Dictator s Daughter Read online

  “Eli, can you tell me about your family?”

  “It depends on what you want to know.”

  “Do you have brothers or sisters, and are both of your parents alive?”

  “I have one sister and yes, both parents are alive.”

  “How old are you?” his eyes showed complete sincerity and longing for an answer.

  “I don’t think—”

  “Eli, I know you’re not a teen. How old are you?”

  “I’m twenty-two.” She closed her eyes knowing what he must think. He would figure out her gender, if he hadn’t already, and next he would guess her identity.

  Twenty-two! Sean couldn’t believe his ears. She was nearly his age. Yet, she looked so young.

  “How old are you, Sean?” She looked in Sean’s eyes and held his gaze.

  “Twenty-four. Is this a wig you’re wearing, Eli?” His eyes roamed up to her head.

  Yep, he knew! “No wig, just short hair.” His nearness seemed to be pressing hard on her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

  He reached with his hand and touched her hair as if he needed to be sure. She flinched as his hand brushed her forehead accidentally.

  “Sorry.” He pulled back and stood up and then pushed the chair back to the table. He turned around and looked her over.

  She watched as his eyes moved from her hair, to her mouth, then further south. She knew what he must be thinking. He must be wondering how she conceals the rest of her body.

  “Why are you running, Eli?”

  “I can’t tell you. Please understand.”

  “Why isn’t anyone searching for you?”

  “I’m not missed yet. Sean, please don’t say anything to your fiancée about my gender.” She looked deep into his eyes, pleading with her own.

  Her desperate plea touched his heart. The severity of her injuries from the first day flooded into his mind and made his eyes mist over. “I won’t tell her. I’m… ah… going to go downstairs… and make sure she found her way out.” He turned and left the room.

  Lyndee sat in an armchair in the living room writing a letter to Brock. “You alright, Sean?”

  “Yeah.” He slouched into an adjacent chair.

  “Dinner was interesting.”

  “Yep.”

  “Eli sure admires you.”

  “What?”

  “Eli, he couldn’t take his eyes off you. A bit of hero worship, perhaps.”

  “Something like that.” Sean ran his hand through his hair. Hero worship would have been easier to deal with.

  “Chandra is a bit on the spoiled side, don’t you think?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, I can see you’ve got a lot on your mind and I’d like to finish my letter before my next crosser arrives, so I’ll let you get back to your brood.”

  Sean got up and went outside for a walk.

  By the time he came back up for bed, Eli was sound asleep.

  Deep in sleep, Eliwese dreamed about horrific, traumatizing events that were her past. She found herself alone in a dark cold room with only a small window to let in light. The door opened and three large muscled men came in the room and boxed her against the wall. She tried to get a good look at even just one of them, but it was too dark. They began kicking and punching her all over her body. The blows were coming so fast she wasn’t able to refill her lungs and she knew she would suffocate.

  Sean awakened to the bed shaking with the jerked erratic movements of Eli. Flutters of excitement filled his stomach as he remembered Eli was female but then were quickly replaced with concern as he became aware she was having a violent nightmare.

  Eli was curled up into the fetal position with her hands up over her head. She let out a high-pitched shriek, over and over again. Sean could almost see the invisible attacker swinging or kicking, and she would get the wind knocked out of her.

  It seemed like it went on for some time when in reality, it lasted only about a minute. Sean scrambled over to try to awaken her from the nightmare. This proved harder than he thought it would be.

  “Eli, Eli, wake up, you’re dreaming.” Sean gently shook her shoulders.

  “Get away from me!” She started yelling and swinging her fists at him. The sheer panic all over her face was like nothing Sean had ever seen before.

  “Eli, it’s Sean, you’re safe.” She landed a hard blow to his jaw which made him switch into defense mode. He dodged more attempts and finally grabbed her wrists and restrained her.

  “Let go of me you son of a bitch!” She had wiggled a foot free from the bedding and began kicking Sean in the stomach knocking the wind out of him.

  Sean rolled over on Eli and pinned her down. They were both gasping for breath. He used his legs to hold hers down and the weight of his body to restrain hers. He still had a hold of her wrists and he stretched her arms high above her head. Their faces were inches apart. Still engulfed in the dream, Eli began to cry. Sean listened with great pity and tried to calm her.

  “Leave me alone…Get off me…. Stop hurting me…Don’t do this.”

  “Eli it’s OK, wake up, you’re safe.” Eliwese opened her eyes to see Sean’s face nearly touching her own. The swimming going on inside her mind was dizzying as she tried to figure out why they were in this position. She couldn’t breathe very well because of the weight of his body on hers, but she didn’t care. She was safe. A little squished, but safe.

  Eliwese was fully awake now and Sean slowly moved off her, releasing his tight hold. They were both out of breath and pulses racing.

  “Are you alright?” Sean asked.

  She nodded her head and looked away from Sean, wiping her eyes, “Did I say anything?”

  “Not really, you just seemed to be in a fight with someone. Do you want to talk about it?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “That was something; I’ll have bruises to show for it.”

  “I’m very sorry; I didn’t know it was you. Did I hurt you?”

  “It’s nothing,” Sean said with a smile.

  Eliwese looked at Sean and saw the sincerity in his eyes. The same genuineness she saw the night she arrived at his house. Maybe it was the strong attraction she felt for him, or perhaps it was the complete trust she had for him that helped her say what she wouldn’t have normally said.

  “When I was at the underground, before I crossed, three men beat me.”

  “Three men?”

  “Yes, well, actually four. Somehow I knew they weren’t going to kill me, but the fourth man wanted them to hurt me terribly so I would wish I was dead. I lost consciousness but when I awoke later the fourth man was the only one in the room. I knew what he was going to do to me and, yes, I wished I was dead.” Her eyes shut with the visions of the beating so fresh in her mind.

  Sean was speechless. He reached his hand out and took hers into his own. He placed his other hand on top and squeezed gently in a protective manner. Eli looked up at Sean and smiled sending tingles all the way to his toes.

  “Thank you, Sean.”

  “For what?”

  “For being here.”

  “Where else would I be?” he joked. Her seriousness unnerved him.

  “Thank you for taking care of me.”

  Sean lay back down and stared at the ceiling. His heart was still racing. He could tell by the way she was breathing that her heart was racing too.

  “Why did you flee?” he asked.

  “I can’t tell you that.”

  “No death warrant, no heat, it doesn’t make sense. You have to understand, it’s my job to find out why crossers flee. I’ve been doing this for five years now and everyone opens up to me.”

  “I bet I’m the first female you’ve had.”

  Sean smiled at her for acknowledging her gender to him, and also to the other way her statement could be taken. “You are the first.”

  “I’ll probably be the last one, too.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “I don’t know. Let’s get
some sleep.”

  **********

  Across the border in Rendier, a grand scale deception had been uncovered. Victor Rawlings reclined in his executive chair at his ostentatiously large desk with a drink in his hand. His wife, Elinore, sat across the desk from him with her hands clasped nervously in her lap.

  “Did you know about this?” he asked her.

  “No. It’s all her.”

  “No, it’s both of them.”

  “What are you going to do with your daughter?” Elinore asked her husband.

  “Which one? The missing one or the decoy?”

  “Elaine, the decoy.”

  “Once we locate Eliwese, Elaine will portray her sister once again until Eliwese is fit to be seen in public.” He thoroughly intended on pounding some sense into Eliwese once he got his hands on her.

  Elinore didn’t say anything.

  “Riley will find her, he always does. He has a sixth sense about these kinds of things.” Victor stated absently. Riley always amazed him with his ability to locate traitors. He must be part bloodhound.

  “I don’t like Riley,” Elinore stated boldly.

  “I don’t care.”

  He seemed to be irritated with her now. Elinore took her cue to leave. She stood and bowed her head slightly in dismissal.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “It’s clear you no longer wish to be bothered by my presence. I will retire to my chambers.”

  “Oh no you won’t, sit back down. This whole ordeal is your fault, so you’re going to suffer through the trial right along with me.”

  “My fault?”

  “Yes, I’ve heard the silly ideas you’ve put in her head. ‘Be strong, hold your head high, resist in silence.’ Didn’t you think about the consequences of your actions, Elinore?”

  She was silent. She wasn’t aware he knew she had said those things to Eliwese. Her heart raced inside her chest.

  “You’ll stay right here with me and suffer until I tell you to retire to your room.”

  **********

  Sean got up early the next morning and went out to chop wood. His nerves were on high since guessing and confirming Eli’s gender. He had a lot of pent up emotions he needed to deal with. He still didn’t know why she was fleeing or why there wasn’t any heat on her head.

  He hauled the wood in the house and when he entered the living room, he found his family grouped around the television like moths to a streetlamp. He quietly placed the wood in the box and joined them.

  “The eldest daughter of Victor Rawlings is reported missing this morning.” A photograph was in the top corner of the screen displaying a beautiful woman with long wavy auburn hair and dark eyes. Sean was mesmerized by her appearance. He didn’t even realize the dictator had a daughter that old. Sean knew, like most people, there wasn’t an heir apparent due to the fact Victor Rawlings didn’t have a son, but Sean had no idea Rawlings had such a beautiful daughter.

  “Details are still coming in and searches have already begun in Baylend for Eliwese, centering on the town of Slaterville. If you have any information…”

  The volume dimmed down to complete silence as Ryan held the button on the remote. “I bet there is a huge reward for her.”

  Lyndee responded with, “Ryan, she’s the dictator’s daughter; of course there would be a huge reward. She’s his oldest and without her he has no hope for an heir.”

  Sean added, “I didn’t even know Rawlings had a daughter that old, and so… beautiful. Why would she be missing?”

  “If Victor was my father, I’d run too,” Lyndee said.

  “How do you know she ran?” Ryan asked.

  “Maybe she was kidnapped?” Sean suggested.

  Sara spoke for the first time. “Victor Rawlings will want everyone to think she’s been kidnapped, that way his presence will be justified here in Slaterville. We must all be on high alert and Sean you’ll need to be aware that we could be raided at any time. You’ll need to act accordingly. However, there is no sign of an impending raid as of yet, no P.I.’s, and no influx of Rendierian patrol cars. Lyndee, you have a crosser coming this afternoon. Once she gets here, you’ll need to be wary also.”

  Ryan jumped in with, “That must be her! You know, Lyndee’s new crosser; it must be Eliwese Rawlings.”

  Paul answered Ryan, “I doubt it; this one is in her late sixties.”

  “Hey, Sean,” Ryan had another idea, “maybe Eli knows something about Rawlings’ daughter?”

  “Ryan, you’ll need to do the errands for your mother for the next few days.” Paul attempted to pull Ryan’s attention off of Sean and Eli.

  Sean was glad for that. He did intend on asking Eli what she knew, but he didn’t intend on telling Ryan any of it. He left the front room and headed to his upstairs room. Instead of entering his room, though, Sean opened the linen closet door and slipped inside the small opening. He entered his surveillance room and walked over to the mirror to observe Eli.

  Eli lay on the bed reading a motorcycle magazine. She’s after my own heart, Sean thought. He loved motorcycles, too. Sean had a sudden realization, Eli must be Eliwese. It would explain why his father had referred to Eli as the hottest crosser they had ever housed. Eliwese Rawlings, Victor Rawlings’ daughter, in his house, in his bed.

  He was sleeping with the dictator’s daughter!

  Eliwese felt extremely nervous. She had listened intently to the news report and to the ensuing conversation which followed between the Cutler family members. Ryan wasn’t to be trusted, Lyndee knew too much and Sean was wonderfully naïve about Eliwese’s existence. He had referred to Eliwese as a beautiful woman and hearing his voice say that gave her goose bumps.

  **********

  Chandra dialed the number, barely able to contain herself.

  “What?” The man’s voice boomed over the phone.

  “I’ve got a good one.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I know where the dictator’s daughter is.” She was giddy with excitement. The reward money would set her up for many years to come.

  Riley Stone took a long pull on his cigarette. This was all working out perfectly with his little spy playing right into his palm. She’d been more than willing to accommodate his requests. Only one more strategic move to make, he thought, and then I will go marching in on my white horse and ‘rescue’ Eliwese; and bring Sierra back to where she belongs—with me.

  He played along with his little traitor. “You know where she is?”

  “She’s the teenage boy at the Cutlers’.” Chandra was so proud of herself. The cussing out she’d received from Eli the night before had really ruffled her feathers. She couldn’t help notice how much Eli stared at Sean, too. But when she saw the news report, it clicked completely.

  “I’ll see about confirming it and I’ll get back with you. Keep your position and your mouth shut.”

  “Gotcha.”

  **********

  Lyndee’s new crosser was named Beth. From the looks of her, she could have been a hundred years old. Sean’s first impression of her was ‘bitchy witch’ and his sympathies went out to Lyndee. He also wondered why anyone so old and cranky would need to or want to cross the border.

  Ryan suggested perhaps the ‘old woman look’ was just a disguise and it was really Eliwese Rawlings under all those wrinkles and gray hair. Sean discounted it saying the wrinkles looked pretty real to him. But Ryan had followed up with something about the realistic rubber and silicone masks that are available now. Sean thought it better for Ryan to suspect Beth than to suspect Eli. Sean went in search of his father to try to remedy the situation before it escalated out of control.

  “What is it Sean?” Paul said from his office when Sean knocked.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “Come on in. Is everything alright?”

  “No. I know about Eli.”

  Paul sat up straight in his chair and an interesting expression crossed his face. “What exact
ly do you know?”

  “You know what I know.”

  “I’m not sure I do.”

  “Eli is Eliwese.” There, he said it.

  “How did you find out?”

  “The news report, all the bits of advice from Eli, the fact that a teenage boy was staring at my body, and when I confronted Eli about being gay the question was dodged; it left me feeling that Eli is Eliwese. Now you’ve just confirmed it.”

  “Too many clues.”

  “Why did it take so long for the news to report her missing?” Sean wondered.

  “I guess you’ll just have to ask her that; I don’t know. But Sean, please be careful; you and I are the only ones who know her identity. Your mother may have figured it out now, since the news report, but she hasn’t said anything to me. Dr. Randall knows her gender but not her identity. He’s a smart man though; he’ll figure it out, too.”

  “I thought you and Mom discussed everything. Why would you allow someone so important and risky into our home and not tell Mom?”

  “You know Sean, there is so much more to this than you will probably ever know. Your mother didn’t need to know the identity of the girl. It would’ve only stressed her out. She only needed to know that the female crosser needed to keep the disguise at all costs. Now, I’ll tell you the same thing; Eliwese’s disguise is top priority. I’m working hard to get her arrangements together so she can leave.”

  “What about Ryan? Isn’t that his job?”

  “Sean, I can’t have Ryan working on this one. You heard him, he’s money hungry. Go take care of her. The heat is on.”

  Paul watched as Sean left the office. His mind went back to the night he found Sara in the ice. Her determination to escape the Rawlings’ mirrored that of the young lady upstairs; only Eliwese’s injuries were substantially worse. Sara once told him Victor would be a far worse ruler than his father, Reginald, and she was right. Victor was worse in every way imaginable; Eliwese was proof of that. The only thing Paul didn’t understand was where did Eliwese get her defiance from? Rebelliousness on this scale would need to be fostered, even fed, by someone; but whom?

  Now was not the time to wonder of such issues. The issue at hand was how to keep his family and Eliwese safe with the impending danger growing all around them.