Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gideon
“Oh, my little thief. I’m afraid this is going to be a very unpleasant plane ride for you.” Chuckling, Maxwell looks up from the monitor on my desk, where we’ve been listening to our Little ones make their plans, to meet my eyes. “How do you want to play it?”
Part of me is tempted to march right up there right now and give my Little girl the spanking of a lifetime. But that’s much more Jasper’s style, and I can tell by the way he’s pacing a hole in my rug that he’s itching to do exactly that.
Me, I’ve always been a bit more… patient. It’s what makes me so lethal in the world of business. Where others are bulls in a china shop, barging in and knocking down walls, I prefer to watch. To wait for exactly the right moment to strike.
“I say we let them go through with it. I’m curious to see exactly how they planned to pull this off.” I also want to give my little doll a chance to change her mind. If she does, I’m willing to be merciful. Oh, she will still get her bottom warmed, there’s no doubt about that, but it won’t be nearly as severe.
If she doesn’t change her mind, however… Well. Then I suppose she’ll learn exactly how creative her Daddy can be when he’s determined to teach a naughty Little girl a lesson, won’t she?
* * *
Izzy
The plan is in motion. After a brief argument about the best way to distract the Daddies, Tori snuck Juju’s kitten downstairs and hid her somewhere even we don’t know where she is so that even if the Daddies check my nursery, they won’t be able to find her. Now the entire household is in a bit of a tizzy looking for the stuffie and nobody even seems to notice I haven’t joined the fray as I take one last, long look around my nursery.
In some ways, it’s like I’m seeing it for the first time, and I allow myself to really pay attention to all the little details Daddy so carefully added. Little things that remind me of home, of my childhood are all over this place.
It’s not just a nursery. It’s my nursery. Even if Daddy moves on and claims another Little girl, this will never be her nursery. Or if it is, it will only be because he’s removed all of the pieces of me from this room and replaced it with pieces of her.
That thought threatens to tear the last of my resolve to pieces, so I deliberately turn and walk out of the room.
In the hallway, I pause and look around, making sure that there’s nobody there to see me before I sneak toward the stairs. Whatever Juju and Tori are doing, they seem to have everyone’s attention and are keeping them far away from the front of the house.
Hurrying now, my heart pounding, I tiptoe as quickly as I can down the stairs to the front door. I yank it open, not even stopping to see if an alarm goes off before I make a break for Juju’s car in the driveway. Only, I’m not really sure which one belongs to her and Uncle Jasper since our Daddies all own the same black town cars.
Taking my chances, I head for the one at the front of the line that’s been formed in our horseshoe of a driveway and pull on the driver’s side door handle. It immediately pops open, and my knees literally go weak with relief as I search for the button to pop the trunk. But it’s a newer car, with lots of fancy buttons to push and living in New York for as long as I have, I haven't needed my own vehicle in years.
After what seems like hours, I finally locate the button for the trunk and slam my hand against it. Shutting the driver’s door, I run to the back of the car and climb inside. It’s a tight fit with all the luggage—how many clothes does one Little girl need for a week-long vacation anyway?—but I somehow manage to squeeze myself in and mostly close the trunk lid over me. Hopefully, their driver will just assume it came open somehow and won’t bother to check before closing it all the way.
Curling myself into a tight ball, I close my eyes and drag in a deep breath, willing my nervous system to calm as I wait to make my escape.
* * *
Gideon
I pretend not to notice my naughty Little girl frantically popping open the trunk of Jasper’s car and climbing inside. The lid doesn’t quite close, and I wonder if she knows that the pink ruffles of her dress are hanging out of the trunk, flapping in the wind for anyone to see.
“We’ve found the kitten!” Holding the black-and-white stuffed kitten high, proud as any Olympian carrying the torch, Jasper strides into my office with Maxwell and two nervous-looking Little girls in tow. Even if we hadn’t caught onto their plan already, their faces would be a dead giveaway that they were up to something. I suppose we should be grateful our Little ones don’t have very good poker faces.
“Excellent! Now you can go enjoy your trip.” Bending down, I hook my hands under Juliet’s armpits, swinging her around the office. “Happy birthday, Juju. I hope you get everything you deserve.”
My brothers share a glance, each of them fighting a smile as Juliet giggles. “Thank you, Uncle Gideon!”
Maxwell gives her a similar send-off and then she and Jasper are gone. Moving to the window, I watch as Richard carefully closes the trunk lid, turning to wave at me, letting me know my Little girl is secured in her chosen hiding place.
“I suppose we should be off,” Maxwell says, hoisting Victoria up into his arms. “I have a big surprise planned for my little thief.”
Victoria’s eyes go wide with excitement. “What kind of surprise?”
“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it, Victoria Rose?”
Pouting, she heaves a long, put-upon sigh. “I guess not.”
“Say goodbye to Uncle Gideon and…” He glances around, frowning. “Where’s Isabella?”
“Probably still up in her nursery,” I offer, waiting to see if Victoria goes along with the easy lie or if her conscience intervenes.
She pales a bit, the excitement in her eyes being replaced with pure panic. But it only lasts a moment before she nods. “Uh-huh. She said she was too sad to come downstairs to say goodbye to Juju. I think she’s really going to miss her. Um. She really loves our family, you know?”
Then why is she so determined to leave? That’s a question only my Little one can answer, so I bite my tongue against the urge to interrogate my niece.
We say our goodbyes, and Maxwell carries Victoria out to the car. I give them a few minutes before having Blaine bring my car around, along with the luggage I packed the night before for Isabella and myself. I spend the entire ride to the airport going over the plans my brothers and I discussed for how to punish our naughty Littles once we’re in the air.
The thought of having my little doll over my knee, kicking and squealing alongside her friends does amuse me, but that amusement is dampened by the unknown. Will Isabella change her mind about running away? Or will I have to tighten the reins even further when we return to the island?
Perhaps I should tighten them, either way. I have been rather lax with her the past few weeks. Maybe that’s why she felt she could take the risk of going along with Juliet’s plan, because I let my guard down. Something to think about, certainly. I have no problems being the strict Daddy she needs if that’s what it comes down to.
The car rolls to a stop, pulling me from my thoughts, and I grin up at the sight of the plane in front of us. Leaving Blaine to deal with the bags, I open the car door and make my way up the short staircase to the interior of the plane.
When I step inside, I’m greeted by two pairs of wide, terrified eyes as the realization of how much trouble they’re in crosses my little nieces’ faces.
“Sit down, girls. We’re going to have a little chat.”
* * *
Izzy
What is taking so long?
Somehow, everything about our plan has fallen neatly into place, allowing me to sneak on board the plane without anyone noticing so I can hide in a surprisingly spacious closet where the blankets are housed. But it feels like I've been waiting here for hours and the longer I wait, the more the doubts plague me.
Will Daddy miss me? Will he worry? Will he be angry with Juju and Tori once he learns they helped me escape?
The latter gives me pause as I roll various scenarios around in my head. It seems unlikely they won’t be discovered, and from what I know of my Daddy and theirs, the possibility of them enduring an exceptionally painful punishment on my behalf seems inescapable.
Selfish. I’m nothing but a selfish brat, doing whatever I want and not caring who it hurts. Daddy’s going to be devastated when he learns I’ve disappeared, and my friends will be in more trouble than they’ve probably been in their whole lives.
And for what? I thought it was because I was so desperate to dance again, but if I’m being entirely honest with myself, I’ve had more fun these past couple months teaching my friends to dance than I’ve had in years. I’ve rediscovered my love of ballet, without any of the constant pressure to stay impossibly thin. Without always worrying if I’m going to lose my spot in the corps to someone younger, better, skinnier.
I may have been my Daddy’s captive on the island, but I’ve never felt more free.
The ground shakes, and I realize with a jolt of horror that the plane is taking off. Panic sends my heart pounding in my chest as I scramble for the latch on the closet. Fumbling in the dark, tears in my eyes, I choke on my own breath as I fight to free myself.
Finally, the door swings open and I tumble free, falling to my knees on the shaky ground. Too unbalanced to try and stand, I crawl toward the main cabin.
“Wait! Wait! I don’t wanna go! Uncle Jasper, please, make them turn around! I wanna go home!”
“Well, I’m certainly happy to hear that, little doll.”