Dictator s Daughter

by Angell, Lorena

  Sara knew as long as she was on top, she would still have some control. He tried to roll on top of her and she used the momentum to twist the two of them further. They plummeted off the bed with Rawlings landing on his back.

  His grip on her loosened and she wiggled free enough to lash out with her fists. She made fist to jaw contact twice before the men entered the room and pulled her off him.

  They dragged her across the room and Victor stood slowly, rubbing his jaw.

  “I admire your spirit, Sierra. I always did. But I’ve changed, just as you have.” He walked over and stood close to her. The two bodyguards had her arms stretched straight against the wall and her legs spread and pinned with their bodies. She was helpless.

  “You’ll never change! You only wanted to marry me because Riley wanted me. You just couldn’t stand him having anything better than you.” She saw in his expression she’d hit another nerve. “You remember Riley, right? Better looking; half as stupid?”

  “Riley has never left my side.” Victor hissed through his teeth, eyes narrowed. “His allegiance to me is outstanding. You make it sound as if I stole you from him but he didn’t want you either! My father forced our marriage on me just as he did on you. It was all for his own gain with no thought to either of us.”

  “But, you enjoyed hurting Riley. You knew what you were doing.”

  Victor grabbed her chin and held her head still as his mouth quickly descended on hers. He kissed her forcefully and brutally as she squirmed to get away. When he pulled his mouth away from her face, she spit on him. Just as quick, he backhanded her face and split her bottom lip open.

  The men dropped their hold on her as Victor punched her hard in the stomach, making her keel over with the loss of breath.

  The men walked from the room and as Victor closed the door, he said to her, “Maybe the next time I come to visit you, you’ll not dish out insults.”

  Sara lay once again on the cold floor, too hurt to climb up on the bed. Blood seeped from her lip and onto the floor and tears flooded her eyes as sobs erupted out of her mouth.

  Chapter 9

  To allow Eliwese some time to rest, Ryan and Sean moved out to the living room and sat down on the couch.

  “What else has she told you?” Ryan asked Sean.

  Sean thought long and hard on what he felt Eliwese would be alright with Ryan knowing. He went ahead and told Ryan about her marriages with the first husband at age twelve. The effort to produce an heir has been ongoing ever since and she’s held her head high in rebelliousness. Most everyone she has had contact with had been murdered outright or simply gone missing. As Sean finished, Ryan looked stunned and shocked.

  “It seems impossible anybody could be so cold-blooded and brutal. I mean, I didn’t know Rawlings was so bad. How can he get away with it? How come no one turns him in? Why haven’t we heard more about these kinds of things?”

  “Well, he gets away with it because he’s Victor Rawlings. The ones who try to bring awareness about his behavior are killed or they become crossers and then we hear about it.”

  Ryan turned the conversation back to Eliwese.

  “Is this what it’s been like the whole time?”

  “What do you mean?” Sean asked.

  “You know, fighting the fever.”

  “Pretty much. What about you, why did it take so long for you to get here?” Sean asked.

  “I hitched a ride to Northtown yesterday and stayed at a hotel. Then I hitched back to here, well not here, but a couple miles up the road. I wanted to make sure no one followed me.”

  “How did you escape anyway?”

  “They let me go. The dude, Riley, knows that I make the relocation arrangements for our crossers and he thought I had relocated her already. My job, the one I never do, saved my life I think. They gave me a cell phone with Riley’s number and told me to call when I reached you guys.”

  “Is it on?” Sean asked.

  “No, I didn’t want them tracking me. Don’t worry; I checked it out for other tracking devices.”

  “When are you going to call them?”

  “When we’re ready.” .

  “I can’t believe Dad is gone, it just doesn’t seem possible.” Sean said in a quiet humbled voice.

  “I know.”

  “I don’t even know what we will do without him.” Sean was trying to fight back tears. He looked over at Ryan who had tears already rolling down his face. Sean went over to him and put his arm around him. He thought about how hard it must have been for him to witness his own father’s death and watch his mother and sister be taken hostage.

  Sean stayed with Ryan for a while, reminiscing about their father. Later, he helped Ryan to the other bedroom. Sean then returned to Eliwese’s bedroom. He sat down in the armchair and looked at her sleeping soundly on her side.

  She had no plans of living beyond the government upheaval. She had resigned herself to die for a worthy cause. If only he could change her mind. Sean felt an incredible urge to protect her and help her succeed at taking down her father. He definitely wanted her to survive to see the victory and enjoy a life without violation.

  Sean laid his head back and closed his eyes.

  “Sean, wake up,” she said. “We need paper and a pencil, hurry.”

  Sean did so and came back to the room. He sat down and she immediately started telling him what to write down. He looked at his watch, four-thirty PM.

  “Write this down: Laptop with wireless capabilities, DVD video recorder, blank DVD’s, another car, new clothes, money, four new cell phones, courier, possibly two couriers,”

  She paused as Ryan entered the room.

  “Why didn’t you wake me up?” Ryan asked Sean.

  “We just got started on this list,” Sean responded.

  “Did you get all of that, Sean?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We will need to be able to change our appearances completely within about five minute’s time. Write down disguises.”

  Sean didn’t understand the reasons behind half of the listed items, but he figured she must know.

  She continued, “Make a new bank account in Sean’s name, and put his name on my account.” She looked deep in thought. She was staring into nothingness and both boys kept perfectly still. She had her hand up to her mouth, squeezing and bending her bottom lip. She looked at Sean and said, “Make that two different cars besides the one we already have.” She rattled off other supplies such as make-up, hair product, curling iron and more.

  “So what’s the plan?” Ryan asked impatiently.

  She was lying on her side with a couple of pillows propping up her head. Sean realized he hadn’t even taken her temperature or checked her out.

  “Wait. Let’s look after you first. No plan can go down until you’re better.”

  She agreed. Ryan helped Sean as they inspected the wounds and took her temperature. One-hundred three and her wound on the back looked worse than ever with pus oozing.

  “You have to get that junk off the wound so air can get to it.” Ryan looked at Sean.

  “But it will re-open the wound.”

  “No it won’t. Remember when Checkers was attacked by that mountain lion? How mom cleaned his wounds daily after the vet said it would help it heal better? She put antibacterial cream on it, too.”

  “Well how do we do that without making her bleed again?” Sean was concerned. It hadn’t been an easy task to get her bleeding to stop in the first place. He sure didn’t want her to lose any more blood.

  “How about we soak it with warm water? Wet paper towels on it should moisten it enough to come off.” Ryan left the room to get the supplies and Sean looked at Eliwese. She had heard the conversation and thought it would be a good idea, too.

  “I’d rather you soak it off in the shower, but that’s just me.”

  “Well, if your fever doesn’t come down, you just might get your wish.”

  Ryan came back in and stood on the side of the bed, facing he
r back. “So, tell us what you are thinking.” He applied a sopping wet glob of paper towels. Water ran down her back and stomach. Ryan took a dry towel and wiped up the water and as he did so he noticed the scars on her back. He looked up at Sean and pointed to her back. Sean nodded indicating he already knew they were there.

  Eliwese started her idea. “We make a video of me talking about the information concerning my father. We make three copies of the video. We instruct two couriers to deliver the videos to particular news stations in Northtown if they are not notified by a certain time by all five of us; the three of us and your mother and sister. If any one of us is missing, the courier will make the delivery. This should help to ensure the plan of succeeding. We schedule a time and place with my father, like the Northtown Mall, and place the other cars in strategic places with our change of clothes. We escape unnoticed and leave the country.”

  “What about the other copy of the video?” Sean asked.

  “We hide it here, just in case.”

  “Just in case, what?” Ryan asked.

  “Ryan, do I really have to answer that?” There was impatience in her voice. “Ouch.”

  “Ryan, don’t try to rush the scab.” Sean scolded.

  Sean looked at her and said, “We have a laptop computer here at the cabin, but we don’t have online access. Everything else would have to be purchased. We have a stash of money here, but new cars? We’d be lucky to be able to afford one used car.”

  “How much do you have?”

  “We keep ten grand in the vault downstairs.” Sean said seriously. “It’s emergency money.”

  “Really?” Ryan asked.

  “Ten will get a reliable used car. We definitely want one that won’t break down during our escape.” Eliwese said quietly. “I have money in my bank account that we can use to purchase other cars later.”

  Ryan asked, “How do we set up a time and place with your father?”

  “Email. Ryan, you will need to go shopping in Northtown for these supplies. Find a used car first, preferably white, then shop for the items on the list, then find a Wi-Fi hookup and send the email to my father. It’s important you leave quickly because it won’t take long to be tracked down. The email will let him know he is being blackmailed; and it won’t thrill him at all.”

  “Why me? Why not Sean?”

  Sean was enraged with his questions. Eliwese handled it well, “The guy who killed your father is still around and expecting your phone call. If he sees you, you can tell him you haven’t found us yet. If he saw Sean, he would be either killed or followed back here.”

  “What if he didn’t believe me?”

  “Believe what?” she asked him in a frail exhale.

  “You know; if I said I hadn’t found you guys yet and he didn’t believe me, would he kill me?”

  Eliwese heard the fear in Ryan’s voice. “No, he wouldn’t kill you. If he did, his chances of finding me would be slim to none.”

  This answer satisfied Ryan. However, Sean wasn’t consoled. He knew if Ryan compromised their location, they would all be killed.

  “Can you bring the laptop in so we can get started on the email?” Eliwese asked Ryan.

  He nodded and left the room. Sean moved over and checked her scab. It smelled badly but was loosening up. There was quite a bit of discharge from the wound and the redness and swelling seemed to have gotten worse.

  Ryan came back in with the laptop. He typed as Eliwese recited the letter. They revised and rewrote it many times. Sean continued to moisten the scab and let his thoughts wander off. He thought about his father and how much he would miss him. He thought of him refusing to give information concerning their location and then being shot because of it. It sent waves of rage through his body. His father sacrificed his own life for his son’s protection and the protection of a stranger, an honorable death to be sure. Sean wondered where his father’s body was and when they’d be able to give him a proper funeral and burial. How long would they be forced to stay in hiding?

  His thoughts turned to his mother. Was she ok? Was she being treated fairly? After hearing the horrible stories from Eliwese, he doubted Victor Rawlings would be kind to his mother. More rage welled up within him at the thought of any harm coming to her.

  What about his sister, Lyndee? Sean hoped she was being held with their mother and not separate.

  The voices in the room were pulling him back to reality.

  “Sean, Sean,” Ryan snapped his fingers, “you look like you’re going to fall over. Are you ok?”

  “Umm, yeah sure.”

  “I am going to drive to Northtown now and get these things taken care of.” Ryan waved a list in the air. “It’s going to take me at least three hours if there aren’t any delays. I will not be able to communicate with you in that time.”

  “We will be fine, Ryan. We’ve made it this far, what’s three more hours. Right?”

  Ryan left at six o’clock PM and the cabin fell silent. As much as Ryan irritated him, Sean was sad to see him leave.

  Sean went back in the bedroom with Eliwese. He walked over to her wounded side to check her scab again. The ooze and disgusting smell curdled his stomach but he tried to keep a calm face for Eliwese’s sake.

  She looked at him. “Would you help me soak it off in the shower?”

  “Are you sure? Because I could keep up with this paper towel process.”

  “I’m sure. My fever is climbing and the cool water would feel good.”

  After Sean wrapped her IV with tape and plastic, he asked, “Can you walk or do you need me to carry you?”

  “Help me walk.”

  He did so. Once in the bathroom, he removed his shirt and pants but left his boxers on. He positioned the fan, started the water, and turned to find her sitting on the closed toilet, gazing at him with the same expression she had the day she watched him chop wood.

  “You are in such excellent shape,” she said weakly, admiring his muscles. “When do you ever find the time to work out?”

  Sean was embarrassed. “I don’t. I chop a lot of firewood, as you know.”

  “Well, it works for you.”

  Sean hung her IV bag on the nail and picked her up so her wounded side was away from him and climbed in the tub with her. After sitting down, he pulled her tank top up so the water could beat down on her scab. Once again, her head cuddled against his bare chest and she reached her left arm up and wrapped it around his neck; her breath was hot against his skin. Every now and then, he would wipe her wound and small amounts of the scab would peel off, exposing more to be washed away. He continued the process for at least one hour in which time she’d drifted off and awoken several times.

  “Are you ready to get out? I need to change your IV bag.”

  “I can stay right here while you change it.”

  He sat her forward and eased his legs out from under her and stood up. He stepped out of the shower and turned to look at her. She looked so fragile and weak. He hurried off to retrieve a new IV bag, the thermometer and another antibiotic injection.

  He brought them back, went to work on the IV and then readied more towels for later. He climbed back in the tub with Eliwese who was leaning up against the wall with her eyes closed. Her tank top was completely soaked leaving nothing to the imagination. He repositioned himself and cuddled her back down into a more relaxed position.

  “We have a big task ahead of us,” she said to him. “I have been working it out in my head, trying to imagine any variables my father might throw at us. I’ve been thinking of backup plans and Plan Bs and Plan Cs. I do feel confident we can pull this off and you’ll get your mother and sister back.”

  “You said that after it’s all said and done we would leave the country. Where would we go?” Sean asked her.

  “The Caribbean of course,” she said with a smile.

  “Why there?”

  “Plenty of places to hide.”

  Sean checked her wound and found all of the scab had fallen off. He reached
over to the thermometer on the side of the tub and helped her sit up so he could get a reading of her forehead. Her reading said one-hundred three. She was looking at him with half open eyes and her lips were parted. He couldn’t help notice how beautiful she was, even with matted wet hair and no makeup. In fact, he hadn’t ever seen her with makeup on except in pictures.

  She held his gaze and reached with her left hand and placed it on the side of his face. With her thumb, she traced the outline of his mouth, gently pressing on his lips.

  He became very aware of himself all of a sudden. She was sitting right on him and he knew she must be aware of him also.

  “I have only ever wished for a guy like you. But you only existed in fairy tales and storybooks. The first day I arrived at your home, I was in such pain; there wasn’t a single cell in my body that didn’t hurt. Then you walked in and I knew everything would be fine…”

  She leaned closer to his face and kissed his cheek with her hand still on his other cheek. He supported her head with his hand and turned his mouth to hers; she brushed her lips past his and his mouth followed. They connected and kissed softly and gently for a few moments. Her fingers traced his ear and eyebrow and then they moved into his hair; it felt so natural and right. His only concern was her well-being; but he figured that if she was leading the show, she must be alright with it pain wise.

  She pulled away slightly from his mouth. “Sean, you are my first.”

  “What?”

  “You are the first man I’ve kissed. I should say you’re the first man I’ve wanted to kiss. Not even the other Shawn held that desire in my heart. I worried I would never want to be around another man; but since I saw you, I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long—” Their mouths were magnetically drawn to each other again.

  The water sprinkled gently on their bodies and the fan blew cool air on their heated flesh. Eliwese felt transported to her remote beach with crystal blue water and cloudless skies. She was lying on a large beach blanket with Sean and they were soaking up the warm sunshine with their naked bodies. In her mind’s eye, she was relieved she was finally able to go to this spot in her mind on her own terms and not just to escape brutality.