A Valentine's Day Proposal

"How do you know? You only met me today." He walked around the room looking at the shelves of guns. "Does it have to be yours? I think I prefer that one," he said looking at a small handgun that would be easily hidden if he tucked it into his pants at the small of his back.

"I don't suppose it matters which one," she answered disappointedly. He was right. She didn't know why she trusted and believed him. She didn't really know who he was or what he was like. Something in her told him that only a good person would go this far to save a loved one from danger. "Don't you have anyone you can go to for help?"

"No," he said. "It's been me and Leesha for a long time. I got into Rob's gang when I was young and stupid." He looked the case over. It was locked. "You don't happen to have a key for this do you?"

Steph pulled a ring of keys out of a desk drawer and walked over to the case to unlock it. "You sure about this?"

Jack stared at her hard and expectantly. Steph sighed and opened the case. They didn't really have time to argue about it. Brent would have told her father that she was home by now and he would be looking for her. Jack took the gun out and tucked it into the back of his pants. "Thanks, now get yourself somewhere far away from Rob." With that Jack started toward the door.

"What?" Steph grabbed a handgun out of the case and took off after him. "You can't leave me out of this now."

Jack stopped and turned to Steph. "I'm going to kill Rob. That's it. You don't need to be there for that. You have too much going for you to be stupid enough to get involved in a murder. You tell the cops that I stole the gun. Go back to school Steph. Have a good life."

He turned and headed for the door. Suddenly it swung open and Steph's father and step mother walked in. "Steph," her father said. "What is this?"

Jack stared at Steph's step mother and a wicked smile slid across his face. Before Steph could answer her father, Jack started to laugh. "Hi Valerie. It's been a long time." He laughed almost manically. "This is your step mother, Steph?"

Edward McNeil was near attacking the insane sounding man standing near his daughter.

Jack pulled the gun out of his pants and pointed it at Valerie. "I wonder if Rob would exchange my sister for his," he said in a deadly tone. "There's your answer Steph. The reason Val is so interested in getting you married to Rob is because Rob is her brother. Val always does what Rob tells her too." Jacks voice took on a hurt tone when he said that and his eyes glazed over a bit as he looked at Valerie. "Is this where you've been the last couple years Val? You know a card would have been nice." Jack was sounding more and more sarcastic and agitated.

Valerie stared back with a strange resignation in her eyes. The entire disgusting mess was one thing while she could pretend that she was someone else. Now that she was caught a sickening, defeated feeling was rolling in her stomach. Worst of all, it had to be Jack. She didn't know what to say to him. He was right.

Jack waved the gun emphatically at Valerie. "I can't believe I didn't see it before. The real funny part about all this is that I heard Val had been sent off to marry her own daddy. Apparently some rich guy got their mom pregnant and then took off on them. Rob's plan involved getting Val into her own daddy's bed and then killing the guy off. I never would have guessed that Rob would want to marry his little sister too," he added and looked at Steph, who was watching the scene play out in wide eyed disbelief. "What Val? Couldn't you manage to work your way into the will? All the money being left to the girls?"

Steph's father turned on Jack and viciously. "Who the hell are you."

"An innocent bystander," Jack said and waved his gun at Valerie. "And an overly trusting fool."

She shook her head and tears started to stream down her face. "It doesn't matter Jack," Valerie said. "Rob is steadily going downhill. You may find that he's not nearly as interested in protecting me as he used to be. I already tried to get Leesha out of it. Using me won't work the way you might think. It's all about the money now. After everything that's happened," she looked fearfully at Edward, "I'd almost rather be dead, anyway."

Steph was shaking her head. "Then it's true? Daddy?"

Edward was shaking his head. "It can't be. I won't believe it."

Valerie smiled sardonically through the tears and shrugged. "Is there any point in apologizing?"

"Where's Leesha Valerie," Jack demanded angrily.

She returned her tearful gaze to Jack. "Rob had her when last I saw her. He sent me back here to keep working on Edward. I don't know what happened to her after that."

Jack looked at the faces of the people in the room. "So it seems we're all feeling pretty shitty and Rob is the cause. I'm off to solve the problem." With that Jack headed out the door.

"Daddy," Steph started under her breath.

Her father turned away and left the room with his head hung low. He didn't have it in him to speak to anyone about this at the moment. Steph watched her father leave. She was left alone with Valerie. They had never gotten along. Valerie was this beautiful young manipulative woman. Her father had never seen it. "Is money so important? Why would you do this?"

"What does it matter?" Valerie looked off in the direction Jack had gone. "He's going to get himself killed."

Steph didn't know whether to hate or pity Valerie. There was something in her face that made Steph fell bad for her new found half sister and step mother. She pushed the disgust down and ran past Valerie after Jack. By the time she made it through the halls, the caterers, the decorators, and the extra servants, out the front door, his van was already gone. "Shit," she swore as stood trying to think of what to do next. Call the cops? Would Rob know and then kill Jack's sister?

Valerie came up behind her. "I know where he's going," she said.

Steph turned around and looked at her skeptically. "Why would you want to help?"

"Jack and I go back some. I owe him. Are you up to this?"

Steph glared at her. "Are you?"

***

Jack pulled into the drive at Rob's estate, which now paled in comparison to Steph's dad's. He shook his head. Something about what he had discovered seemed to justify in his head what he was planning to do. He would be saving Leesha and Steph. He couldn't get Steph out of his head. Her eyes kept looking back at him in his mind. Maybe in another life time, he thought.

Steph was right. Jack really wasn't the killing type. But he figured that every man has that place he could be pushed too. Jack was currently feeling a couple chilling hands on his back shoving him insistently toward that place. He checked his pocket for the black velvet box that held the ring, his ticket in to speak to Rob. Then he tucked the gun into the back of his pants.

The walk up to the front doors was surreal. Jack didn't feel like himself any longer. When the door opened Jack was greeted by one of Rob's many thugs, who had at one point been Jack's friend. "Hi, Benny," Jack said despondently. "I need to talk to Rob."

"Of course you do, Jack," Benny said with amusement. There wasn't a single man in the group who hadn't been thrilled when Jack had lost his prestigious position as favorite. They were now operating with his continual over active conscience. "Come on in."

No one bothered to search Jack. They all thought they knew exactly what they were dealing with. Jack walked through the huge house, determined to get Leesha and get out as quickly as possible. He was taking a mental count of who all was here as he walked through the familiar halls. There were too many men around. He was going to have to be careful about this.

Walking into the den, he found Rick lounging back on one of the large brown leather couches. He was watching a horror movie on the huge television and he had a mostly empty glass in his hand. He looked up at Jack as he walked in with Benny on his heels. "Jackie, my friend. How are you?"

"A man might think we were still on good terms by a greeting like that," Jack said matter-of-factly. Jack walked across the room, pulled the ring out of his pocket, and put it down in front of Rob. Then he sat down in a large arm chair across from him. "I thought you might want that back."

Rob nodded. "Good thinking," he said. "Where you been all day Jackie?" There was no missing the dangerous tone in Rob's voice.

Jack was used to it. "Well, I dressed up like a fool. Delivered you presents to the chick you wanted. Spent some time trying to talk her into what you wanted. Did you ever consider her sister. Sue I think it was. She seems quite taken with you."

Rob watched Jack with an amused smile. "What did you do at her house Jack?"

Benny was smiling as well. Jack knew he was in trouble. He couldn't afford to get himself beat up or locked up. He had to stay on descent, if tentative terms for now. "Fine. I wasn't going to tell you. I admit it," he said.

"Admit what?" Rob's eyes narrowed.

"I lost the fucking ring. I don't even know how it happened. One minute I had the damn ring and the next it was gone. Your chick got scared that you might think she would have to marry you since the ring was gone. We went out to some jewelry place, replaced the one that had disappeared," Jack indicated the box on the table. "She didn't want to deal with her sisters anymore tonight because the one called Sue was trying to talk her into marrying you. So she conned me into dropping her at her dad's place instead of at hers. Now here I am."

Rob sat back and handed Benny his glass. The thug headed for the wet bar to refill the glass. "I do want to believe you my friend." Rob shook his head. He didn't even bother to look at the ring. "I'll give you a break. Stick around for a while. I'll check on your story. If it turns out you're telling the truth, I'll give you another chance."

Jack smiled through his glare. "Thanks," he said. "Can I at least see Leesha?"

"Maybe in a bit," Rob said, taking his refilled glass from Benny.

Jack could feel the dismissal. He got up and headed for his room. He needed a plan to deal with this. First he needed to figure out where Leesha was. He couldn't kill Rob and then run around the damn place trying to figure out where she was.

***

Valerie and Steph walked through the front door. They were expected. Rob was still lounging in the den as they were led into the room. He smiled up at them. "Change your mind about turning me down Steph?"

"No," she said angrily. She was looking around with some confusion.

Valerie knew better. Rob was too observant. She had the distinct feeling that bringing Steph here was going to turn out badly. "They know Rob. Jack told them."

Steph turned on Valerie. "You bitch!"

Valerie waved at Benny and Steph was promptly grabbed and held still. "Rob, you're going to have to find another way about this. There's no way I'm going to get Edward back from this. I don't think the other two sisters know yet."

"Glad to see you're still acting intelligently Val. I was starting to worry." Rob stood up, grabbed the black velvet box off the table, and approached Steph with a maniacal smile. "So here's how this will work." He pulled the ring out of the box and held it up in front of Steph. "I'm gonna have a little talk with Ed and determine whether the threat of the entire city finding out that he's married to and has been fucking his own daughter is enough blackmail to keep his mouth shut or I'm going to have to kill him right away. I would prefer to plan it a bit better and make sure I know where every penny of his fortune is going. But I'll do what I have to at this point." Steph's eyes filled with terror as Rob continued talking. "I know that I can have Sue if I want her. But I'd much rather be fucking you Steph. So I'm going to give you a choice. Either you marry me and I leave Sue and Stacy be. Or I have you and Stacy disappear and I marry Sue." He flashed her a sparkling smile.

Steph had never felt so trapped in her life. She was trying to figure out how her life had gone from studying and classes to this in one afternoon. "You can't kill them," she said softly.

Rob picked up her hand and pushed the large diamond ring down her finger. "Valentine's engagements are so romantic. When we get to the party tonight I expect you to be beautiful and excited, flashing that rock around like a happy bride to be should." He dropped her hand and walked back to the couch. "Have Steph put in my rooms for now," he said to no one in particular. "As long as you're cooperative with what I want , when I want it, you can trust that your sisters are safe. I'll consider the level of your participation an indication of what I'll have to look forward to in our marriage Steph. The happier I am, the safer your sisters are. I think that's pretty clear."

Steph was trembling. She didn't know if she could do what he was suggesting. But she couldn't let him hurt her family either.

Rob drained his glass again. "I'll deal with Jack, later. You did good Val. I was getting tired of waiting for this to be done anyway." He propped his feet up on the table and went back to watching his show.

Benny dragged Steph out of the room and Valerie walked over to a chair to sit down. "What are you going to do to Jack?"

"Why," Rob said off hand. "You want him?"
"Maybe," Valerie said.

Rob shrugged as if he didn't really care. He was about to get what he had wanted. Edward would be dead and Rob would have all the old fool's money. He was feeling generous. Jack was only an extraneous loose end. "To some extent I owe the guy. If he hadn't interfered I'd still be waiting for daddy to decide to sign his money over to you or trying to be reasonable about getting Steph to marry me before killing him off. So if you want him, have him. He wasn't going to be useful any longer anyway. The minute he finds out that Leesha's dead, he's going to lose it."

"What?" Valerie was trying to not sound horrified. She wasn't sure when her brother had become so completely heartless. It had been such a slow transformation that she only recently began to see the monster he had become.

Rob was still watching his show. It had gotten the part where the monster was tearing a group of would-be heroes to shreds. He took a drink out of his glass. "Yeah, she slit her wrists a little over an hour ago. I don't know where she got the knife from."

Valerie nodded. "I guess that's one less loose end," she said softly.

"My thoughts exactly." Rob smiled over at his sister as if he were talking pleasantly about nothing in particular. "Jack's in his room. If I were you, I'd have him moved to somewhere more secure, before he finds anything out."

Valerie nodded again. "Thank you Rob," she said and got up to go.

"No problem," he smiled. "I take care of my own." He looked away from the screen. "You have your dress for the party tonight and everything ready?"

Valerie nodded. "I'm assuming you'll deal with Edward before I have to face him again?"

"Sure, sis. Consider him dealt with," he was feeling happier than he had in a long time. He was finally going to get the bastard back for everything he had been through. Rob watched Valerie turn and head for the door. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

Valerie forced a smile and walked back to her brother. She leaned down and kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

***

Leesha's body was still on the blood soaked bed. Valerie stood over the body. She didn't have a lot of time. Rob wouldn't like the fact that she was in here. But she needed to see for herself. In a way it was the final confirmation that there was no saving Rob from himself. Valerie reached down and stroked Leesha's hair. "Some Valentine's Day, huh? Remember when we were kids and used to pretend that you'd marry Rob and I'd marry Jack and we'd be sisters? Funny how people change."

Valerie sat down on the edge of the bed crying. "I wish I could arrange a funeral for you Leesha. But chances are you're gonna end up in the river or a ditch. I want you to know that I'm sorry. I never really thought he could do stuff like this. I don't think you saw it coming either, did you? I promise I'll do my best to get Jack out of here. I promise." Valerie took Leesha's hand in her own and held it gently. It was sticky with drying blood.

***

Steph was pacing back and forth. She was more than a little panicked. There's nothing I can do. Every noise out in the hall had her turning fearfully to see if Rob was coming in. When the door actually swung opened and a woman Steph didn't know came walking in, for a moment she had some hope that someone had come to get her and take her away from here. The hope didn't last long. The woman was carrying a large box with a pink bow on it. "Rob wants you to wear this to the party tonight," she said simply, dropped the box on the bed and left.

Steph took a deep breath. She needed to play along. Maybe if she got to the party she'd be able to find a way to warn people. There would be lots of officials and other important people there. Steph calmly walked over to the bed and opened the box. Inside was a pile of silky white material and golden cords. She picked up the costume and watched the white material flutter in waves to the floor. A greek goddess?

She held the costume up to herself and looked in a floor length mirror that lined on wall. The costume was probably expensive to judge by the feel of the material and looked as though it would show ever curve to her body almost obscenely through the thin fabric. I've never been inclined to wear anything like this in my life, she thought with disgust.

Steph's gaze went from the dress to her face. Her eyes were puffy and swollen from crying and her hair needed to be brushed. "Well, cooperation will keep everyone safe for now," she said. Throwing the costume back in the box she picked it all up and headed for the bathroom. At least she'd be dressed before he got here. That would leave less room for the other stuff she was afraid of.

Rob walked through the bedroom door with a box under his arm, similar to the one that he had sent in for Steph, as the bathroom door closed behind her. He smiled to himself. He had been certain that there would be an argument over going to the party this evening. Pleased that his threats were being so effective, he tossed his own costume down on the bed and began dressing himself.

Steph was horrified as she stared into the mirror. There was no denying that she'd need a different bra and underwear with this costume. The material was too thin and the pink lacy set she had thrown on that morning was showing blatantly through the material. Her mind raced to come up with a solution. The last thing she wanted to talk to Rob about was needing underwear. She opted for taking her underwear and bra off to see what it would look like without anything on under it. Steph stared at herself in the mirror. She had never felt so exposed while wearing clothes before. The dress covered everything well enough. But the material was so thin that her nipples poked obstinately through the top. Steph turned one way and then the other trying to see if the dark hair on her mound was noticeable through the white material. Deciding that what she saw would be less detrimental to her well being than discussing underwear with Rob, Steph pulled the rest of the pieces to the costume out of the box and began adorning herself with the golden bracelets, necklace and rings. As Steph finished tying the golden cords across her chest and was looking for a brush so that she could take care of her hair Rob's voice startled her.