Panther Protector: A WILD Security Book Page 3

  At that point Snowdrop was abundantly enticed to taste, for the apple looked so exceptionally pleasant; and when she saw the old lady eat, she could hold up not any more. In any case, she had hardly put the piece into her mouth, when she tumbled down dead upon the ground. 'This time nothing will spare thee,' said the ruler; and she went home to her glass, and finally it stated: 'Thou, ruler, craftsmanship the most attractive of all the reasonable.'

  And then her devilish heart was happy, and as glad accordingly a heart could be. When evening came, and the smaller people had gone home, they discovered Snowdrop lying on the ground: no breath originated from her lips, and they were worried about the possibility that she was very dead.

  Isabella- Fae set the book down again, as the food came around. She was hungry- that was not something that she could deny. She was hungry and she could not remember the last time that she had eaten. She had drank plenty of coffee during this trip, but food was a little harder to stomach when she was stressed and so it had fallen by the wayside. She shook her head quietly to herself, trying to think of the day ahead, and the fact that she really needed her strength for it.

  When the airhostess came around, Isabella- Fae ordered off the menu, accepted some snacks and settled back. She did not have much time to go, according to her watch. Something to eat, some more reading and a nap should work out well, time-wise.

  She set an alarm on her phone, and tucked it into her pocket, settling back and finishing off more of her story.

  They lifted her up, and brushed her hair, and washed her face with wine and water; yet all was futile, for the young lady appeared to be very dead. So they laid her downward on a casket, and every one of the seven watched and bewailed her three entire days; and after that they figured they would cover her: yet her cheeks were as yet ruddy; and her face looked similarly as it did while she was alive; so they stated, 'We will never cover her exposed to the harsh elements ground.'

  And they made a box of glass, so they may even now take a gander at her, and composed upon it in brilliant letters what her name was, and that she was a lord's little girl. Furthermore, the pine box was set among the slopes, and one of the diminutive people dependably sat by it and viewed. Also, the winged animals of the air came as well, and wailed over Snowdrop; and as a matter of first importance came an owl, and after that a raven, and finally a pigeon, and sat close by.

  Isabella- Fae smiled as the food was brought to her. She liked the friendly atmosphere and the peace of first class, since almost no one was really up there with her. She nodded in thanks, took her food and started to eat, reading at the same time.

  What's more, therefore Snowdrop lay for a long, long time, and still just looked as if she was sleeping; for she was even now as white as snow, and as red as blood, and as dark as black. Finally a ruler came and called at the smaller people's home; and he saw Snowdrop, and read what was composed in brilliant letters. At that point he offered the smaller people cash, and supplicated and besought them to give him a chance to take her away; yet they stated, 'We won't part with her for all the gold on the planet.' At last, in any case, they had feel sorry for on him, and gave him the pine box; however the minute he lifted it up to convey it home with him, the bit of apple tumbled from between her lips, and Snowdrop arose, and stated, 'Where am I?'

  And the ruler stated, 'Thou craftsmanship very protected with me.' Then he revealed to her everything that had happened, and stated, 'I cherish you much better than all the world; so accompany me to my dad's castle, and you should be my significant other.' And Snowdrop assented, and ran home with the sovereign; and everything was prepared with awesome pageantry and magnificence for their wedding. To the devour was asked, among the rest, Snowdrop's old adversary the ruler; and as she was dressing herself in fine rich garments, she looked in the glass and stated: 'Let me know, glass, reveal to me genuine! Of the considerable number of women in the land, Who is most attractive, let me know, who?' And the glass replied: 'Thou, woman, workmanship loveliest here, I ween; But lovelier far is the new-made ruler.' When she heard this she began with seethe; yet her envy and interest were great to the point, that she couldn't resist embarking to see the lady of the hour.

  Furthermore, when she arrived, and saw that it was no other than Snowdrop, who, as she thought, had been dead a drawn-out period of time, she stifled with fury, and tumbled down and passed on: yet Snowdrop and the sovereign lived and ruled cheerfully finished that land many, numerous years; and here and there they went up into the mountains, and visited the little midgets, who had been so kind to Snowdrop in her critical moment.

  When she finished, she packed everything up on her tray, trying to ignore the ache in her throat, the pain that thundered through her body and her skin, the way the book made her ache, and made her happy, all at the same time. She shook her head to herself, smiling quietly as she swallowed back the lump. This book did that to her, every time. It was hard hitting and she could not help it. Isabella- Fae shuddered and set the book down with a small smile, packing it into her bag. She felt sad, but happier somehow, more fulfilled. She packed up the rest of her things, making sure that she had everything ready to go, ready to move for the rest of the trip. Then Isabella- Fae shut her eyes, settled back and drifted into sleep, the lull of the plane engine settling her to sleep, settling her into a warm and peaceful lull that she couldn’t avoid, could not escape. She loved it, loved the peace.

  Her last thought before falling asleep was a twisted mess of the book, and of her father, her thoughts of the day echoing again, as if they were on loop.

  She was lucky. She was so lucky. And she was going to make it all up to him. She was going to be here now, now when he needed her the most. It was going to all work out- Isabella- Fae could not bear to think of the alternative.

  She would find him. She would bring him home. Everything would be okay.

  Chapter 2

  When Isabella- Fae woke, the plane was landing. She stretched and got ready to leave the plane. It did not take long for the plane to park. It was then time to leave and she grabbed her stuff, undid her belt, stretched and smiled as she stood. She was ready for this.

  Nervousness was twisting in her stomach, uncertainty about what lay ahead of her, what lay ahead in this strange new place, with strange new rules, this place where her father had gone missing, where her father had disappeared from her life. She would meet with Darcy and he would help her find out what had happened to her father, what had happened to him and where he had gone. She had a feeling that Darcy would be good at filling her in. He had sounded like he really knew his stuff, really knew what he was doing and for that, Isabella- Fae was endlessly glad.

  Isabella- Fae needed to know that whoever she had on her team was good at what they did, was competent in ways that she was not. He seemed to know what her father had been doing and he seemed to know the country itself pretty well. Isabella- Fae did not know much about him, other than that, and it made her a little nervous to think about going to meet a man, a man who she did not know, without any sort of backup. Everyone in the office, knew where she was and where she was going. Isabella- Fae supposed that this was really a fantastic thing, as it kept her safe, made sure that everyone knew not to mess with her, or it would be reported.

  This brought Isabella- Fae only a small amount of comfort, as her father had been a bigger player than she was and they hadn't seemed to give a damn about that. As she wandered out, Isabella- Fae was hit with a wave of warmth, hot humid, the type that just seemed to keep coming and coming. She shuddered, feeling sweat bead on her skin already. She had been warned of the hot weather here, but she hadn't really understood what she was up against until this moment. It was really warm. And she could feel the heat dripping down her skin, making her bite her lip and try not to give into it.

  Isabella- Fae swallowed as she walked down the hallway. This was something that she had been working towards all week. Now that it was here, she was feeling nervous and uncomfortable, feel
ing the stress build in her body, and in her mind. She knew that she was doing the right thing, but it did not make it any easier to deal with, any easier to settle within herself when it came to her nerves. She forced a smile, ducking into the bathrooms.

  A quick check of her hair, a fix of her makeup and a straightening of her posture and Isabella- Fae felt more confident, more able to tackle the problems ahead of her, take on the world. Isabella- Fae took a deep breath and walked out towards the meeting area. She was not sure who she was looking for, so she scanned the people who were holding up signs. When she found her name, she felt a jolt move through her. The sign was propped up beside a large man, who seemed disinterested and intense all at the same time. She took him in, feeling heat flush up her cheeks at the sight of him. He was a large man, a big guy with broad shoulders and a tall build. He was big, in more ways than one, with a larger than life presence, and at the same time, Isabella- Fae had a feeling that he could blend into nothing if he so wished, if that was what he needed and wanted to do. It was a thrilling thought, a thought that she liked, before having even met the man.

  His eyes were dark, the color of the darkest night and his hair was the same, a deep black color that seemed to suck the very reflection from it. He had broad arms, which were folded over his chest. He wore a black shirt and black pants and dark boots. He looked like he could blend into the very shadows and he did not look corporate at all. He looked like he belonged in the forest or on a battlefield more than he belonged in an office. Isabella- Fae wondered how he knew her father and just what he had been doing when he had disappeared. Isabella- Fae shivered, pushing the dark thoughts away and trying to focus on the task ahead of her.

  She tried to ignore the burning that had started somewhere in her chest the moment that she saw Darcy. She tried to ignore the desire that was twisting inside of her like a snake. This was business, entirely business and this was something that she needed to keep in mind if she wanted to find her father and save him. She did not come here to meet a man like Darcy and fall for him, she came here to meet Darcy so that she could save her father and the business and everything that he had built. She had come here for him, not for Darcy. Not really.

  Still, she smiled, needing to make a good impression if she wanted his help. She repeated what her father had taught her, steadying herself, as she headed towards him with a bright smile, "Hi, you must be Darcy."

  The man looked up with a casual sort of movement. He looked supremely confident in himself, incredibly at ease in his own skin, like he was born to be here in this very moment. It was a confidence that was both immensely attractive and very unsettling. For some reason that Isabella- Fae could not explain, she was very unsettled by him, by the way he looked at her. She felt like prey under the gaze of a predator, a very strong predator who could kill her in an instant but had, instead, chosen to let her live.

  Isabella- Fae shivered. Darcy nodded, a long slow movement, "Yes. Miss James?"

  Isabella- Fae nodded and Darcy said, "Good, let's go."

  He turned, and was walking to the luggage conveyor belt before Isabella- Fae even knew what was happening. He did not take long to grab her luggage and carry it for her, and Isabella- Fae was left startled and wondering how exactly he had figured out her luggage, figured out what she had brought with her and how he was so damn sure it was hers. She never tagged her things, not in any obvious way, so she was not exactly sure how he had done that.

  Isabella- Fae was left racing to keep up with him, feeling confided, unsettled and a little bit frustrated, "Could you please wait?"

  "For what?" Darcy did not break his stride, "You wish to find your father, correct? Then we must move."

  That stopped Isabella- Fae dead, and she bit her lip, feeling the frustration rise inside of her. He was right, of course. He was completely right. She needed to make sure that her father was safe, that he was found. Petty arguments and what she took for bad manners, would just be a waste of time, and he was probably just focused on the job at hand.

  She did not need to take it so personally. Still, something about the way that he was treating her, already, had her frustrated, feeling herself get her back up, feeling the frustration course through her. She shook her head, trying to get over it. Finding her father was the priority here. Nothing else mattered. Not really. Not when you really got down to it. She needed to find him and she needed to do it quickly. She had already wasted a week and now she was considering wasting more time.

  She struggled to keep up with him, trying to collect her thoughts, "Darcy, what was my father doing here?"

  "We’ll talk in the car." Something about his tone was very serious and Isabella- Fae bit her lip, wondering what her father had been doing that was so secretive. She wondered what was going on that she was not aware of, what was going on that she did not know about or hadn’t been told about. She swallowed, feeling dread creep into her heart and her mind and burrow down like a cancer. She swallowed deeply, feeling the stress push down on her shoulders. Shrugging it off, she followed Darcy as they made their way to the car. As they stepped outside, the warmth of everything hit Isabella- Fae for the second time and she winced. It was so damn hot here that Isabella- Fae was not sure how people coped with it, was not sure how people dealt with the heat pressing down on them like a blanket.

  Darcy did not even seem to notice and she supposed that he had gotten used to it by now, gotten used to the oppressive heat pushing down on him, especially in the black clothes that he was wearing, with the dark shade of his hair. He must be very used to this, she assumed, to be able to deal with it as well as he was.

  Darcy did not say a word as they approached a large, dark colored SUV. The car itself was dark, a brownish color and she supposed that it probably made for great camouflage. She did not know if he needed that but she had a sneaky suspicion that yes, he would be the kind of man who appreciated camouflage. She looked the car up and down. It was clean, it was well maintained, and it looked like it could get a lot of jobs done. Darcy flipped the boot and put her bag in the back. Then he opened the passenger door, and slid into the driver’s seat. Isabella- Fae hoisted herself up, and slid into the passenger seat, shutting the door behind her.

  She was starting to feel, quite keenly, the burning weight of all of the questions that she had for Darcy, all of the things that she as longing to know, that she was desperately thinking about and seeking answers to. She did not know if he was ready to talk, but she was well and truly ready to listen.

  Darcy shut his door like a whisper, and Isabella- Fae felt her courage build now that the doors were shut. She turned to him, looking at him intently, "Darcy, what was my father doing out here?"

  Instead of answering right away, Darcy turned on the engine, letting it idle for a moment. Then he slid the car into reverse and twisted out of the car park, "A few things." Darcy paused and shook his head, "Look, Isabella- Fae....You want to help your father, I understand..."

  Isabella- Fae did not like the patronizing tone in his voice, the way he sounded like he was about to belittle her, talk down to her. She could feel herself bristling, feel the tension building and burning in her body, making her feel dizzy with frustration, "Don't you dare." She said, before Darcy could say another word, "Don't you dare talk down to me." She could feel the tension rising up like a wave and she shook her head, "I might not know everything, and I don't know everything my father was doing, but I am more than capable of being a part of this, Darcy." There was tension in her voice and she turned to him, "I am managing the company and I can manage this. You promised me answers."

  Darcy sighed, looking like he was resigned to this, but there was tension in his jawline, "Your father would never forgive me if something happened to you. You know that, don't you?"

  Isabella- Fae shrugged, "Then maybe, instead of trying to shut me out of things, you could let me in and educate me so that I don't go and get myself killed like some idiot."

  Darcy snort and Isabella-
Fae could have sworn that it was a laugh, that amusement was building in his eyes, that were as dark as the deepest obsidian. He shrugged and shook his head, "This doesn't reach the press, you understand?"

  Isabella- Fae nodded, "Again, I'm not about to put the company in danger, Darcy. If my father is involved with something he should not be, I won't tell."

  Darcy shook his head, "Oh, he should not be involved with this, alright, but it is nothing illegal." Darcy paused, "At least, your father was not doing anything illegal. He was being too damn nosy, that's what he was doing."