CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Phoebe and Jamie had 'officially' began dating. she had also discussed resuming college and though it had been a tough press, he had agreed on the basis that she could only leave the house with escorts to and from school. Cindy and Mindy decided that they were ready to move back into their own apartment but Hailey stayed back. She wanted to be with Kieran. Phoebe thought Kieran was the perfect match for Hailey and they looked good together.

Exams had already begun, nearing the end and Phoebe was beginning to feel like something huge was coming. And that it wasn't going to be good, especially for her. The way Jamie had been acting had been all the proof she needed that she was right. He had become more protective, there were more guards around her even when she was in the house. Jamie had also insisted that she up her training. She was skilled with almost every weapon there was.

Jamie had taken to ignoring her. He had denied it severally but she knew he was and she also knew how to get his attention.

Phoebe checked for the last time that she had everything she would need for the day in her backpack and followed the guards out of the house, they followed her to school in different colors of clothing and cars. All in an attempt to deflect attention from the convoy and blend in as students. It worked most of the time.

The exam went well, Phoebe smiled out of the hall the same way she had smiled into it. The boys usually hung around the school till she was ready to leave. Three cars followed her always, two guys in each, and she knew they were heavily armed, Phoebe always tried not to think of what could happen if they were somehow discovered.

She shrugged off that thought and entered the backseat of one of the cars. Soon, they were on their way with Phoebe talking their ears off about her exams.

"The questions were so easy guys…"

Phoebe was cut off when they were rammed into from behind, she was propelled forward but she soon regained her balance and fastened her seatbelt, quickly grabbing a handgun from one of the guys. She held on to it tightly as the shootout began, they were surrounded by four SUVs, one in front of all three cars, one behind them, and two on both sides of Phoebe's vehicle.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Phoebe watched in horror as the car on her side moved forward and then they were rammed into by the car on her left.

"Oh my…What is happening?!!"

"Please stay calm and stay down. You'll be just fine."

Phoebe screamed as the car was rammed again, this time propelling it sideways into the pavement and soon they were somersaulting and the car landed.

Phoebe could hear footsteps and muffled voices, she slowly opened her eyes and saw that she was been pulled out of the car, she managed to look around and then wished she hadn't. she was greeted with the sight of her dead guards. As she faded into unconsciousness, she saw in her peripheral vision a man she thought looked really familiar but then the darkness took over.

***

Phoebe groaned when she opened her eyes, the first thing her eyes settled on was the dragon painting on the other side of the wall. There was no such painting in her room or even Jamie's for that example. That was when the alarm bells began ringing in her head. She tried getting up and instantly regretted it as pain spread through her body, she fell back down on the bed and heard something jiggle.

Phoebe counted to ten and slowly raised her body up into a sitting position, resting her back against the headboard, she looked down and saw that her left foot was chained to the foot of the bed.

"Congratulations, Phoebe. You've gotten yourself kidnapped again."

As though someone was waiting on the other side of the door, waiting to hear her voice, she heard the key turn in the lock and two men entered the room. One of which she wasn't expecting to ever see in this situation.

"Dad?!"

"Hello, pumpkin…"

"What's going on here? Were you the one who ordered my kidnapping? Why would you do this?"

Phoebe's dad opened his mouth like he was going to say something before closing it again. He looked at the other man for some kind of assurance or permission, but he just shrugged. He turned back to Phoebe and carefully pulled his hand out of his pocket, bringing out a key. He stopped in front of Phoebe's foot and dangled the key in the air.

"Phoebe, I need you to be good and promise me you won't do anything funny when I unchain you. There is a lot you need to know, and you won't get far anyway, there are not just guards crawling the house but there are also guards surrounding the vicinity with a 12-mile radius."

"Okay. I promise but on the condition that you tell me all that is happening, and no lies or funny movements either. It would shock you what my Jamie has taught me."

Phoebe didn't miss the frown on her father's face when she mentioned Jamie and his companion looked like he was about to explode. He unlocked it anyway. Her dad went to the side of the room and pulled an armchair she hadn't even seen to the side of her bed and sat down. The other guy went over to that side of the room and sat on the table instead. Silence reigned for a while, her father opening and closing his mouth like a fish and the other man just creepily staring at her and rubbing his beardy chin.

"Well, is someone going to talk or what?!"

"She's feisty, Johnny. I like her, she'd do just fine."

"Do just fine for what?"

"Sweetie, do you recognize that man over there?"

"The creepy guy? No." Johnny heaved and risked a glance at the man behind him but he wasn't angry, instead, he was amused.

"Well, honey, that man over there is Michael's dad. You do remember Michael, don't you?"

"I do." Phoebe looked at the creepy man again, he did a small wave that she didn't return. She didn't like where this was going. And there was this feel to it. Something told her she wasn't just going to not like what was about to happen, she was going to hate it.

"Well, back in the day, the both of us made an agreement and drew up a contract. The agreement was when Michael was to take over from his father, I will give your hand in marriage to him. Michael, that is."

Phoebe looked from one man to the other, her gaze going back and forth, trying to determine through her eyes and their poker faces if they were just pulling her legs, but they didn't break character. They didn't laugh, not a hint of a smile. Her father looked like he was about to have a nervous breakdown, his face was so stiff.

And that was when she realized it. They weren't joking. There had been an agreement, she had been used as a pawn. And they expected her to play along with it. Amusement bubbled up inside her and she let it out.

Her sudden burst of laughter startled her companions, they looked to each other and then to themselves, not knowing how to explain her laughter. She finally stopped and looked at her father dead in the eye.

"You must be joking." The ice in her voice almost scared her father, he was always used to his daughter been a sweet little princess. Now, this princess has grown claws.

"We thought you would say that." Michael's dad stood from the table he had been sitting on and walked to her other side of the bed, staring down at her.

"Oh, good. So, you know I won't be marrying your deadbeat son. I already have someone else, and I feel sorry for you when he comes for me." She turned her head to her father. "The both of you."

"We know he would try coming for you but he would fail. And as for you not marrying Michael, you surely will." He dipped his hand into his suit and brought out a phone, she saw her mother tied up to a chair in an empty room and tears immediately sprang to her eyes.

Phoebe looked at her dad and felt anger bubble inside her. How could he do that to his own wife?

"If you refuse to marry Michael, she gets it. I know you understand what I mean by that. And as for lover boy, he's going to be very preoccupied. Does Lorenzo ring a bell?"

That got back Phoebe's attention really quick. What were these two planning? What had they already done?

"You see, the enemy of my enemy is my temporary friend in situations like this. Lorenzo failed to get what he wanted because he lacked the right weapons and partnerships. Now, he has them."

"Wait, dad, you're in this 'business' too?"

"Not really, pumpkin. But I promise this is going to be very good for you. You'll have more money than you've ever imagined. And more power too…"

"Jamie has more money than Michael, you and Lorenzo put together. As for the power and influence, we already know who is winning on that front, don't we?"

Phoebe slid down from the bed and made her way towards an adjoining door, she didn't want to cry in front of them. Up until that moment, she didn't know her father was capable of doing this.

"Oh, and by the time I get out, I would love to see food and some painkillers waiting for me, or is it above your budget?"

The two men huffed as they made their way towards the door, Phoebe decided to deal one final blow.

"Make sure you include a bottle of white wine and a decent table for me to eat on… Jamie always provided me with that."

She watched as the two men saw red and stormed out of the room, she entered the relatively smaller bathroom and spent a reasonable amount of time just sitting on the bathroom floor bawling her eyes out before she got up and took a hot shower. The feel of the water burning her skin was what she needed at that moment to wash away the guilt of the men that had died because of her.

When she was done with her bath, she remembered that she forgot to make one very crucial request. Clothes. She groaned as she picked up her smoke and dust-filled clothes and made her way out of the bathroom, she found that all her demands had been met and there were clothes on the bed. Tracksuits.

Phoebe thanked the highest and quickly donned the tracksuit, went back to the bathroom, and ran an old brush she had found through her hair, she sat at the table they brought in and inhaled deeply the aroma of the food before opening it up until all that was left was an almost clean plate and bones. She took the drugs they had kept on the table and went back to lay on the bed.

Phoebe must have fallen asleep because she was woken by knocking on her door. At least, they had manners. She murmured for whoever it was to come in and rolled her eyes to the high heavens when Michael walked in.

"Hello, princess."

Silence.

"You know, we're getting married, you're going to have to talk to me at some point."

Silence. Michael sighed and came to sit on the bed beside her, but when he tried to touch her, Phoebe bit his hand.

"For fucks sake, what is wrong with you woman?!"

"What is wrong with me. Let's see. My father and your father kidnapped me and want me to marry you because of some stupid agreement they had when they were younger. They plan to kill the man I love and they have kidnapped my mother. You want to ask me again what is wrong with me?"

"All of these things you mentioned will not change the fact that we will still be getting married. You better learn to love me."

"But I can't. That position has been filled by a man ten times your worth." She saw the instant change in his demeanor, he was merely pissed off by her biting him but now, he was livid.

"Of course. And I'm guessing you show him how much you love him by biting him."

"Hmm, no, not really. He does most of the biting. He always loves to leave a mark…if you know what I mean."

Michael grunted and saw himself out the door, but the funny thing was Phoebe didn't hear the lock turn. She carefully got off the bed and walked towards the door, carefully testing the handle before turning it. The door opened.

Phoebe knew she wasn't going to be able to escape, they had kidnapped her mother and Jamie's life was at stake but she could give them a scare. She encountered guards along the way but they must have heard that she was to be the new donna so they just let her through, she found a staircase and followed it to the next landing. There were more rooms, it looked boring but as she turned to leave, she heard voices. She couldn't decipher what they were saying and Phoebe has always been nosy in nature so she went down the rooms until she stopped at a door.

"Is all of these necessary, Johnny?"

Phoebe held in her gasp just in time else they would have heard her.

"Yes, it is. You know how stubborn our daughter is, she wouldn't have agreed to marry Michael without some incentive. Especially with that Jamie bastard boy around." Phoebe couldn't believe the venom she heard in her father's voice. This was not the man she knew.

"But is it really necessary, Johnny?"

"I just answered…"

"You know what I'm talking about." Phoebe didn't hear anything from her father, she almost assumed he wasn't going to answer. She turned to begin making her way back to her room when he spoke.

"Yes, we have to kill him. She will never truly love Michael with him in the picture. I want her to be happy."

Tears sprang to phoebe's eyes and she as quietly and quickly as possible made her way back to her room. She fell face-first on the bed and cried her eyes out, completely ignoring the maid who had brought her lunch. She didn't know how she was going to reach Jamie, she needed to warn him that Lorenzo wasn't the only enemy that he was fighting.

And that her own father planned to kill him to fulfill their own selfish schemes!