My Ward My Woman(6)

“Did they touch her?” The fury was barely leashed and only because I needed to take care of her when we were done here. “No, but I think they scared her a little.” I beat back the anger and put it aside for now. “We’ll talk about this later. I think maybe from now on we’ll have her detail working around the clock.” Something was going on and until I got to the bottom of it I wasn’t taking any chances.

They left and I stood at the bottom of the stairs for a good minute before turning and heading for my office. I had to think about my approach. If I accused and chastised she’d just withdraw and I still wouldn’t know shit. This had gone far enough.

This last development could’ve ended badly; she could’ve been hurt. I can’t have that. Rebelling is one thing; I did a bit of my own at her age. But endangering her life was something else entirely. That was not allowed. And who is this friend that invited her there and left her standing on a corner?

I headed up the stairs once I’d calmed down enough to be rational, or something, close to it. She was curled up in the middle of her bed with her arms wrapped around her middle. I moved into the room until I was standing where she could see me and held my hand out. “Phone.” She turned bruised eyes up to me and I almost caved, but not this time.

She sat up and got her purse from where she’d thrown it on the chair next to the bed and with a pout passed the phone to me. I grabbed her laptop from the little desk by the window and she flew off the bed. “What are you going to do? You can’t go through my stuff.” I held her back with a hand on her chest, which was the least of what I wanted to do to her.

After the fear of not knowing where she was had worn off, and finally having her back safe and sound, seeing that she was okay, the anger rose again. She’d defied me and in doing so had put her life in danger. I can’t afford to let this one go or next time she may not be so lucky.

I gave her a scathing look before turning and leaving the room. Once downstairs again I got to work. It took no time for me to get into her emails since I knew her passwords. She was forever changing them but she had no idea that I had something on all her electrical devices that would allow me to get in.

I’d not violated her privacy thus far and had only used it as a precaution just in case. My enemies wouldn’t think twice about using her to get to me, but she didn’t know that. Somehow, I didn’t think that’s what this was about but just to be sure.

There was the usual back and forth in messenger between her and the friends I knew of and some I didn’t. Most of it had to do with school and other trivial teenage bullshit. The one that caught my attention was from someone calling themselves the White Rabbit. That one stuck out since all the others pretty much used their real names somewhere in the title.

I opened the first message and didn’t see anything suspicious. Just the usual how are you etc. But the more this person interacted with her, the more I noticed a trend in the conversation. It all seemed based on the fact that she was too sheltered.

At least that was the underlying message I got. I could’ve disregarded it as just more teenage rebellion, but something about the way the person spoke struck me as more intrusive than just another teenaged girl.

“Who are you?” I read the last five or so messages that had started just before her eighteenth birthday and continued until this afternoon. It was right there in black and white, this person asking her to meet in West Haven.

I knew of a way to find out who it was but I’d have to wait until I went into the office on Monday. I put it all away for now and tried to make sense of just what the hell this White Rabbit was after.

It was obvious that Alexandra came from wealth; I kept the girl in the best of everything. She got a quarter of a million dollar car for her birthday for fuck sake. But so were most of the kids in that school she went to and as far as I know they were the only ones she’s known for the past five years.

From the tone this person seemed to have some kind of resentment towards her, something my bright-eyed girl wouldn’t catch onto since she was still an innocent, though lately you wouldn’t think it with her behavior.

I copied everything from this person but my real interest was in her IPO. Once I got the location I’d be able to tell more and then I’ll make my move. Come Monday I’ll have removed this person from her life one way or another. No one was allowed to harm her.

The servants were gone for the day since the weekends they worked half days. When she was younger I’d had a live in staff but that changed when she reached sixteen or there- about. Now they came daily and left in the evenings. I maybe should see about changing it back, that way she could go back to behaving herself and stop tormenting me at night.

Was it this person encouraging her to play the seductress? Nothing in the messages showed that but what about their other conversations? I have no way of knowing what was being said; unless I put a bug on her phone which I balked at doing in the past but was looking like a very good idea now.





6





Solomon





I called her down for dinner an hour later. She came into the room looking sullen and pissed the hell off. I ignored her and pulled her chair out for her to sit. I took my seat at the other end of the table and prepared to enjoy the roasted lamb and potatoes Connie our chef had made that day. It’s Saturday night. I should be going out on the town with my latest fling if I had one.

Since her birthday I’d lost all interest in leaving her alone. I know mom was right when she said I was over reacting, but since seeing her looking so grown up that night I’ve had a hard time leaving her alone. Jessica was already almost out the door by then since her conversations coming on to the end had all been about my closeness with my ward.

None of the others before her had ever dared question my devotion to Alexandra; they’d all understood that she came first. So if I had to leave in the middle of a date no matter where we were, they knew better than to put up a fuss.

Jessica hadn’t been as understanding. She’d chafed at every turn, going so far as to put her foot down and insist that I put her needs first after I refused to discuss my closeness with Alexandra. That was the last time I saw her.

Now I was losing my little girl to life and realized I wasn’t ready. I looked at her now and all the love welled up inside me. But had that love changed? A little annoying voice asked.

Of course not, she’s a child for fuck sake. It’s the one argument I kept using to defeat this new hunger in me for her. As long as I keep reminding myself that she was too young, too innocent for a man like me, she was safe.

The tug of war was in full swing again. I sat at the table across from her willing myself to put a stop to the whole mess once and for all. I knew I was falling in love with her, if I wasn’t already completely there. But each time I thought of giving in, I remembered that she was my friend’s child. The child he’d asked me to protect. I could never…

Just then she picked up her head and stared right at me. She blushed when she caught me watching her but instead of looking away she stared at me head on. There was a fuck of a lot being said in that one look and my dick was reading every word loud and clear.

“Why are you treating me like a child? Most of my friends are allowed to go places alone you know.”

“Who’s White Rabbit?” She rolled her eyes and looked down at her plate. “Just a friend.”

“Which friend? I never heard of this person before; who is it?”

“Geez get a grip, she’s just someone I know okay. Why are you acting like there’s something wrong?”

I took a sip of wine and studied her. Even that had changed. A few short months ago I would’ve got a clear answer. “I forbid you to talk to this person or agree to meet them anywhere again. Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in today?” That seemed to take the wind out of her sails a bit and she deflated as her shoulders shook in remembered fear.

“You’re not allowed to go to that place again and Alexandra, if you go anywhere without your detail again I will keep my promise to lock you in your room and lose the key. This shit ends today. I hope you got it out of your system because I refuse to put up with anymore of your bullshit.”

“I want to go to grandma’s.” She threw her fork down and refused to look at me. She’d called mom grandma from the beginning and neither of us had forbidden her. It gave her an added sense of security so why not?

Her paternal grandparents were part of her life as well but they weren’t exactly the warm and cuddly type, so she got that from my parents and siblings. Everyone loved and spoiled her little ass from day one. Maybe that’s why I am dealing with her shit now. Too damn spoilt!

“She can’t save you this time and the answer is no.” She started to get up from her chair. “Sit down Alexandra and stop acting like a three year old brat; enough.” She folded her arms and looked down. If she cried I knew I would give her-her way. I could never stand her tears. Thankfully she kept them contained but I couldn’t seem to let the matter go.

That’s another problem. Lately it’s as though I looked forward to arguing with her, like it was some kind of release. During the week while we were both busy, she with school and me with work, it was easy. But once the weekend rolled around and we were stuck here together alone, we were like two prizefighters circling each other, and these days we both went for blood.