Daddy’s Little Heiress by Lila Fox
Chapter One
Lacey hid behind a stack of wood as she listened to the people in the deserted building come closer. She debated whether she should run to another floor or just hunker down and pray they wouldn’t find her. Listening to the footsteps get louder, she decided they were too close, and the opportunity for escape had passed.
She wiped her shaking, dirty, sweaty hands on her equally filthy jeans. God, she’d never been this dirty, scared, or miserable in her life, but she couldn't think of an alternative. She couldn’t go to the police because her mother was well-known and respected.
She had no other relatives or even friends. Her mother had made sure of that.
As the days passed, she became weaker from hunger and lack of sleep and less hopeful she would be able to come up with a solution.
The thought of going back home made bile climb her throat every time. She’d rather be dead than go with the man her mother wanted to give her to.
She crouched back behind the pile of wood as the footsteps got closer.
****
“Daddy, I’m going to look out the window,” Kinley said.
“All right, don’t walk off, though,” Eli said.
“I won’t.” She walked over to the huge window and looked down at the street. There was so much activity with the different cars and people rushing down sidewalks, it almost made her dizzy.
A movement in her peripheral vision had her turning her head toward a stack of construction supplies. She squinted, and when she didn’t see anything, she turned back to the window. It wasn’t a minute later that she saw a flash of blue behind the stack.
She was about to call out for her daddy when she saw the girl. The girl looked at her with fear-filled eyes and shook her head frantically.
Kinley looked over her shoulder and couldn’t see Eli but could hear him in another room, so she crept over to her girl.
“Hi.”
The girl looked around before she murmured, “Hi.”
“What are you doing here?” Kinley made sure she whispered so the men didn’t hear them.
“Hiding.”
“Why?” Kinley asked.
“Please don’t tell them I’m here. They’ll give me back to my mother.”
“Is she a bad person?”
The girl nodded.
“What’s your name?”
“Lacey.”
“My name is Kinley. Can I be your friend?”
“Yes. I’d like that. I’ve never had a friend.”
Kinley’s eyes widened. “Ever?”
Lacey shook her head then shrank back when the men started their way. “Please don’t tell,” she begged.
Kinley shook her head. “No, I won’t. I’ll bring you things tomorrow.”
“You would do that?”
“Yes, and then you can tell me the whole story, and we’ll see what we can do. Now hide.”
Kinley walked back over to the window. Lacey was one of the prettiest women she’d ever seen. If she weren’t so small, Kinley knew she could easily be a model. She gasped when an arm came around her waist.
“Hey, love, it’s just me,” Eli said. “What’s got you so jumpy?”
“I just think this floor is scary. There are so many sounds.”
Eli chuckled. “You’re right. Are you ready to go?”
Kinley nodded and took his hand. She casually looked around and couldn’t see Lacey.
On the way back to their building, she wondered how Lacey could stay there all by herself, especially at night. She’d be terrified if that were her. Her mother must be a truly horrible person for her to go to those extremes.
Eli dropped her off at their condo to rest.
She watched the elevator door close before starting to making a pile of things she thought the girl would need.
The task ahead of her started to get overwhelming. How was she going to sneak into the building? Especially with an arm full of things? She didn’t know how she would get everything to Lacey, and she thought about calling in reinforcements.
She called up Bella and Sienna and had them come down to her condo.
The girls hugged.
“Okay, what’s up? You sound upset,” Sienna said and sat down beside her on the sofa.
“First off, you have to promise you can’t tell anyone, especially your daddies.”
“Pinky swear,” the other two said.
“Okay, Daddy and I were at his friend’s new building. It’s several blocks away. I didn’t count how many.”
“And?” Sienna said impatiently.
Bella giggled.
Kinley rolled her eyes. “Fine. We were up on the third floor. It’s under construction and really scary. Anyway, I was standing there and saw a girl about our age.”
“Saw her where?” Bella asked.
“In a pile of construction supplies.”
Sienna gasped. “She was dead?”
“No!”
“Then why was she there?”
“She says she’s hiding from her mother.”
Bella shook her head. “Wow, did she tell you why?”
“We didn’t have time.”
“What do you need from us?” Bella asked.
“I need you to help me get her some things. I’m not sure how long she’s been there or how long she has to stay. I’m thinking I could talk her into coming here, but it would be hard to hide her.”
“I’d take her with me,” Sienna said. “But the house isn’t ready yet, so she’d be in the condo with me.
Bella looked concerned. “Why can’t she tell one of our daddies? They’d help her.”
“She’s terrified. I think we have to learn more about her situation before we ask her.”
Sienna and Bella nodded.
“I want to go there tomorrow, early. Can you guys help me carry things?”
“I can,” Bella said.
“Me, too. But how are we going to do this?”
Bella grinned. “We could tell them were on a field trip.”
Sienna laughed. “I say we tell the dads were together. They’ll assume in one of the condos.”
“How do we explain going into the other building?” Kinley asked.
Bella shrugged. “Isn’t there a back door we can sneak into?”
Kinley brightened. “Maybe. We can at least try.”
“Is there anything you want us to bring?”
Kinley shook her head at Bella. “I think I’ve got everything. If you have backpacks to help carry it all, that would be great.”
“Girls?”
All three girls screeched and turned toward the elevator where Eli stood.
“Do your daddies know you’re here?” he asked.
Bella and Sienna shook their heads.
“Then I suggest that you get home.”
Bella and Sienna nodded and hugged Kinley.
Sienna whispered, “Tomorrow,” in her ear.
Kinley started to fidget when Eli crossed his arms and studied her.
“What?”
One of his eyebrows rose.
She bit down on her lip and waited.
“Do you want to tell me what the three of you are up to?”
She shook her head. “Nothing.”
“You know what happens when I find out you’ve lied to me?”
She nodded.
“So, is that still your answer?”
She swallowed and then nodded again.
“All right. I’ll leave it for now. Why don’t you go play while I start dinner?”
“Okay.” She didn’t hesitate to run down the hallway. Lying to Eli hurt her stomach. But she promised her new friend, and she couldn’t break that. It sounded like she was the only person helping her at the moment.
