Possessive Daddy Next Door

He’s just a shadow in the corner of my eye. I don’t bother looking over at first, figuring it’s just a tree or a shrub. But then the shadow moves and I turn my head.

The guy’s walking toward me through the underbrush.

I scream. I can’t help myself. I rip out my earbuds and start running. I try jamming them into my pocket and drop my phone in the process. I don’t slow down to grab it, I just keep running. I get to the hill and climb as hard as I can, my breath coming heavy. I didn’t expect to run today and wore my cute hiking boots instead of my practical ones. I scramble on the loose dirt, trying to get a good foothold on the path, when I look up ahead and spot another man.

I come a stop. He grins at me and takes a step closer. The man I was running from comes to a halt down at the bottom of the hill, breathing hard and cursing.

“You didn’t have to run,” he says. “Fucking shit.”

The guy ahead of me laughs. “Wow, Mikey. You’re fucking outta shape, aren’t you?”

“Fuck you, Lorenzo.”

“Who are you?” I ask but I already know the answer. I recognize both of the men. I was too busy running before to realize, but they’re the guys that were hanging around the manor, the guys we chased in golf carts.

The one named Mikey grins at me. “Ah, doll, don’t act like you forgot already.”

“Your fucking boyfriend kicked me in the ass,” Lorenzo grumbles. “He’s lucky we weren’t there for a fight.”

I look between the two men, my heart hammering. These are the mobsters Max warned me about. Of course they’re here in the woods, hanging around near his cabin. I never should’ve come in here, but I never expected to actually run into them like this. I want to scream but the sound is caught in my throat.

“You don’t gotta be so scared,” Mikey says. Neither man steps toward me but I still stumble back and away. I run into a tree and stop there, holding onto it.

“Really, we ain’t about to hurt you,” Lorenzo says. “That’d be stupid.”

“Yeah, real stupid. You think we want to piss off the Lofthouse family?”

“Who are you?” I manage to gasp out.

“Let’s say we’re friends,” Mike says. “Let’s pretend that, yeah? Well, I gotta admit, we didn’t realize who you people were at first, which was why we was sniffing around the house, yeah? But then we ask around, we figure things out, and now?” He shrugs and raises his hands, palms up. “Can’t touch you. Boss’s orders.”

I take a deep, shuddering breath. “So what do you want from me?”

“We want your boyfriend,” Lorenzo says.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.”

Mikey rolls his eyes. “Cut the bullshit.”

“I don’t.”

“Fine. Your new security guard, Max. He’s the one we want.”

I stare between the two of them, heart racing. I don’t know what to do. They say they won’t hurt me because they know I’m a Lofthouse, but I don’t think I can believe them. I have to treat this like they’re going to kill me, right here and now, and make sure I get out of this.

Except I can’t give up Max. That would ruin this whole thing. I’m not going to let him get hurt, not him or his little girl.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mikey sighs and puts his hands on his face. He runs his fingers through his hair. “Listen,” he says. “It’s hot out here. It’s boring as hell. We’re sick of this little game, so I’ll come clean. Your new security guard, Max, he ain’t what he seems. He put my boss behind bars, and I’ve been hunting him for a very long time. Now, he’s a smart guy, keeps himself protected, but you can give him up pretty easy, if you want. We just want him, nothing else.”

“I’m not… I don’t care. I’m not helping you.”

“You should rethink that position,” Mikey says. Lorenzo stands still, staring with me with a strange look in his eyes. “All you have to do is fire him. That way, he’ll be home all the time, and we’ll have opportunities to… handle him.”

I take another step back and slip on a leaf. I grab on to the tree for support. Both men just stare at me.

“I won’t help you,” I say.

“That’s not a smart position to take,” Mikey answers. “Think about it, okay? Max is nothing to you. And my boss could be a useful ally to have. Your mother might know a thing or two about that.” He grins at me then shrugs again. “You go home and you think about it, all right?”

“Go home, little girl,” Lorenzo says and laughs.

I turn away and I run.

I careen down the hill through the underbrush. I narrowly avoid smashing into a tree before getting back on the path. I look over my shoulder, but neither man is chasing me.