THE LAST SECRET KEEPER Secret Keeper series books 1-4

CHAPTER 13

"Come, Princess."

That's all Phillippe needed to say for Lanecea to immediately drop what she was doing, obeying his summons.

The living room was dark, illuminated only by the flickering of the television. Lifting Lanecea onto his lap, Philippe reached for the remote control, turning the channel to the weekly edition of America's Most Wanted. It was a Friday night tradition, but it didn't stop Lanecea from being any less afraid of the show. Apparently, Philippe didn't realize it was not good to expose feminine women to things that would frighten them and America's Most Wanted was very scary.

Phillippe held her in his strong arms as Lanecea buried her face against his neck as she always did, trying her best not to see or hear what the TV was saying, but that was impossible. Tonight, her father was barely listening as well, his hand stroking Lanecea's long leg as he whispered in her ear.

"Where do you think these murderers will hide if they are being hunted down in the States? It wouldn't be difficult for them to come to Canada, you know. I'll tell you exactly where they will hide: Toronto. No one will think of looking for them there and they can easily blend in. What do you think will happen if you try to run away, Princess? Look what that man did - he killed his wife and all his children. He will kill you too."

Lanecea was so afraid, her entire body was trembling. Her father worked in Toronto. Surely this man, if he managed to escape America, could easily walk the 1 1/2 hour drive to her house and kill her. The forest was a perfect place to hide in the meantime. Lanecea was truly terrified as her imagination ran wild, her throat constricting as her fear mounted.

Slipping his large, calloused hand beneath her dress, it soon disappeared inside her panties as her father massaged her ass. 

"I'll never let him hurt my Daddy's Girl," Philippe assured her, but that didn't help at all as his fingers found her pussy.

Lanecea's heart was racing in earnest now as she tried to pull back, freeing herself from her father's strong grip, but she was no match for him. Afraid and trapped, Lanecea was prey in the arms of a predator who was very, very different from Mr. Himmler and Mr. Wagner, and not because he wasn't blond like them.

Twisting quickly like a wriggling worm, Lanecea tripped on Philippe's long legs, smashing her own into the coffee table as she fled from her father, only to face the fury in her mother's eyes. Lanecea's heart clenched so tight it burned as she raised her hand, attempting to block out yet another murder reenactment before running up the stairs to her bedroom. The moment she stepped foot in the door, Lanecea crouched on the floor with her back pressed hard against the wooden door. She, of course, wasn't strong enough to keep out murderers or her parents, but that didn't stop Lani from trying.

Lanecea was incredibly confused as she sat alone in her dark bedroom, listening for the sound of the stairs creaking. In her heart, she assumed her father would always protect her, but that wasn't the case, apparently. He made her just as afraid of him and at the same time, her heart skipped a beat that Philippe had shown his wicked wife that she meant much less to him. Was that hope? Lanecea was beyond confused as she examined her tumbling, entangled emotions. It felt good to be loved more than her mother, a woman she hated.

Hated?

There it was staring back at her. Lanecea truly hated her mother. How can the world's greatest queen hate anyone, let alone her mother? Tugging at her hair as though that would pull the unwanted emotion out of her soul, Lanecea really struggled beneath far too many emotions. Hatred, fear, loneliness, rejection...and love.

Lanecea loved her king with all her heart and wished her father would be like the good fathers in the books she read, protecting his daughter until he gave her to her king to protect instead. In that moment, Lanecea realized something else. She wished Dieter was her real father, not Philippe. Dieter would never hurt her or ask her difficult math questions. He needed a daughter to balance out his brood of sons. Perhaps when the men returned, Dieter could adopt her and keep her safe until she got married to her king. Then they could leave for their castle... Until then she needed a plan, but her brain couldn't think of a single one.