Freedom Is The Choice Between Love And Duty

“You are the most horrible, despicable, animal I have ever known!”

“Calm down, Princess, it’s for your own good.”

“My own good? My own good?! How is keeping me from my friends for my own good?”

I was fuming, how dare he call my friends and tell them I wasn’t going to make it to the lake.

Jakal sighed, “It is dangerous at the lake.”

“How is it more dangerous then sky diving?”

Adrian shrugged, “I’m not going to compare the two.”

“Why are you doing this? I need to be able to take risks, I need to be free!”

“Princesses can’t afford to be free.” he said quietly.

Throwing my hands up in frustration I turned and slid out of the SUV, walking into my house.

“Adrian!” I screamed from the doorway

He came running sown the stairs, stopping in front of me out of breath, “What? What’s wrong?”

“Call your dog off before I declare it hunting season!”

He looked confused until Jakal walked through the door.

“Jeez, Lily, Carmella’s sleeping!”

Adrian walked away.

“Adrian, I’m serious! I will personally shoot him myself!”

“I’m sure you two will have fun, now go away, I have work to do.”

“So, Princess, I’ll show you my gun if you show me yours.”

I turned to see Jakal smirking, the nasty jerk.

“You want to know something, Jakal? You’re just a stray mutt looking for a home. Well this isn’t it.”

I turned to walk to my room.

~*~

Jakal watched as Lily left up the stairs.

“She didn’t mean it.”

Turning he saw his friend enter the room.

“No, she meant it, and she was right.”

Jakal turned from Adrian and walked to his car, pulled out of the driveway, and drove deep in the mountains.

~*~

“What has gotten into you?!” Adrian asked furiously as he barged into my room

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said calmly, packing for my trip to the lake.

“How could you treat Jakal that way?!”

“Really, Adrian, he’s just the guy you pay to babysit me. Well I’m not a child anymore.”

“Then stop acting like one!” he exploded

“Would both of you quit acting like children?!”

Adrian and I turned to see Carmella at my door, a hand over her stomach and grimacing in pain.

“Carmella! What’s wrong?” Adrian hurried to her side.

“I don’t know, but this baby either wants out or is objecting to your fighting.”

“Come on, lets get you to the hospital,” Adrian lifted his wife, running down the steps with me after him.

“Lily, I need you to stay here and tell dad where we are when he gets back from his run.”

I watch as Adrian’s truck swerves out of the drive.

Oh, God, please don’t let anything happen to them.

Sighing I shut the door, screaming when a masked man smiled at me. Moving before I could react he jabbed a needle into my neck, injecting a warm liquid.

“I thought this would be harder, but since your sister-in-law just happened to have birthing pains, my life just became a lot easier.”