Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Lyra stretched after Jeremiah's parents guided the excited young man out of the room. He had been as talented as she'd expected. With a focus that was rare in a five-year-old, Jeremiah had absorbed her suggestions and immediately made subtle and big changes to how he played. They'd ended by playing a piece completely through together.

To her surprise, she'd enjoyed working with the child more than she'd ever thought she would. Perhaps if she weren't traveling so much, she'd have time to work sporadically with talented students like Jeremiah. His parents would certainly love that and be willing to pay her fees.

Caught up in her thoughts, Lyra stowed her cello in the large travel case. Inspired, she wanted to play more. A look out the windows told her it was a beautiful day outside. She could play under the trees in an open space. Would Phoenix allow that?

Stiffening her spine, Lyra pushed that thought out of her mind. She'd allowed Boyd to make all the decisions about her life. Lyra wouldn't allow another to step into his place. She shuddered at the memory of being locked in the hotel room. That skyrocketed her desire to escape outside.

Lyra lifted her cello and rolled it into the lobby.

"Hey, Lyra," Sadie greeted her as she hurried out from behind the desk to join her.

"Hi, Sadie. Do you mind if I play outside under one of those big trees?"

Sadie's face lit up. "That would be amazing." She glanced around as if to make sure no one was listening. "But I'm not sure the Daddies would approve."

Lyra drew in a breath. "I don't see why not. I mean, they kicked Boyd off the property last night. He left, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Sadie chewed on her bottom lip, obviously concerned.

Lyra stood taller. She wanted to take her life back. She'd been under Boyd's thumb for far too many years. "I fired him. I even put it in writing. He left. Hopefully, he won't come back. Besides, even if he did, it's not like he would walk up to me in the middle of a crowd and kidnap me so he can force me to play music in Japan. That's going too far. He's just going to have to cancel the concerts he set up and make his own excuses. He dug that hole when he didn't ask me first. I'm not his toy."

Lyra felt stronger by the moment as she verbalized her feelings. She was so totally done with Boyd. She needed to call her accountant, Tracy, and tell her to take Boyd off the payroll immediately. Boyd needed to move on with his life. Lyra was done with him.

Sadie looked around. "I guess you're right. Let me get someone to help at the front desk, and I'll come outside with you. I bet if you set up under a tree, people will flock over to listen. Maybe I should find some blankets they can sit on. It's a beautiful day out." Sadie turned and hurried back to the reception area.

Lyra grinned. She was loving this idea. She couldn't remember when she'd been able to play under such carefree circumstances. Maybe never. She loved the cello, and she had since before she'd been large enough to get her arms around it.

For years, Lyra had been tethered to a tight schedule, playing all over the world with very few breaks. Because she loved to play, she'd never put up a fight to assert her independence. But enough was enough. She needed to reclaim her life.

Making her feel even more secure about her decision was the addition of Phoenix and the rest of his makeshift family. They were all so happy and cheerful. She found herself jealous of their life and wanting a piece of it.

It would seem she could have this life, too. Phoenix was adamant that she was his. Could it really be true? Could she have a new life here with him? What about her music? Where would she play if she stayed here?

It was too soon to be thinking that far ahead. She hadn't even been here two full days. Still, so much had changed in that time.

Sadie returned a few minutes later, yanking Lyra out of her thoughts. "Okay, I got someone to handle the front desk and found someone else to bring out some blankets. Let's go outside."

Ten minutes later, Lyra was set up under the giant old tree near the resort entrance. A huge grassy area surrounded it, and curious guests had started gathering even before Lyra had the cello out of the case.

Someone brought her a chair, and in no time, she was tuning her instrument. When she was ready to start playing, she glanced up and gasped. Dozens of guests had gathered. Most of them were seated and awaiting the impromptu concert. Their faces were eager. Most of them must have heard her play last night.

Sadie stood nearby with a wide grin.

Lyra started playing, letting herself get lost in the music as she switched from one piece to another, including classical and modern music. She had no idea how much time had passed before she took a break to flex her fingers.

The crowd had grown, and she noticed three of the Daddies—Magnus, Hawking, and Rocco—were positioned around the perimeter. She wondered where Phoenix was.

"Keep smiling, Little one." The voice came from behind her, and it belonged to Phoenix.

The realization that he'd been nearby after all calmed her and warmed her heart. His tone, however, made the hair stand up on the back of her neck.

"Good girl. Play another song, okay?"

"What's wrong?" she whispered without turning her head. She could sense that he was squatting behind her.

"Maybe nothing. I'm being cautious."

She lifted her bow and smiled at the audience before launching into another long piece, one that she could play in her sleep. She knew if she chose this one, she could easily keep playing while focusing on her surroundings better at the same time.

Without moving her head much, she scanned the audience. Rocco was holding something to his mouth, talking into it. Hawking was standing on a chair, his gaze wandering the area. Magnus was pressing his fingers against what she assumed was an earpiece.

Her heart rate picked up. What was happening?

Caesar suddenly approached at a jog. When Kestrel joined from the other side of the crowd, she knew something serious was about to go down. What was happening? Surely, Boyd wouldn't return and cause more trouble after being escorted off the premises.

Another thought came to her. Her Daddy was not going to be pleased with her decision to arrange this impromptu concert outside in the open.

The audience was oblivious. They were all smiling and swaying to the music. There were even several children in attendance, including Jeremiah, who sat near the front with his parents.

Lyra couldn't sense Phoenix any longer, so she assumed he had backed away. Where was he? She kept playing, forcing herself to smile and pretend nothing was wrong. The last thing she wanted was to cause a commotion at Danger Bluff. It wouldn't be good for business if Boyd approached her and caused a scene in front of so many guests. She felt horrible for even creating this possibility.

Suddenly, there was an odd hissing noise right before the sprinklers came on all over the edge of the lawn. The guests watching the concert jumped up, grabbed the blankets as a shield against the spray of water, and hurried to get to the sidewalk.

Lyra stopped playing and stood also, scared out of her mind. If her cello got wet… She quickly realized there was no chance of that. The sprinklers were too far from her. They caused everyone to scramble to get away from the water, but she was in no danger of getting wet.

In the middle of the mad dash for drier ground, she watched in horror as Phoenix tackled a man to the grass a few feet to her left. The man fought, kicking and groaning, but he lay face-first in the grass and was significantly smaller than Phoenix.

Seconds later, Rocco and Hawking were flanking the man. As Phoenix rose off his back, the other two grabbed his biceps and led him quickly around the corner and out of sight. It didn't appear that anyone even noticed the altercation.

Lyra was panting, shocked at how fast everything had happened.

Phoenix jogged over and kneeled in front of her. "Look at me, Crash."

She jerked her gaze to his, knowing her eyes were wide and her cheeks flushed. She was shaking so badly that she nearly dropped her bow.

"You're safe, Little one. Focus on Daddy."

She held his gaze, nodding even though she was panicking. "Who was that?" she murmured.

"Not sure yet, Crash, but we'll find out. Let Caesar take your cello, Lyra." He nodded to the man approaching with her case.

Trembling, she released the cello and watched as Caesar carefully secured it in its case.

"So, you didn't recognize the man, Little one?" Phoenix asked.

She shook her head as she rubbed her hands on her thighs. She was afraid to stand. Her legs might be too wobbly to hold her up. "No. I've never seen him before."

He set a hand over one of hers. "You're okay. Take some deep breaths."

She glanced around at the chaos. Tears threatened to fall. "I'm so sorry. This is my fault, isn't it?"

"No, Little one. It's not your fault."

"But I shouldn't have come out here to play. I was feeling defiant and, and…" Her breath hitched. "I can't believe the sprinklers went off. I didn't think of that."

Phoenix inched closer. "Lyra, I set off the sprinklers."

Her eyes widened. "You did?"

"Yes, Crash. We were all watching that guy. He was stalking you. We didn't want to alarm the hotel guests, so I created a diversion instead."

"Isn't everyone mad, though?" She lifted her gaze to find the hotel guests laughing as they shook out their blankets on the sidewalk.

"Nope. I think everyone took it pretty well. No one got soaked. They just jumped up and ran." He squeezed her hand. "Let's get you inside."

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?"

"What do you think, Little one?"

She slowly nodded.

"Why are you in trouble?" he asked, forcing her to voice what she'd done.

"Because I didn't ask you first before I came out here. Are you going to spank me?" She sat up straighter. The thought made her heart race faster. Every time she thought about him spanking her bottom, she squirmed, which made her face heat with embarrassment.

"Yes, Crash. Daddy is going to spank your naughty bottom. I suspect you knew that might happen before you made this choice." He lifted a brow.

She swallowed. Had she done this on purpose? Not inviting the stalker, of course. She hadn't expected anyone to come after her. But in the back of her mind, she probably had known if she came outside and gathered a crowd for a performance, she would end up over his knees.

Phoenix rose to his feet. "Come." He held out a hand.

She took it.

Sadie approached, holding a mic. She started speaking into it. "Folks, I'm so sorry about the sprinklers. Please let me know at the front desk if we caused anyone harm. I wasn't thinking about them possibly going off when I set up this little concert."

It looked like most of the crowd was still laughing and waved her off. A few people could be heard thanking Lyra for the music and hoping they would get to see her perform again soon.

Magnus picked up Lyra's chair. "Did you not have any music or a stand?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No. I can play a lot of things without sheet music."

"Impressive." He grinned as he headed toward the side door.

Phoenix led her along behind him, threading his fingers with hers.

Yeah, she was going to get her bottom spanked, and she was pretty sure she was going to enjoy it.