Saved from Master

Chapter 46: Trip to Vegas

--James' POV--

      After that whole debacle, security and everything else went smoothly.

      We went through the metal detectors, sent our luggage through the x-rays, and were cleared to go through all the way to our plane. Most of the terminal has to wait inside for their plane to arrive then board all together, however we just go to the first gate after security and are taken outside for boarding. This is mainly because there is only a few of us so there is no use to bring out the long tunnel used for commercial plane boarding, but also because it's a much smaller plane and more difficult to attach the tunnel to. 

      We board the plane easily and I check in with my favorite pilot, Mitchell. We've become great friends over the years and he's been my longest lasting pilot.

      "Hey Mitch, how's everything looking?"

      "Weather's clear and she's doing great," He replies talking about the plane, "the flight should be pretty smooth."

      "Thanks man, I appreciate you. We've got some precious cargo today." I say smiling and winking at Allison who just blushes.

      "She is pretty precious, I'll admit that. Are you all ready for takeoff?"

      All of us give him some form of "yeah", and Mitch heads back to the front of the plane to get with his copilot.

      The copilot changes for every flight because Mitchell helps train newer workers or students since he's so professional and great at his job. After he leaves, I walk over to the small bar and ask everyone if they want anything to drink. Kyle, Oliver, Dustin, and myself all get a whiskey on the rocks, the security guards all opt for water, even though the flight is long enough that one or two glasses of whiskey wouldn't matter by the time we land. I'm only having one, but I need something to help me relax after that whole security issue.

      Allison isn't thirsty but she does ask for some strawberries which I had found in the mini fridge. I just bring her the whole bowl, bring over the tray of drinks I have poured, and give everyone their specified drinks. After everyone is settled, I sit next to Allison.

      The seats are in rows of two, so everyone is sitting with someone else and are all having a conversation with one another. I pull the armrest between Allison and myself up and she leans her back up against me. I pull Harriet out of her backpack which gets Allison super excited and makes me smile.

      After we both get settled and I put a fuzzy blanket over both of our laps, I hand her the bowl of strawberries but not without taking one for myself first. Allison gives me an evil glare and I just smirk as I continue eating the stolen strawberry. She hits my chest playfully and takes one for herself.

      "Da-James?" Allison asks after eating the strawberry.

      "Everyone here is alright with it baby girl, you don't need to correct yourself. What do you need though?"

      "What's that?" She asks pointing to my whiskey.

      Has she ever had a drink before? I mean...I guess she technically isn't 21 yet, I guess I had just assumed she's had it before.

      "Baby, that's alcohol. Have you ever had any before?"

      "I-I think so...my dad gave me some when I was a kid. I think. It was really bad and it burned my throat. I got really dizzy and couldn't really move, and everything was kinda blurry. That's when he would do some things to me I think, but the next day I couldn't ever remember anything. It all turned into a blur." Allison responds completely void of emotion.

      "Hey baby, it's all going to be alright. We're dealing with him on this trip and he'll never be able to hurt you again. Let's not think about that right now though, alright? We can just relax." I say more for myself than for Allison at this point.

      Her dad is just overall a horrible human being that I want to kill over and over again. Since that's not possible, he's not just going to die. He's going to be tortured over, and over, and over again. Him, Andrew, and probably Allison's mom too. I don't know much about her or what she did, but I do know that she allowed Allison to be hurt. She allowed her own daughter to be horribly tortured by the man she married, therefore I don't like her.

      "Okie, I like that idea Daddy. Can I have another strawberry please?" 

      "Mmm, I don't know...they're pretty good and I want some more to myself..." I say teasingly, making Allison grumble.

      She sits up and then grabs two strawberries from the bowl on my tray, then makes me open my mouth and feeds one of them to me while giggling adorably. Then, I take the other strawberry out of her hand and feed it to her in the same way she fed it to me, giggle and all which just makes her laugh harder. According to her, I sound silly when I do a girl voice. Pft. I don't think so.

      One of our security guards gets up and I ask him to fill a cup with some water for Allison after he gets out of the bathroom. She's still saying that she's not thirsty but I want her to drink some water before she falls asleep...even though she's supposedly not tired.

      I call bullshit but she insists that she's wide awake. Soon, the security guard returns with a water and Allison quickly drinks it all.

      "I told you so baby girl."

      "Yeah I sowwy...I guess I was thirsty..." She says with a yawn.

      "It's alright, how about you get some rest. We'll be there faster if you do."

      "Okie Daddy. I love you." 

      "Love you too sweetie." I say as I pull the blanket over her shoulders and she cuddles Harriet closer. Then, her head falls gently onto my chest as she falls completely asleep.

      "She's adorable James, you're both so cute together." Oliver says from across the isle.

      "I love her so much and she's gone through enough pain in her life for ten people. It's not fair. It's not fair at all. She's the most innocent and perfect girl in the world, and the fact that her own parents put her through it isn't fair. It's not right and she doesn't deserve it. She deserves the world and I can give it to her. Easily. She's mine and she's hurting...how can I fix it?" 

      I feel one tear from each eye fall down my cheek, and then a whole waterfall comes out of each eye. I was never an emotional person before I met Allison. My family only ever used me for money and I haven't had an emotional connection towards them for years. My friends are all like me and lived good childhoods with little pain or hurt in their lives. I've never had to be emotional. I've never had to be anything but a businessman. Now I'm everything plus a businessman. I'm a boyfriend, a support system, someone that needs to keep Allison safe. I need to protect the angel laying on me.

      I failed my job. 

      I let her nightmare take her and completely torture her. I let her out of my sight and she got hurt again. I can't let that happen to her again. Even if her parents are in a different state than us, there will always be that what-if. Until I take care of it. 

      "She loves you so much James. I've never seen you look at someone the way you look at her, and she looks at you in the same way. We may not talk all the time, but we were close in high school. I know you enough to know how much you love her and I can tell you that she's completely infatuated with you. We're going to take care of this and she'll love you for it. She'll love you even more because you're taking her demons away."

      "Thanks Oliver, you're such a great friend."

      "Anytime man, anytime. Well, maybe we should follow everyone else and get some sleep."

      I look around and see that everyone else on the plane has empty drinks and is fast asleep. So, I agree with Oliver and hold my baby girl tight as I dry my eyes and fall asleep.

      "I'll never fail you again."