"I need you to do one last job for me," he jumps right into it.
I stare at him incredulously.
"You said I was done, that I didn't have to do anything else for you that was gang-related," by the end, I'm almost yelling.
"Keep your voice down before you wake the whole house," he tells me sternly. "I know what I said, but I really need you, Anna. I would not have come to you if I didn't."
I stare at him for a while and he stares back. I know he would not put me in this position if it wasn't important. Not after the last job I did for him.
"Fine whatever, tell me the details tomorrow," he gives me a nod and gets up to leave.
"I love you, sweetheart," he tells me before he opens the door.
"I love you too, dad," I tell him. He shuts off the light and closes the door behind him.
My dad is really hard on me but I know it's because he cares and he wants me to be safe.
The first time he showed me the other life he lives was when I was twelve. He took me to a shooting range that he owns and told me he wanted to teach me how to use a gun in case a situation ever came up that I would need to know how to protect myself. I didn't mind where we were as long as I got to spend time with him.
I quickly picked up how to use a gun, much to my dad's surprise and he quickly went to teach me self-defense. This was a little harder for me to pick up on with me being so small, but I was able to pick it up once I got the hang of it.
I remember the first time he took me on a job with him. I was fourteen and a nervous wreck, but I put on a brave face so that my dad would be proud of me.
He told me to stay put and watch from the cameras and I did as I was told until I saw some men approaching the location my dad and his men were and my instincts kicked in.
I didn't care that I was putting myself in danger, I just knew that my dad needed me. I didn't have an earpiece so I couldn't just warn him, so I grabbed a gun with a silencer and moved swiftly. I made sure to be quiet and I approached the first person. I had never shot someone before and I was nervous but my adrenaline was in overdrive and my need to protect my dad fueled me.
I landed a perfect shot and continued on. I was able to maneuver through the halls because I had been watching the cameras for a while. I was almost to the last place I had seen my dad when someone grabbed me from behind. I fought him off and I seemed to be winning, but one of his friends joined him and they subdued me.
They took me to my dad and told him that they were going to kill me because I took out so many of their men. I could tell he was surprised but he didn't let it show. They told him their terms and he agreed, but of course, when I was safe with his men he shot and killed the guys.
I thought he would be so mad at me for disobeying him and not staying in the van but he was just glad I was okay and proud of me for taking initiative. He started taking me on jobs with him after that and it was all going great until last year.
I was on a job with him and everything was going great until we were ambushed. A lot of shots were fired and I ended up with a bullet to the stomach, I was losing a lot of blood and I was close to death. My dad had a private doctor who was able to save me. My mom was so pissed and told my dad that this was why she didn't want me in this crap and my dad agreed. I had never seen him so scared and defeated in my life. I knew that I could never go back to that life ever again. I was too terrified of dying.
This has to be really important for my dad to ask me to help him out again.
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The next day, my dad let me stay home from school so we could go over plans. He wanted me to do some recon and keep watch for the operation. He told me that I was the only one that he knew would for sure have his back. This won't be too bad, I won't be near the action, so I was less likely to be injured.
Danny and the girls have been messaging and calling me all day, but I just did not have the heart to talk to them right now. I need to be focused so that no mistakes are made. I hate doing this to them but it needs to be done.
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It's about nine o'clock PM and we're on our way to the location. We pull up to a restaurant and I immediately head to the roof of the building across the street to keep a lookout. Everything is quiet for the first thirty minutes and I am so bored until I see Danny and the others heading to the cafe next door. I try to keep calm and I talk to my dad through the earpiece.
"Dad, can you hear me?"
"Yes. Is everything okay?"
"My friends are right next door so please be extra careful. I cannot have anything happen to them."
My breathing has become uneven at this point and my dad reassures me that he will do his best.
His associate arrives and he has about four men with him, watching dad's men. I see five more of his men posted outside and I keep a close eye on them, making sure nobody tries anything. The exchange goes smoothly and nobody is harmed.
I don't let out the breath I'm holding until I make sure every last one of them is gone. I tell my dad that everything is good and head back down to the car. As I make it across the street to meet my dad, all of my friends come walking out. They see me and the girls immediately run over to me. I try to hide the rifle behind my back so they don't know what's going on.
"Where the hell have you been all day," Ariel yells at me.
"We have been worried sick," Beth yells at me as well.
"I've been with my dad all day," I tell them.
They look at me with shock because they know exactly what that means. They look behind my back and shake their heads.
"I thought that was over after last time," Beth says nervously, spotting my dad as he exits the restaurant.
"It is. This was the last time, I promise. This is not happening ever again," I tell them with complete honesty on my face and in my tone. My dad comes over to grab the gun from behind my back and head back over to his men.
They let out breaths of relief, giving me one last hug and then going over to say hi to my dad. My eyes meet Danny's and we just stare at one another for a minute until he stalks toward me and pulls me in for a kiss, not caring that my dad was behind me.
When he pulls away he says, "Never disappear on me like that again. I thought something had happened to you. I don't know what I would have done if something happened. I love you so much and that would kill me."
I look at him with shock because we've never said the L word to each other before.
I compose myself and say, "I love you too and I promise this will never happen again."