Page 13 of Vanished in Vegas

Typical of him lately. There was a time when my father was the man I looked up to. I couldn’t wait to get home from school and tell him all about my day. Or go out for ice cream with him and my sisters. Times used to be good. However, the past year he had turned into someone I barely recognized.

I hated being in the same room with him. He was always on edge, paranoid about the slightest things, and flew off the deep end at the drop of a hat. The warm fuzzy feeling towards my father was a thing of the past. I didn’t even like calling himPapaanymore. I only did it for two reasons. One, out of habit. Two, to keep the peace amongst the family.

“Baggage claim…”an announcement said over the intercom. I didn’t catch the rest of the message, but it was enough to snap me free from memory lane.

I followed the signs and the herd of people until eventually, I stood in baggage claim. The place was huge and a madhouse. How the hell was I supposed to find my uncle’s goons? It wasn’t like they’d be holding up a sign with my–

“I’ll be damn,” I chuckled, looking at a white poster withRomanowritten on it. The guy holding it wore a nice, black tailored suit. There were two guys next to him. They were also dressed to impress. “Found you.”

I walked over to the three men. One looked super familiar. The taller of the three. His eyes widened when he saw me.

“Hello,” I said, setting my carry-on bag down.

“Have any other bags?” the familiar-looking guy asked me.

“Two.” I held up two fingers. He nodded and looked at the other two guys.

“Go with her and grab her bags. I’m going to call the boss real quick,” he gestured at the two guys.

“We’re on it,” the one who hadn’t spoken replied, picking up my carry-on bag. “We’ll follow you.”

“Alrighty then.” Something was off about the three. I wasn’t sure what exactly. I just knew deep in my gut something was up.

The two guys followed me over to carousel three, where my luggage would be. I looked back over my shoulder. The familiar guy was a few feet from us.

“We have a problem, Boss,” I heard him say. Our eyes met and he stared at me with intensity. “You’re never going to believe it if I told you.”

“Which one is yours?” one of the other guys asked.

I wanted to focus on the other guy’s phone call but pulled my attention away long enough to point out my hot pink suitcases. When I looked back at the other guy, he was nowhere to be found.

“Let’s go,” one of them said, rolling my suitcase several feet in front of me and the other guy. The other guy didn’t budge until I started to walk. Then he walked protectively behind me.

Typical goon,I groaned to myself.

A few minutes later, my things were being loaded into the back of a black SUV. Another guy in a suit stood by the opened back passenger door. He stared at me so intensely I thought he was going to burn a hole into me.

“Let’s go,” the familiar guy said, gesturing at the open door.

“Can I ride up front?” I asked. He shook his head.

“No. Sit in the back,” he replied.

“The front.” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.

“The back. End of discussion.”

“What’s wrong with sitting up front?”

“Sit in the back…” he groaned. “Please.”

The other three guys chuckled, earning them a glare. They quickly silenced.

“It’s easier to not argue with him. Get in,” the guy standing next to the passenger door replied. Then gestured with his head for me to climb in. “He won’t ask nicely again.”

The last of his words came out harsh. They were a threat. I found myself swallowing an invisible lodge in my throat and climbing in the backseat.

“At least she isn’t a dumb bitch,” one of them stated.

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