Prologue
Alexis was sitting on her bed doing her homework one evening when her Uncle Ian quietly walked into the room. Ian Rider was a tall handsome man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. When his older brother and his sister in-law died in a plane crash he took their daughter Alexis in to raise as his own. He had grown to love being her guardian. She reminded him of the brother he had lost and of himself too. At the age of five, he had hired an American student who had needed a job to take care of her while he was at work. Her name was Jack Starbright and she had ended up moving in and staying full-time. She currently took care of Alexis whenever he went out of town on business. He had made sure Alexis learned how to do karate and things like scuba diving, rock climbing, rifle/shotgun shooting, and on her own accord, she had trained in gymnastics since she was seven. Alexis was very fit for only being fourteen. She had trained hard to get there and made sure she stayed that way. He had also made sure she learned to speak fluently in French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, and Chinese. She had been a quick learner and very determined. He was proud of her and regretted what he was about to tell her. He closes the door behind him, which gets her attention. She asks, "What do you want Uncle Ian? I am getting my homework done like you told me to." "I brought you a cup of hot chocolate." She gave him a scowl and suspicious look before saying, "You have some other motive. You only do something like this if you need to tell me something that I will not like and you want to soften the blow. Tell me what your motives are." "Can't an uncle do something nice for the niece that he has raised since she was a year old?" She takes the cocoa before saying, "Not when he is doing it to tell her because he has cancelled his plans with her on the account that he saw her kissing her boyfriend on the doorstep after a date and that she broke curfew on that account." "You are right about the plans being cancelled but I am not doing it because of the date and curfew thing. Jack gave me a long lecture on the way I yelled at you after he left. I am truly sorry about that. Please forgive me for that!" "I forgive you for that at least." "The real reason was because I have to go on a conference in Cornwall. It will take at least a week maybe longer." "This is the reason I do not understand you. You say you love me and care for me like the daughter you never had. That is a lie. You just think I am happy with the fact that I only see you every other week or so. You just do not love me." At this, she quickly grabs her shoes, puts them on, and starts to grab her coat when Ian asks her, "Where are you going?" "Somewhere I can get away from you and think." At this, she slams her door behind her. Ian Rider follows her down the stairs to see an angry Jack Starbright looking up at him. She tells him, "You are not going after that girl while you are still fuming with anger at her. She needs to have some time away from you. I will talk to her and convince her to talk it out with you. You are not going to yell at her when we get back." She gives him a look to kill when he tries to follow her. This makes him back off and listen to her. Jack walks off to find her and talk some sense into her. Ian never gets another chance to talk to her. Around 11:00, Jack calls him to come meet her to take her home. She had fallen asleep. He carries her home and lays her in bed before kissing her goodnight and leaving to go to sleep himself.