Her Secret Santa - Miley Maine Page 0,45

to let me into their little world. They told me about you and the whole situation. And I’ve become pretty friendly with them recently. I think they like me.”

“I’m sure they adore you, just as I do,” I said.

He smiled. “We can expedite the time frame on this if you want. We can set a trap to lure Saul here, get a message out to the underground that is sure to get to him somehow. And then when he comes for you, we can lock him up. But doing that is all dependent upon you and how you feel, and what you want.”

I didn’t answer right away. This was heavy. The very idea of doing this terrified me. “I’d be using myself as bait basically.”

“Yes, but you’d never actually be in any real danger. And besides, you’d have a weapon on you at all times. And then he would be ours. We lure him here, he tries to abduct you or hurt you and we have him. It’s nothing he can get out of and he will be sent to prison for life for kidnapping in Alaska. Alaskan prisons are no joke. He would be crying for his mom within a week.”

I laughed at the thought of Saul broken down and crying. That would be so gratifying. But I didn’t know if I could go through with it. “What if something goes wrong? Things always go wrong, don’t they?”

“You have a pessimistic way of looking at life.”

“I do. I guess I always have. It is a lot to do with what happened to me. I guess I learned that bad things are going to happen to you and there is little that you can do to protect yourself.”

“I think you are half right. Bad things will happen. They happen to everyone, but you have to be prepared to deal with them. And no, you can’t be prepared for every single thing or every imagined scenario, but you have to at least try. And you can’t let it color how you see the world around you.”

He held my hand in his. I loved his warm touch and his words. They seeped into me and imprinted themselves in my brain. It felt really good and reassuring. God, I’d missed him so much.

“I see what you mean,” I said. “But right now, I just can’t put myself out there. I can’t take the chance of facing him. It’s too scary. I’m sorry. I want this over so badly, but I’m not taking that risk. He has too big of a hold on me. It’s like I am still trapped under his thumb and I can’t escape it no matter what I do.”

“This is the only way. You have to face him head on. But I know that it is hard. And ultimately it is up to you to decide when the time is right. Only you can decide that. I’m not going to try to do it for you and I’m not going to try to force you.”

“Thanks,” I replied.

“Now, what about dessert?” he asked with a big smile on his face.

“What? I’m stuffed. I couldn’t eat another bite.”

He held up his finger and smiled as he walked into the house. He came back with a French silk pie. It looked and smelled like Heaven. I wasn’t able to resist as he cut into it and put down a slab of it on his plate. “Fine, I’ll try some.”

He cut me a piece and then put it down on the plate for me. I bit into it and practically melted into the chocolate goodness. “Ah, this is wonderful. You know I’m going to get fat if you keep feeding me this way,” I teased.

“More of you to love,” he said. “That’s fine with me.”

“How do you stay so ripped when I see you eating this crazy food?”

He laughed. “It’s a secret of the Gods,” he said.

15

Tony

Two Months Later

“Why are we out here?” Julie asked with a giggle.

I could tell she was uncomfortable.

“Why? Are you cold?” I teased her.

“I’m freezing.”

“Yeah, you’ve got to get used to those Alaskan evenings. The days are pretty mild this time of year though. Be thankful. This winter it is frigid all the time. And the winter starts early. By October it feels like you are on another planet.”

“Why did you buy a mansion up here?” Julie asked.

I shrugged. “It is really far from everything. It’s peaceful. I love the outdoors, nature, and I like to vary my surroundings.