Secret Italian Prince's Baby

I set my jaw. "Snowball's chance." I was willing to wait until he gave up.

One hour passed. It was definitely past my boarding time.

Two hours passed. He was sitting down.

Three hours.

Four.

I was asleep on the table when I heard the door open. I groggily tried to open my eyes.

"There's a limit to how long we can reasonably detain anybody who hasn't been charged with a crime, sir. We have to let her go. And we're responsible for paying for her flight to Vancouver since we made her miss it."

"Thank goodness," I said, getting off of the table. I was sure that there was a red mark on one cheek.

"This is not the last time we'll see each other," Massimo said. "You will talk to me."

As a prince, I knew that he was used to getting his way. But he could not force me to hurt him. In this case, ignorance was bliss. I was going to leave NYC for a little while to regroup and maybe find a boy who came with less baggage. I didn't think that anybody could ever make me feel that Massimo did, but I hoped that I'd one day find a boy who made me feel a fraction of it.

"Bye," I said. I walked out of the security center, following the guy who'd set me free. He helped me talk to a Delta agent and grab a flight to Vancouver. And then I was headed out of the country.

As we were landing in Vancouver, I looked out the window. I could see the water, which was really nice. It was a beautiful city. I couldn't wait to get off of this plane. My legs felt so cramped. If only I had the money to fly first class and blow tons of money to alleviate temporary discomfort. We all lined up to get out of the cabin. I pulled my luggage out of the overhead compartment, trying not to hit anybody. The last thing I needed was to be detained in Canada for accidentally hitting someone with a heavy suitcase.

As we walked out, I thanked the flight attendants. The mark of a good flight attendant is for everything to go smoothly, and the flight was unremarkable. I walked out of the gate and was overwhelmed by the number of people ready to board a plane to NYC. I didn't know when I'd go to America, but I doubted that I wanted to run into Massimo anytime soon.

As soon as I got out the doors, I went to the taxi queue. I looked at the last-minute hotel booking app that randomly placed you where they had space, so I could go to LeSoleil. I'd have a bed to sleep in and probably cry in tonight. Tomorrow I'd figure out stuff to do in Vancouver.

I walked into a cab. The driver helped me get my suitcase into the trunk before we were off. I was trying not to cry as we went further. I tried to read a book to pass the time.

When I finished the book, I realized that we had been driving for a long time. I tapped Google Maps to figure out where we were. "Excuse me," I said. "Where are we?"

"Going to LeSoleil."

"But that's north of the airport. We're passing White Rock right now."

He hit the lock button. I tried to open the door, but nothing happened. The child locks must be engaged.

"What the fuck?" I asked. "You better stop right now."

"Sorry, miss," he said, as he reached under the radio for a gun. "I don't want to use this, but you should relax a little bit."

I felt panic flower in my stomach. I was being kidnapped by my taxi driver.

"I can report you, you know." I took a picture of his certificate, which had his name.

"Thank you for reminding me." He flicked a button on the radio. I lost all connectivity on my phone. I was trapped inside of a taxi with a crazy and armed driver. My phone wasn't going to save me. My breath was coming in fast pants.

"Where are you taking me?" I tried to keep panic out of my voice, but it was very clear that I was freaking out.

"You're safe," said the armed taxi driver and kidnapper.

"You have to be joking. You have a gun!"

"I'm not here to hurt you," he said soothingly. "Just enjoy the ride."

I saw a sign that said that we were approaching the Canadian-American border.

"I will scream at customs," I warned him. "You need to let me out."