Obsession's Embrace

FARC

"This is a horrible fucking idea," Damian grumbles for the millionth time since we left the hotel.

I roll my eyes and sigh, getting out of the Uber we took. Damian follows suit and we both gawk up at the absolute bloody castle we're standing outside of. If I thought Electra's house was huge, I didn't know the definition of the word.

"Yeah. Horrible-"

"Damian!" I groan.

"Well what are you going to tell them after you wake them up at four in the morning? 'Your daughter went exploring and she won't text me back so I think she's on the plane that was shot down in a jungle. Oh by the way I've been having sex with her but she's not my girlfriend nice to meet you'?"

Frowning, I raise an eyebrow at him.

"Do you have a better idea?"

His face pales.

"You can't be serious," he says in shock.

I turn towards the front door and press the button on the doorbell. Since I didn't hear it ring, I'm tempted to press the button again when nobody answers within a few seconds.

My hand is halfway to the button again when Damian smacks it away and I glare at him.

"That was rude," I say.

"The house is huge. At least give them time to make it here from the east wing," he replies harshly.

My eyes are mid-roll when we hear a feminine voice on a speaker from above the door.

"Actually, hun, we're on the west wing. Almost there, hang tight."

We jump and I slap Damian's arm. He looks at me in embarrassed horror and I can't help but laugh at him. What a way to meet the family.

The front door finally opens and I'm blown away by what I see behind it. The woman standing in front of me looks exactly like Electra. She's a spit image of her.

If Electra was blonde., had a softer smile, no tattoos, and wore bright colors.

As far as facial features, Electra is her mother through and through. The familiarity in her eyes chokes me up. Makes me remember why I'm here. Tears threaten my eyes when I open my mouth, trying to choke out the words.

Damian places a reassuring hand on my back and clears his up.

"Mrs. Emerson..I'm-"

"Damian Priest and Rhea Ripley," she smiles warmly at him and then me.

She must see the confusion in his face because she laughs softly and gestures for us to come inside. We glance at each other before walking in.

"Electra has talked about you, Rhea, for the past few months. Any time we see her she's talking about you. And Damian, when she met you she started talking about how great you are to Rhea. Like a brother of sorts," she says as she shuts the door and locks it.

When she turns, she smiles.

"Follow me," she says as she walks down the hallway.

We follow her into a kitchen where we smell the delicious aroma of cookies. Mr. Emerson is humming while he pulls a pan of freshly bakes cookies from the oven. They must notice the look of confusion on my face as they immediately explain.

"When we can't sleep," she starts.

"We bake," he finishes and we all laugh softly.

Then the room goes quiet and tension rises in the air. Damian nudges me while Mr. Emerson plates some cookies that were on a cooling rack and slides it towards us across the kitchen island.

"I don't know how to say this Mr. and Mrs. Emerson-" I start shakily.

"Please, hun, call me Emily. And this is Todd," she says.

"Okay..Um..well..Electra-"

"Electra is missing," Todd finishes for me when I struggle to find the words.

My eyes jump to his and Damian sighs beside me. I nod slowly.

"I think so. You saw the news?" I ask.

"It's why we're baking. We think best when we bake. We know that was Electra's jet that went down," Emily says.

"And you're just...you're just baking cookies when you know your daughter's plane was shot down in some jungle?" I snap.

Damian puts a hand on my shoulder and speaks softly.

"Take it easy."

"No! This is..this isn't right!" I shout.

"Honey, we're not just baking cookies. We're coming up with a plan. This isn't the first time Electra's plane went down. This isn't the first time she's been captured-"

"Captured?!" I shout louder.

"And this isn't the first time we've had to go find her. But we can't just rush off. We have to have a plan. Especially in Darién Gap. We have to find a way to get her back safely from the FARC," Todd continues.

"The FARC?" Damian asks when I don't dare to.

"A Colombian Marxist guerilla group," Emily answers, "very dangerous and cold."

"Wh-What will they do to her?" I whisper.

Emily walks around the island and grabs my hands gently. She squeezes them and looks into my eyes.

"Anything they want to do until they get what they want from her."