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Unexpected Chapter Eighteen
Stpeh was about to get into whatever wonderful dessert Savannah and made when Mark's phone rang. 'Sorry,' he mouthed while checking the caller ID.
"What is it Syd?" He asked he oldest daughter.
"The other day there was this guy following me. I didn't think much of it until I saw him again to day. He's freaking me out," Sydney explained.
Steph saw marks look go from slightly annoyed to concerned and instantly knew something was wrong. "Go to a play or somewhere public. I'll be on the next flight," Mark said trying to say calm. He was doing sufficiently well for the moment.
"Okay see you," Sydney said. "Love you."
"Love you too, baby girl," Mark told her.
"I'll call Shane and see what he knows," Stephanie said as soon as he hung up the phone.
"Thanks," Mark said before calling up the airport. It was only 8:30 there still might be another flight out before the red-eye in the morning.
Stephanie didn't get much new information out of her brother. They'd already suspected the Sydney was going to be Vince's next target all Shane had done was confirmed it.
"Ask Shane to say with you guys," Mark suggested. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of Stephanie and the girls being here alone. This all could be just a diversion.
"Shane, you think you could grab Jaden and come to Houston for a week or two? Mark will be in NYC and he'd rather not leave us here alone," Stephanie said. Mark just gave her a glare.
"He's probably right. He fed you information that was incomplete and not totally accurate so you would help him," Shane told his sister, "but why grab Jaden?"
"Because if Dad doesn't know that you're helping me then when you disappear he will, and Jaden is the most important thing in your life. If I were you I'd keep her as close to me as I could. I'm sure Ris wouldn't mind," Stephanie reminded him.
"I'll be there either tomorrow or Monday," Shane told her. "When's Mark coming to New York?"
"Tonight, but I'll let you go. I think Jaden might need you," Stephanie said hearing the familiar voice of her niece in the background.
"See you soon," Shane said before hanging up.
She relayed what Shane had said to Mark omitting the part where Shane had agreed with Mark as they were walking back toward the house.
"Good," Mark said. "I don't want you guys leaving the property until he gets here."
"We're not helpless Mark. We're just as capable of protecting ourselves as you are," Stephanie insisted. She really was touched by how much he cared.
"Stephanie, Sierra's just a baby, you're pregnant, and Savannah is only a teenager. You guys are about as easy of a target for him as you can get," Mark told her seriously. He hated ordering her around but right now he felt like he was going what was best.
"Okay you're right," Stephanie reluctantly agreed. "But Savannah has to go to school Monday whether or not Shane is here."
"Fine," Mark gave in. School was so important for Savannah, even more important than it had been for Sydney, and he had thought that impossible.
"Fine, it'll probably be to cold to do too much of anything," Stephanie agreed. She hated bargaining with Mark because on the few occasions she had to she'd ended up on the losing end.
"Good," Mark said giving her a kiss on the forehead before walking into the house.
"You guys are back early," Savannah said when she heard the adults walk in. She had been rummaging through the refrigerator.
"I need to go see your sister tonight. I don't know when I'll be back, but Stephanie's in charge until then," Mark told his daughter. She knew it was serious by the name he called Stephanie.
"You mean she isn't already?" Savannah quipped.
Mark glared at her. "You know what I mean young lady," he said going up the stairs.
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Mark ripped through his room grabbing all that he could. He only had a little bit of time to get what he needed around.
He quickly said goodbye to his daughters and Stephanie before leaving for the airport. He was driving like a mad man the whole way there.
Once he got to the airport he called Sydney again. When she didn't answer he calmed himself by assuming that she was at some show or other like he'd told her to do.
On the plane he wasn't sure what to do. He'd never really liked planes to begin with and all the stuff going on in his life wasn't helping any. He had yet to have the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach like he had when Savannah had vanished but he wasn't sure if it would work with Sydney being so far away.
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Sydney caught the last two acts of a play and it was getting late. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay in public places. She'd briefly considered going to a club, but, aside from her father killing her when she called again, she wasn't 21 yet (she was only a few months off though) so she probably couldn't get in anyway.
She decided to take a chance and go to a restaurant. She knew considering it was Valentine's Day finding a restaurant with anything open was even rarer the than usual, but she had no where else to go.
As soon as she left the theatre she saw the guy following her again. She was extremely irked by his presence. There was something about him that creeped her out more than anyone in the rest of the city. Considering the population that was pretty damned scary.
'Calm down,' she told herself. 'Dad's on his way. You've spend half your life with wrestlers you can defend yourself if you need to." She took another moment to calm herself down enough to safely get to where she needed to be.
For once she was able to get a cab relatively easy. Something she'd always had difficulty doing from her first day in the city. Then again she normally took the subway, but that was a big no-no at night and by herself.
She tried three restaurants before finding one with a table available. She hated that it was Valentine's Day. 'No,' she said to herself. 'You hate that Justin had to go home for the weekend and you're stuck on this corny holiday by yourself.'
She took as long as she could, and just before she was about to leave again before her phone rang. She answered it quickly after checking the caller ID. Her father told her to pick him up at the airport, and then they could go back to her apartment. For once she didn't argue with him.
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Stephanie walked by Savannah's room and saw her getting ready for bed. "Hopefully you don't have any plans for tomorrow," Stephanie said. She wished she didn't have to be the bearer of bad news, but Mark rushed out so fast that she had to be.
"You have to let me got to the movies tomorrow," Savannah said. She wanted the opportunity to catch up with her friends.
"Sorry sweetie, but I can't until Shane gets here tomorrow or Monday. Your dad made me tell him that none of us would leave until someone else gets here," Stephanie explained.
"So there's still a chance that late tomorrow afternoon I might still get to go?" Savannah clarified.
"As long as Shane is here I don't have any problems with anything you've already got going on," Stephanie told her. "I did mange to get him to let you go to school Monday though."
"He's so paranoid sometimes. He thinks that I'm five not 17 almost 18," Savannah said. "He's not the only person who can protect me. Who says I even want to be protected?"
"He's looking out for you sweetie. He doesn't want you to get hurt. In his eyes you will always be his little girl even when your 40," Stephanie told her. "It shows how much he cares about you."
"Sometimes I just want him to let me grow up."
"Growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be. Life isn't always fair and most of the people in the world won't care about you, and few will care about you as much as you're Dad. Trust me savor your youth."
"Thanks Steph, I'm going to bed."
"No problem. I'll be in my room if you need me."
Steph went to her room pulled out a book and began to read. She wanted to stay wake so if Mark called tonight she could talk to him. Unfortunately after about half an hour later she found herself unable to keep her eyes open any longer. There you go it's the next chapter. You've read now please review.
Unexpected Chapter Eighteen
Stpeh was about to get into whatever wonderful dessert Savannah and made when Mark's phone rang. 'Sorry,' he mouthed while checking the caller ID.
"What is it Syd?" He asked he oldest daughter.
"The other day there was this guy following me. I didn't think much of it until I saw him again to day. He's freaking me out," Sydney explained.
Steph saw marks look go from slightly annoyed to concerned and instantly knew something was wrong. "Go to a play or somewhere public. I'll be on the next flight," Mark said trying to say calm. He was doing sufficiently well for the moment.
"Okay see you," Sydney said. "Love you."
"Love you too, baby girl," Mark told her.
"I'll call Shane and see what he knows," Stephanie said as soon as he hung up the phone.
"Thanks," Mark said before calling up the airport. It was only 8:30 there still might be another flight out before the red-eye in the morning.
Stephanie didn't get much new information out of her brother. They'd already suspected the Sydney was going to be Vince's next target all Shane had done was confirmed it.
"Ask Shane to say with you guys," Mark suggested. He wasn't thrilled with the idea of Stephanie and the girls being here alone. This all could be just a diversion.
"Shane, you think you could grab Jaden and come to Houston for a week or two? Mark will be in NYC and he'd rather not leave us here alone," Stephanie said. Mark just gave her a glare.
"He's probably right. He fed you information that was incomplete and not totally accurate so you would help him," Shane told his sister, "but why grab Jaden?"
"Because if Dad doesn't know that you're helping me then when you disappear he will, and Jaden is the most important thing in your life. If I were you I'd keep her as close to me as I could. I'm sure Ris wouldn't mind," Stephanie reminded him.
"I'll be there either tomorrow or Monday," Shane told her. "When's Mark coming to New York?"
"Tonight, but I'll let you go. I think Jaden might need you," Stephanie said hearing the familiar voice of her niece in the background.
"See you soon," Shane said before hanging up.
She relayed what Shane had said to Mark omitting the part where Shane had agreed with Mark as they were walking back toward the house.
"Good," Mark said. "I don't want you guys leaving the property until he gets here."
"We're not helpless Mark. We're just as capable of protecting ourselves as you are," Stephanie insisted. She really was touched by how much he cared.
"Stephanie, Sierra's just a baby, you're pregnant, and Savannah is only a teenager. You guys are about as easy of a target for him as you can get," Mark told her seriously. He hated ordering her around but right now he felt like he was going what was best.
"Okay you're right," Stephanie reluctantly agreed. "But Savannah has to go to school Monday whether or not Shane is here."
"Fine," Mark gave in. School was so important for Savannah, even more important than it had been for Sydney, and he had thought that impossible.
"Fine, it'll probably be to cold to do too much of anything," Stephanie agreed. She hated bargaining with Mark because on the few occasions she had to she'd ended up on the losing end.
"Good," Mark said giving her a kiss on the forehead before walking into the house.
"You guys are back early," Savannah said when she heard the adults walk in. She had been rummaging through the refrigerator.
"I need to go see your sister tonight. I don't know when I'll be back, but Stephanie's in charge until then," Mark told his daughter. She knew it was serious by the name he called Stephanie.
"You mean she isn't already?" Savannah quipped.
Mark glared at her. "You know what I mean young lady," he said going up the stairs.
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Mark ripped through his room grabbing all that he could. He only had a little bit of time to get what he needed around.
He quickly said goodbye to his daughters and Stephanie before leaving for the airport. He was driving like a mad man the whole way there.
Once he got to the airport he called Sydney again. When she didn't answer he calmed himself by assuming that she was at some show or other like he'd told her to do.
On the plane he wasn't sure what to do. He'd never really liked planes to begin with and all the stuff going on in his life wasn't helping any. He had yet to have the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach like he had when Savannah had vanished but he wasn't sure if it would work with Sydney being so far away.
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Sydney caught the last two acts of a play and it was getting late. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stay in public places. She'd briefly considered going to a club, but, aside from her father killing her when she called again, she wasn't 21 yet (she was only a few months off though) so she probably couldn't get in anyway.
She decided to take a chance and go to a restaurant. She knew considering it was Valentine's Day finding a restaurant with anything open was even rarer the than usual, but she had no where else to go.
As soon as she left the theatre she saw the guy following her again. She was extremely irked by his presence. There was something about him that creeped her out more than anyone in the rest of the city. Considering the population that was pretty damned scary.
'Calm down,' she told herself. 'Dad's on his way. You've spend half your life with wrestlers you can defend yourself if you need to." She took another moment to calm herself down enough to safely get to where she needed to be.
For once she was able to get a cab relatively easy. Something she'd always had difficulty doing from her first day in the city. Then again she normally took the subway, but that was a big no-no at night and by herself.
She tried three restaurants before finding one with a table available. She hated that it was Valentine's Day. 'No,' she said to herself. 'You hate that Justin had to go home for the weekend and you're stuck on this corny holiday by yourself.'
She took as long as she could, and just before she was about to leave again before her phone rang. She answered it quickly after checking the caller ID. Her father told her to pick him up at the airport, and then they could go back to her apartment. For once she didn't argue with him.
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Stephanie walked by Savannah's room and saw her getting ready for bed. "Hopefully you don't have any plans for tomorrow," Stephanie said. She wished she didn't have to be the bearer of bad news, but Mark rushed out so fast that she had to be.
"You have to let me got to the movies tomorrow," Savannah said. She wanted the opportunity to catch up with her friends.
"Sorry sweetie, but I can't until Shane gets here tomorrow or Monday. Your dad made me tell him that none of us would leave until someone else gets here," Stephanie explained.
"So there's still a chance that late tomorrow afternoon I might still get to go?" Savannah clarified.
"As long as Shane is here I don't have any problems with anything you've already got going on," Stephanie told her. "I did mange to get him to let you go to school Monday though."
"He's so paranoid sometimes. He thinks that I'm five not 17 almost 18," Savannah said. "He's not the only person who can protect me. Who says I even want to be protected?"
"He's looking out for you sweetie. He doesn't want you to get hurt. In his eyes you will always be his little girl even when your 40," Stephanie told her. "It shows how much he cares about you."
"Sometimes I just want him to let me grow up."
"Growing up isn't all it's cracked up to be. Life isn't always fair and most of the people in the world won't care about you, and few will care about you as much as you're Dad. Trust me savor your youth."
"Thanks Steph, I'm going to bed."
"No problem. I'll be in my room if you need me."
Steph went to her room pulled out a book and began to read. She wanted to stay wake so if Mark called tonight she could talk to him. Unfortunately after about half an hour later she found herself unable to keep her eyes open any longer. There you go it's the next chapter. You've read now please review.