Hard Time

The early September breeze teased his hair as Jake waited outside the private preschool for her to exit. The last two days had left him breathless. The uninterrupted time with his princess had been better than he had dreamed.

A group of divorced moms stood off to the side of the covered walkway leading to the school front doors. He was trying to ignore their giggles and whispers. His hand moved to brush his bangs out of his eyes. The silk of his shirt tightened around his upper arm. The giggling and whispers got worse.

It was a boost to his shattered ego. He wouldn't deny that. However, he took his marriage vows seriously. He had sworn before God and a priest that he would stay true to his wife. He had succeeded.

He looked down at his feet in Italian loafers made by a cousin in Lampton, Italy. Not an Italian name. The ancestor had been English. Marrying into an Italian family.

Jake pushed his dark hair from his forehead. More giggles, whispers, and even a sound of admiration came from the women. He knew why. The action strained the shirt against his muscular arm. His broad chest. The body of a man who took care of himself. Mostly.

"Daddy," Lyssa′s high voice squealed as she ran out the doors and into his arms, and he squatted to catch the light of his life.

She had his dark hair but her mother’s ice blue eyes. His olive skin and Angela's delicate bone structure. She was his beautiful little girl, and he was the luckiest father in the world. He lifted her into his arms and gave her a big kiss on the cheek.

"Hello, my princess." He laughed warmly. She rested her head on his shoulder. "How was school?" He inhaled the strawberry shampoo used in her long, dark hair. Loving how soft it was.

"Good." She giggled, then launched into the whole four hours. He listened intently as he carried her to his BMW X3, which he had just traded for. The SUV drove better and had more comfortable seating. Plus, it had a lovely cargo space.

His hands stilled after putting his daughter in the car. Struggling to shake the feeling of dread that had stuck with him since he had spoken to Lorenzo and Alessandro last Friday. His uncle and cousin from the fourth branch of the Lampel family. Mafia. The only ones who could get him the information he desperately needed.

The information had blown a hole in his chest. His wife's secrets had been laid out in black and white documents and colored photos. It had been hell to get through the ten year celebration of his company that night. He and Lyssa had spent the weekend at his parents' house in Stockton, California.

"Daddy," Lyssa chastising voice brought him out of his musings. He smiled indulgently down at her and buckled her into the booster seat. He had to stop doing that. She was only four-years-old, but her intelligence was uncanny.

"Sorry, princess." Jake apologized with a kiss on her pert little nose. "I got wrapped in my thoughts. How about some ice cream? And then Daddy needs to stop by his office?" He hadn't taken her there since she had learned to crawl. Afraid she would get away from him while he was busy and get hurt.

The child’s annoyed little pout turned to a happy smile, lighting up her face. His heart warmed at the sight. Reducing the pain in his chest to a dull ache. He could handle anything as long as he had the at smile. Remembering the long nights of feeding and walking her, running on two hours of sleep. But that smile made it all worth it.

He closed her door and went around to his side. Forcing his mind blank. It was only Monday. He had a lot of shit to do before Friday. Flames of his anger roared deep in his stomach. His wife of ten years had been lying to him.

So he had mafia ties. He had never hidden that from Angela. His wife had not returned the favor. Had disclosed nothing about her family.

Her twin brother in specific.

A dangerous psycho.

The thought of that danger brought his eyes to the rearview mirror as he turned right on the street from the parking lot. A dark blue Dodge Neon pulled away from the curb keeping a discreet distance. He had known about the tail for two years. He just didn't know who or why. The information given to him on Friday hadn't really answered the question except with the reassurance that the tail wasn't malicious. A secret benefactor who was worried since he didn't have bodyguards.

At the ice cream shop Lyssa ordered her usual mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone. He got a small sugar cone with cookie dough. The usual shy smile thrown his way from the usual girl who worked behind the counter. At thirty-four, he was still in his prime and kept in shape.

They ate their ice cream in the parlor, surrounded by bubblegum-pink and black tile on the walls and the floor. This had become a tradition for them over the last two years. Including the clean up song they sang together in the restroom when they were finished eating.

The drive to his main office was musical. Lyssa wanting to listen to Disney songs. Singing along. Making Jake's heart grow with her delightful brightness and off-key singing. Her adorable face glowing with happiness. Eyes bright.

They reached the garage, pulling into the workshop and storage portion where Larry, his second-in-command was working behind a desk with a computer and landline phone perched precariously.

"Hey, Jake. I thought you were not coming in?" Larry′s voice, gravelly with age, still held the same bass as when he was young. He was barrel-chested and tall like Jake. The man′s very size intimated until he opened his mouth, much like Jake. He moved from behind the desk to shake hands with Jake.

"Thought I would bring Princess Lyssa by," Jake answered. "Lyssa, remember Larry from the party on Friday?"

"Hello there, Princess Lyssa." Larry′s eyes lit up at the sight of the little girl. His large hand lifted slowly in a friendly gesture. He had a soft spot for children. Sadly, his own children and grandchildren had moved to the East Coast some years back.

The child said hello shyly and took the outstretched hand after a questioning look at Jake and his approval. "There are so many cars," Lyssa whispered in Jake’s ear.

"Yes, that is because they’re for people who need rides somewhere. From work to home or home to work. Or just out to have fun so they don′t have to use their own car and gas." Jake replied.

"They are pretty," Lyssa breathed with childlike awe, and he grinned with pride.

"Yes, they are," he agreed. Her little fingers played with his hair at the nape of his neck. He kept his hair longish because of this. She used to play with his hair as he rocked her to sleep against his shoulder in the late nights. And it has been her favorite thing to do now. He thought that it was a way of comforting herself.

He walked up and down three rows of cars in the garage. Sports and exotic cars, limos, SUVs, and four-door classic sedans. He had worked his ass off, bargaining and toiling to accumulate the number of vehicles he had at just this one location. Every location had the same number and variety.

He had to stop and buy the items for their meal, and she got a box of fruit snacks and a small bottle of juice. On the way home they talked about the idea of getting a puppy. She really wanted one. He had been against it since Angela was allergic.

That wasn't the only thing that woman was allergic, too. He thought angrily.

"Daddy, what's the mad face for?" Lyssa asked with a slight tremor in her voice.

Wiping his face to relieve the tension, he smiled warmly at his daughter, "Sorry, princess. It wasn't meant for you." He reached back and ran his hand gently over her leg through her stockings. He had to watch it around his baby, "On Monday after school we'll go and look at puppies." He promised.

Guilt tightened his chest as soon as the words were out. He may not be there next Monday. Gently he guided the SUV into the driveway of the house he had bought for his ungrateful wife seven years ago.

The house had cost him dearly. But he had tried to make the woman happy. She hadn't been happy in the expensive apartment he had been paying for while he got his company going. So he had signed a contract with his Uncle Emiliano, The Rose King. The mafia king of California. Underground fighting to make extra cash. Thirty percent of Jake's winnings went into a fund for the house.

Hindsight being what it is, he should've known then that his marriage wasn't what he had hoped. Not an ounce of concern had been shown for him by Angela when he came home late at night. Bruised, bleeding, and exhausted.

The contract with is uncle was just to earn the money for the house. Then his company had started having stability issues. He had extended the contract. Until this last weekend when he had ended it.

"Daddy, what are you thinking about?" Lyssa asked in a wary tone. "You keep getting your mad face." She pointed out when he focused on her as he helped her out of the vehicle.

He sighed, "Don't worry about it, princess. It's nothing to do with you, baby. Daddy is dealing with some bad news. It will be okay, be patient. Help me bring in the groceries?"

She gave him a smiling nod as he set her down on the ground. He didn't miss the look she shot up the street where the Neon had stopped. A suspicion niggled at the back of his mind.

Did Lyssa know who that was? How? Unease settled in his stomach. "Lyssa, do you know that car, princess?"

"Yes, Daddy. He's a soldier for The Warrior Queen," Lyssa answered cheerfully. No hint of fear or unease.

Jake froze getting the hatch open on the SUV, his gaze dropped to his baby. He had thought the woman was made up. That Lyssa was so starved for motherly affection that she had invented an imaginary woman to protect her.

"Say that again, Lyssa."

"The Warrior Queen has three soldiers, Daddy." Lyssa explained with a roll of her eyes. "They protect us. I asked her." She glanced up the street again then back at Jake. "Today is OPS. I don't know their real names."

"What are the other's names?" Jake asked curiously. Nicknames could mean anything. OPS wasn't exactly enlightening.

"Ace and Hawk." Lyssa answered after a second of thinking. "Ace scares me a little. He's tall like you." She reached up and touched his bicep. "Lots of muscles, too. He doesn't smile much." Her confessions continued as Jake handed her the lightest bag. "Ace and OPS are my favorites. They play with me sometimes at the park when I go to Gamma and Gampa's."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Jake asked suspiciously as he followed Lyssa to the front porch along the manicured lawn of green grass. Hedges he took pride in lined the front porch.

Lyssa glanced over her shoulder to look at her Daddy. "She said I could. Said it was time. It's all in the story, Daddy." Lyssa answered like it was obvious.

On the porch he shoved his key into the house while Lyssa turned the knob, "Who is she, Lyssa?"

"Mommy." Lyssa said with a shrug. "She told me not to tell you anything. Didn't want you getting mad at her. I love her and she loves me. Takes care of me on the weekends."