Slingshot by K.L. Savage

Ihaven’t talked to Slingshot in a few hours, but I’m hoping he’s just busy. I curl the last section of my hair and run my fingers through the warm strands to separate the curl.

What if he hasn’t talked to me because he is ghosting me?

No. he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to do that.

“What are you doing?”

I turn to see Papa standing in the doorway with his hands in his pockets, staring at me intently with the same brown eyes I have. I sigh and bring my attention back to the mirror. We’re about to fight. I feel it. That anxiousness in my stomach only appears when he wants to know something about my personal life.

And he’s never happy with what he hears.

I swipe some mascara on my lashes and jiggle the wand at the base of my lash line, so it lifts them more and makes them appear longer.

“Talk to me when I’m talking to you Natalia, do not ignore me when I speak to you. It’s rude and disrespectful.”

“I don’t want to fight, Papa. It’s why I’m not saying anything. You don’t respect me either. You ignore everything I always have to say for myself, so why do I bother speaking at all?” I screw the mascara top in and throw it in my red makeup bag.

“Excuse me?” He uncrosses his arms and steps forward. “I do nothing but think of your best interest. Don’t you realize that?”

I rub my lips together after I put on a nude pink lipstick that’s named Ballerina. It’s my favorite everyday lipstick. “No, I don’t realize that,” I say without looking at him. “I think everything you do is because you’re scared. Not me.”

“I’m scared?” A shadow falls over his face.

“Yes, you, Papa.” I turn on my heel and point a finger in his face. “I don’t want to be locked in here anymore. I don’t want to be afraid of living my life like you seem for me to be. I’m going on a date tonight.”

“No, you’re not,” he says, his voice flat and unamused. “You’re not leaving this house without an escort.”

“I will not go on a date with a bodyguard. I can’t believe you. My worst fear is already in this house, chained up and locked away. Why are you doing the same to me?” I shove past him, grab my purse, unzip it, and show him the proof that I can take care of myself. “You didn’t raise an idiot.“ I show him the revolver I carry. It’s sleek, black, and light, so it’s easy to carry.

“You think that’s enough to stop someone from taking what they really want?” He snatches the purse from my hand. “No one will stop at anything to take, steal, and kill.”

“You should know all about that, shouldn’t you, Papa?” I whisper, disappointed and holding back tears.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that you’re warning me about men that are just like you. You kill. You beat. You take. You steal. Nothing stops you from getting what you want. Right?” I take my purse from his hands and secure the strap over my shoulder. “Not only am I going on a date, not only will I probably not be home tonight…” oh yeah, that pisses him off. “I’m going to move out. I’m getting my own place. You’re smothering me with worry.”

“I’m protecting you!” he roars, and I flinch away from his yell. “You have no idea what it did to me to know the man I trusted the most took what I loved most. So yes, I am afraid to lose you because there are plenty of men like him out there. I can’t lose you, Natalia.” He cups my face and then brings me in for a hug. “I love you so much. You’re safe here.”

I pull away and stare up at my Papa with watery eyes. “You keeping me here isn’t safe for me here.” I pat my chest and tap the side of my temples. “Or here. I need freedom, Papa. I love you. Nothing will happen to me. You have the man that wanted to hurt me. What more could you want?”

“I need you to be happy here and to be happy with me.” He takes a step away and rubs his hand over his chin, the stubble scratching his palm. “You need to go out on this…date?” He is barely able to form the words. “Man or woman? If it’s a woman…” he sounds hopeful because, in his mind, women are less dangerous.

I huff out a laugh. “A man. You know him, you know.”

His eyes narrow, and the gears in his head begin to turn. “Not one of mine because my men know better,” he sneers, and then he growls. “A King? You’re going on a date with a King? Only one of them would be stupid enough to dare to touch my daughter.”

“I thought you liked them?”

“It’s a love/hate relationship.” He rubs his temples. “Dio Mio, I’m getting a headache. Who is it? Is it that ex-cop? He’s an ass. Don’t go with him.”

“Slingshot,” I say a bit wistfully.

He squeezes his eyes shut. “The idiot with the tacos? No. Absolutely not. I know a prince who owes me. He has a son—”

“—I don’t want a prince, Papa. I want to be happy. I want to laugh and live a normal life. A prince can’t do that. I won’t mean anything to him.”

“But you will want for nothing, Natalia.”

“I’ll want love! Love he wouldn’t be able to give me. I bet this prince has multiple lovers, and I don’t want that. It’s disgusting that you would want that for me.”

“I don’t want you to struggle.”

“You would never allow that to happen, but you’re so focused on money struggles. What about everything else? Emotional? Mental? Those are just as real.”

“I’m scared for you. I don’t want you to hurt like I hurt when I was your age.”

“So now you wouldn’t be? What if something happened to Nora?”

His jaw tenses, and he tugs on the lapels of his suit. “Point made,” he exhales in defeat. “When is he supposed to get here?”

“Thirty minutes.” I leave out that I haven’t heard from him in a few hours.

“And you’re wearing that?”

I look down at my dress, which I think is cute. I changed out of the white and pink one and slipped into a cornflower blue dress with a ribbon below the breasts. It ties in a simple knot. “It’s cute,” I say in defense.

“It’s revealing. Why can’t you wear a nice coat over it? A parka, perhaps?”

“Mateo, stop it.” Nora comes to the rescue and wraps her arms around Mateo’s waist. “Hush and tell her your daughter she looks beautiful because she does.”

“But Stellina, so much skin…”

The dress is a few inches above the knee, and yes, it has thin straps, but the neckline doesn’t dip down.

I roll my eyes. He’s ridiculous. I need to get out from under his thumb. I love him, but this is too much.

Nora whispers something into his ear, and his shoulders deflate. “You look beautiful, Natalia. Slingshot is a lucky man. I will kill him if he hurts you, though.” He sounds like he’s reading from a script. “I’m going to go see Maximo. I need to hit something.” He spins on the heels of his expensive shoes and strides out the door.

Nora grins and runs up to me, taking my hand and twirling me in a circle. “Don’t mind him. He worries, but you look fucking hot!”

“I heard that. No, no, she does not!” Papa yells from down the hall.

“The man drives me mad.”

“Well, you’re going to drive Slingshot mad wearing this.”

My spins come to a stop and I rock forward as I catch my balance. “I’m worried he isn’t coming,” I admit.

“Has he said something to make you believe that?” Nora pushes her glasses up her nose.

“He hasn’t said anything. That’s the problem. We sent a few pictures to each other earlier, and everything seemed fine. He was excited, or he seemed to be, but he’s been silent. He’s supposed to be here in fifteen minutes, but I don’t think he’s coming.” My mind rushes to all of the worst things that can happen.

What if he got into an accident? What if he really doesn’t want to go on a date? Is he ghosting me? I would think Slingshot is a better man than that. He seems honest and straightforward, and yes, he would hurt my feelings, but he’d feel bad about it.

That’s Slingshot.

“Be home by ten!”

My nostrils flare with annoyance, but Nora beats me to it. “Mateo! Hush. She’s not sixteen.”

“She’ll always be my baby!” Mateo replies.

“Don’t mind him. He’s being a typical dad. Feel special.”

I do, and I don’t. I don’t like feeling like a child, but I love knowing he’s like this because he loves me. I glance at my phone, and my excitement for the evening slowly begins to unravel.

Slingshot is late.

Five minutes, which isn’t much, but it tells me everything I need to know. “Maybe Papa was right? Maybe liking a King was a bad idea. He isn’t coming, Nora.” I toss my phone on the bed and throw my freshly curled hair in a ponytail. “I’m going to go take off my makeup.” Like the young, naïve, innocent girl—for the most part—that I am, I had dreamed of Slingshot and I going the distance. I stupidly let my dreams make my crush on him deepen. I’m so enamored with him that I’ve fallen halfway in love with Slingshot, and I don’t even know the man.

I’ve conjured up ideas about him. For all I know, they aren’t true. What the hell is wrong with me? I might be twenty-two, but my emotions are sixteen. Only the most inexperienced women latch on to a man they don’t even know.

My eyes burn at the revelation. Yes, I’m disappointed in Slingshot, but I’m more disappointed with myself. I allowed myself to get carried away by a fantasy instead of focusing on reality.

“Where is he?” Papa stomps down the hallway, and I can tell by the thuds of his shoes paired with the quickened steps that he’s enraged.

“Papa, I—”

“He stood up, my daughter? My daughter?” He slams his fist against the wall. “No one fucks with my daughter’s heart and lives to tell the tale.“ He slams his fist into the wall and cracks the trim.

“There could be a reasonable explanation, you know. I hate to say this, but what if something happened?”

“Something that couldn’t allow him to pick up the phone?” Papa growls and pulls out his gun from the holster under his blazer. “The only reasonable explanation would be death. Stay here. I’m going to go visit the Kings.”

“I want to go with you,” I say, surprising myself.

“Out of the question.”

“Papa, I deserve to handle this myself.”

“You two are so dramatic.” Nora picks up my phone from the bed. “I’m calling him.” She places the phone to her ear, and she stares at her nails while she waits.

And waits.

Hanging up, she throws the phone on the bed again and exhales. “No answer.”

“You’re staying—” Papa says to me. “No arguing. Slingshot has had his last day.” Papa slams the door and locks it from the outside.

“No!” I scream and run to the door, twisting the knob so hard I hope it breaks. The metal jiggles, but it doesn’t do a thing. “Papa! Don’t hurt him!” I yell, even though I know it’s pointless. Once my Papa has his mind set on something, that’s it.

There is no going back.

“I can’t believe he locked us in here. Just wait until I get my hands on him,” Nora states, giving the door a try when I give up.

I hear the roar of the Jaguar engine, and I sprint to my bedroom window and look out to see Papa speeding out of the driveway.

“Hey, does that window unlock?” Nora asks skeptically.

I fumble with the lock and slide the window up. As I climb out onto the balcony, we share a mischievous expression, as it has stairs that lead down to the front entrance.

“Looks like he doesn’t think of everything.” Nora high-fives me, and my palm stings a bit from when they collide.

Papa might not think of everything, but he’s already a step ahead.

And with him, one step can cost someone everything.