow then.”
The Contador dropped the cell phone on his desk and grasped the bottle of pills in front of him. He struggled to open the bottle of Perrier.
Gabriel rushed in from the doorway.
“Papa, do you need a doctor?”
He looked up to his only son with sadness in his dark eyes. “I’m so very sorry Gabriel. Stanford was so expensive. I couldn’t say no to them.”
“What are you talking about Papa? What’s going on? Who was that on the phone?”
The accountant was gasping for air.
“Son…need to talk. I must explain…the company. The client …”
The Contador pulled on the collar of his shirt, his face wet with sweat. He struggled to breathe. His head fell sideways, and his body slumped against the desk.
Gabriel shouted for help, but everyone had left for the evening.
He dialed 911 on his phone.
In a panic, h
e tried mouth-to-mouth. But it was no use. He was gone.
“Oh papa, I love you so. What have you done? What has upset you so much to take you away from me?” He was overwhelmed with sadness and dread.
He grabbed his father’s cell phone as the Paramedics raced through the office doorway.
They tried paddles, electric shock, but Gabe could tell from the look on their faces that it was over.
Tears streamed from Gabriel’s eyes. Whoever his father had been talking to was responsible for his heart attack. Gabriel swore revenge. Continue reading ABDUCTED here. Thanks
She's been accused of writing autobiographical stories, but so far no one can get her to admit it! She's been writing her whole life but only started publishing fiction in 2015. Until recently, Mexico was her home. She has recently begun a journey that is taking her around the world! She sees stories everywhere and is at the moment in Istanbul where she is writing Code Raven 7. She loves to hear from her fans on Face Book, Instagram, or her blog where you can find her book news, crazy fun quotes, and photographs of both Mexico and Lynda's travels.
Her work is both entertaining and thought-provoking, and her memoir is "Powerful and unforgettable, the journey of a remarkable woman"
Readers Favorite 2018 Bronze Medal in Contemporary Fiction Social Issues Lie to Me, an exposé on sex for money.
Her work was honored in Book of the Month October 2017 RRBC
Best in Contemporary Fiction 2017 for Target in the Sun, BTRC
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