Saved By The Glass Slipper Read online

  Within minutes, Mark walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. “They’re watching game shows. That’ll keep them busy for a few minutes.”

  “It’d better.”

  Mark laid the clothing on the counter and removed my towel, studying me. “Gorgeous.”

  “You know they’re right out there,” I whispered.

  “Yep. And we have to hurry or he’ll call the cops.” Mark picked up the underwear and helped me put them on, massaging me the whole way up my legs. I was a little bit uncomfortable with him dressing me, but he seemed to enjoy it, so I let him go.

  “You’re hot.” He picked up the matching bra and studied the clasp. “Why do they make these things so hard to deal with?”

  I showed him how it worked and he tried to put it on me, but he couldn’t figure it out, so I laughed and helped him. I lathered on my deodorant and he helped me put on a polo shirt, then pulled on my jeans for me, taking time to snap them and zip them up, massaging me everywhere as he went. The message was loud and clear. He really wanted to have an uninterrupted wedding night and I was going to have to be deflowered. There was no doubt about it. Considering how he made me feel, it made me want to help him out.

  I yanked on my socks and shoes while he brushed my hair, stroking it carefully. As soon as I applied some makeup, I turned to him and smiled. “Did you enjoy that?”

  He grinned and pulled me to him. “Probably even more than you did.” His kiss was sweet, making me moan when he touched my teeth with his tongue.

  He checked his watch and we both re-entered the bedroom. Mark walked out onto the balcony to make a phone call while I dealt with the rhyming couple.

  “Is it a good show?”

  “Shhh!” Randy said. “I want to know the answer to this question.”

  “What question?”

  “Who is the current President of the United States,” he said.

  “Oh, brother!” I said.

  “Yes, he’s your brother,” Brandy replied. “Isn’t he incredible, wanting to learn more about the world?”

  I walked out onto the balcony with Mark. There was no way I was related to Randy, and for Brandy wanting to marry him, it made me want to be sick.

  Mark nodded, listening on the phone. “Yes, sir, I understand. That might be why she’s being targeted by other nations as well.”

  “Other nations?” I whispered.

  Mark just nodded. I fell into the overstuffed chair, not believing my ears.

  “We’ll keep an eye on her and make sure everyone’s safe. How many agents are going to be in this area?” Mark sat beside me and held onto my hand. “Uh-huh. Right.”

  Why did life have to be so eventful? This was my wedding day, I was being hunted down by terrorists, the government wanted me to work with them, and my own brother didn’t know the name of the President of the United States. I wondered if Randy had the right idea. He didn’t have any of the problems I had.

  Mark ended his call, letting his head fall into his palm with his elbow on the other side of the chair.

  “Not good?” I asked.

  “It’s nothing for you to worry about. What’s your brother doing?”

  “He’s trying to figure out the name of the President of the United States.”

  He sat up and faced me, trying not to laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Would I ever kid about something like that? Brandy thinks he’s wonderful because he’s trying to learn new things.”

  Mark stood up, helped me to my feet then took my hand and walked with me into the bedroom. “Randy and Brandy, go back to your room and watch television because they’re not expecting us until six.” Mark shot me a very interesting grin. “We’re going to…discuss a few things here, and we’ll meet you at six.”

  “We’d rather stay with you,” Randy said, flipping the channel on the remote.

  I rolled my eyes at Mark and he sighed in frustration. “Fine, then let’s go to the bar,” he said.

  “That sounds like fun,” Randy said.

  “Does John drink?” Mark asked me.

  “Yep. Like a fish. I’m the only teetotaler in my family.”

  “Good,” he said with a huge grin. “Let’s go.”

  We all walked out of our room and Mark pushed the button for the elevator. His arm was around my waist, and I returned the favor. I would rather have been in our room alone, to see how far Mark could go before having to meet the in-laws, or before I chickened out.

  We entered the elevator and Mark pulled me to the side. Brandy and Randy stared at us, looking as if they were confused about our relationship.

  “Are you two always lovey-dovey like that?” Randy asked.

  “Sure,” Mark said. “It kind of goes with being married, right?”

  “No,” Brandy answered. “Marriage is just to save money.”

  “No,” I said. “Marriage means two people are in love and want to share their lives together.” I stared at Mark and his eyebrows hit the roof while he grinned. Fortunately, his back was to my brother and his rhyming fiancée.

  “Well, for us,” Brandy said. “It’s to save money. We have it all figured out. We’ll be more like roommates.”

  I stared at the woman. “I don’t think Randy would want that, and really think you two need to talk it over.”

  “We have already,” she answered.

  Mark faced me, and I understood exactly what our mission was. We had to save the rhyming couple.

  The elevator hit the bottom floor and we all got out. Mark steered us to the bar, where we took a seat at a table. I was beside Mark, and Randy was across from me, with Brandy on the other side of me.

  Mark ordered each of us a beer, then turned to my brother and his fiancée. “So, about marriage. It really should be about love and not roommates.”

  “I agree,” Randy said, then turned to Brandy. “What ever made you think otherwise?”

  “I thought that’s what you wanted,” she answered. “You always told me it’d be like being roommates, with extra perks.”

  “You misunderstood.”

  Mark leaned over to me while they continued to debate their relationship. “Want to go back upstairs with me and make out?”

  “I’d love to.”

  We got up from our seats when John and his family entered the bar.

  “We can’t win, can we?” Mark whispered into my ear.

  “Nope. Guess I’m going to be scared forever, too.”

  “Not if I have anything to do about it,” he murmured. “I think that wall of fear is breaking down, brick by brick.”

  “Good analogy.”

  We all went into the private dining room, with giant tables in the middle, forming a circle. Mark sat down beside me at the end of the table closest to the door, with three empty spaces to my left.

  “Order whatever you want, because it’s on me,” Mark announced as he stood up. “The wait staff will take your order whenever you’re ready.”

  John was seated with his family at the other side of the circle of tables. His mouth fell down as soon as he opened his menu. “Mark, did you look at the menu yet?”

  “Sure, why?” Mark sat down and removed his silverware from his napkin.

  “Did you look at the prices?”

  “Sure. It’s fine.” Mark leaned over to me. “Wait for it…” he whispered.

  “Huh?”

  “It’s coming. Just wait,” he answered in barely a whisper.

  “What did you say you did for a living?” John asked.

  “Am I good or what?” he whispered into my ear. He turned to my oldest brother and smiled. “I’m a programmer. Why?”

  “You must make a bundle.”

  “I like treating people well. That’s all.” My darling husband grinned and I almost lost it. If these people knew even half of what I knew…

  We were suddenly joined by the three bodyguards, William, Andrew and Tony.

  “I’d like to formally introduce some co-workers of
mine,” Mark said as the three thugs sat in the empty seats to my left. Mark pointed to each of them when he introduced them. “Tony, William, and Andrew. They’re on staff at our company as security personnel. They’re accompanying us since Amy’s apartment was compromised.”

  “You have bodyguards at a computer company?” Randy asked.

  “It’s a software company,” Mark said with a grin. “We have to make sure the competition doesn’t steal our ideas.”

  “Right,” Randy said, nodding. I was sure everything after the word ‘software’ was over his head.

  A waitress appeared at the table and whispered something to Mark. He glanced over at me. “Yes, red wine would be good to start.”

  I watched my two nieces squirm in their seats down near John. He picked up Bethany and sat her in his lap.

  I motioned to the waitress who was walking away. “Miss?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Dallas.”

  I almost turned around to see who she was talking to, but kept my composure. “Can you get something for those two to eat while we’re waiting?” I pointed to my nieces and the woman looked and smiled.

  “Of course.” She wasn’t gone more than a minute when she returned with crayons, children’s menus and two plates of fruit. Both of the girls smiled and thanked the woman, then she walked away.

  After we were given our drinks, we ordered our meals. Just as our meals arrived, the doors to the room burst open and two men dressed in dark suits with sunglasses walked in, holding guns.

  “Is Amy Summers here?”

  “Uh-oh,” I whispered.

  Mark swallowed what he had in his mouth and stood up. “Who are you?”

  “FBI,” said one of the men, flashing a badge. “We need to take Amy with us.” They walked toward me and one of them grabbed my arm, pulling me out of my seat.

  “Wait just a minute.” Mark glanced toward his thugs before returning to the newcomers. “You can’t come in here and take my wife from us.”

  “Your wife?” the one who was holding onto me asked. “She’s not married.”

  Mark gave his bodyguards a nod. They all stood and drew weapons on the two men. The man who was holding my arm tightened his grip.

  “We’ll be outside, sir,” Tony said. He pried the man’s arm off my elbow and I massaged it.

  The three of them walked outside with the two FBI men, and Mark leaned over to me. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, examining my arm. “I think I’ll be black and blue, but I’m fine.”

  He whispered into my ear. “Want to play doctor?”

  My laughter was cut short by the sound of gunfire in the hallway. We all ducked, and John pulled both of his children under the table. The doors flew open and William ran inside. “Tony’s been hit!”

  ~~~~~

  Chapter 7

  Mark ran into the hallway, so I followed him. I wasn’t about to let him out of my sight. I knew I could take the bad guys if they tried to hurt Mark.

  “No. Amy, stay in there,” he yelled.

  “But—”

  He gave me a look that melted my knees, so I listened to him and returned to my family, all hiding under the table. The two girls were crying, while Annemarie tried to calm them down.

  “I want an explanation,” John bellowed. “Now, Amy!”

  “If I had one, I’d tell you,” I said, joining them. “I know the FBI was called in to protect me and that’s all I know.”

  “Why would the FBI come in to protect you?” he asked.

  “I have no idea, except Mark thought it would be a good idea. He’s worried because the dead man in my apartment was a friend of Dad’s.”

  “Is that why he had armed bodyguards come with you?” John asked.

  “Yes. He’s worried about me, and seeing what just happened, I’m worried myself.”

  “Are we all in trouble?” Randy asked. He was always a wimp.

  “Probably,” I whispered. “If they know about me, chances are they also know about you, too.”

  I heard the door open, hearing Mark chuckle. “I think you can all come out now.”

  I looked up at him and grinned. “We weren’t sure what was going on.”

  “I realize that. Those two men weren’t FBI, and I knew it. The FBI guys aren’t to get here for another hour, and they already know we’re married.”

  We all crawled out from under the table and I dusted off my shirt and pants. “And those two didn’t know it. Makes sense to me.”

  “If they’d been FBI, they wouldn’t have drawn weapons on us, either.”

  How’s Tony?” I asked, fearing the worst.

  “He’s going to the hospital. They shot him in the arm, but he’ll be okay.”

  “Mark, we’d like to take our kids to Annemarie’s mother’s house,” John said. “Can we do that? We don’t want them to worry about being s-h-o-t.”

  Rachel looked up at her father’s face. “We won’t be shot. I know it. Uncle Mark’s going to protect us with those big men.”

  Mark faced John, sighing deeply. “I didn’t think someone would track us. It’s like they know where we are.” He glanced at my young nieces. “I’d worry about the girls at their grandmother’s house. If they can track us, they might be able to track them too. The FBI might have a solution to all of this, so let’s wait for them.”

  My brothers both mumbled, returning to their seats with everyone else.

  “Where are William and Andrew?” I asked, still standing beside Mark.

  He pulled out my seat and helped me into it, then sat beside me. “They’re waiting for the ambulance with Tony. They’re right out in the hallway.”

  I heard a siren in the distance and smiled. Tony was going to be okay, and I knew it. I really liked him, too.

  “Mark, you said they’re tracking us.” John asked, playing with his food. “Do you know that for a fact?”

  “No, but it seems really coincidental that they should know exactly where we were in the hotel, doesn’t it? I mean, we didn’t make reservations in advance and didn’t reserve this room that far in advance either.”

  “There might be another explanation,” John said, with a sheepish look on his face. Oh, he was either guilty of something or knew something big. I could tell from the look on his face.

  “What would that be?” I asked.

  Randy kept eating, looking like none of this was a shock to him. I guess nothing got between him and his stomach. “I have to get the recipe for these potatoes,” he said. “I wonder if they’d give it to me?”

  I shook my head and faced my older brother. “Well?”

  The sirens were loud, suddenly stopping in front of the hotel. I glanced at my nieces taking their hands away from their ears, only imagining how they felt.

  John stared at Mark, then at me before he began to explain what he knew. “When Dad got back from the Army, he was really scared. He used to have nightmares that someone was trying to kidnap us kids. So, he had tracking devices put into our arms, but told us they were immunizations. They were secret technology and made out of plastic so we wouldn’t be detected in airports.” He glanced at my other brother. “Randy and I had ours removed, but we didn’t tell you, Amy, in case anything ever happened to you. I have the codes for all three of them, just in case.”

  My mouth fell open and I faced Mark, who was also stunned.

  “No wonder my apartment’s been broken into more than once and you guys weren’t touched,” I said, turning to John. “When were you planning on telling me this?”

  “Never, actually. It was a foolproof way to make sure you were safe, but someone figured it out, I guess.”

  I chugged a huge swig of wine. I really needed to be drunk to deal with all of this. “How would they do that?”

  John lowered his voice. “It would’ve been in the Army’s database. It was considered to be classified, so whoever knows the code would have to be high up in the Army or government.” He glanced at Mark. “It could even be th
e FBI for all we know.”

  “I don’t think so,” Mark answered. “I’ll talk to them when they get here.” He glanced around the table. “Everyone needs to eat and enjoy yourselves. As soon as the agents get here, I’ll make sure we’re all protected. In the meantime, don’t leave. My guys called the police, too, so we should be fine.”

  I leaned over toward Mark. “The fake FBI guys got away, didn’t they?”

  “Yep. Some wedding day, huh?”

  “We’ll be able to tell our grandchildren about it,” I answered, taking another swig.

  He turned to me with a grin. “You know, to have grandchildren—”

  “Yep.” I emptied my glass and handed it to him. “May I have some more?”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yep.” I whispered into his ear. “I want to be plastered for tonight’s activities.”

  He chuckled then moved my glass on the other side of his. “Nope. Not going to happen.”

  “No?”

  “Too easy. Not challenging at all.”

  “So that would take the fun out of it?”

  “You know it,” he said. “I want you fully aware so you enjoy…the television show.”

  I swallowed hard. There wasn’t going to be any television show, but just carnal sex. Mark was a typical man and I was sure he was looking forward to playing brain games with me just to get his way.

  The door to the room opened. William and Andrew took their seats next to me once again.

  Mark leaned up in front of me to talk to Andrew. “Is he okay?”

  “Yes, sir. He’ll be fine. It wasn’t bad.”

  “Did you call?” Mark asked.

  “Yes. Our backup guys will be here in about four hours or so. They’re taking the bigger plane.”

  “Bigger plane?” I asked, turning to Mark.

  “Don’t worry about it,” he whispered, then turned back to Andrew. “Did you get the extra rooms?”

  “Yes, sir. It’s all covered. You’ll have two of us upstairs and two downstairs.”

  “And the FBI?”

  “They’ll be up with you guys in two other rooms. You should be fine.”

  “Good.” Mark leaned closer to them. “Do I need to be armed?”

  “No, sir,” Andrew said, looking at me. “Not on your wedding night, if you know what I mean.”