Ary Meyer was my family when I was assigned by his father to protect him with my life, Jasmine Ribeiro was my family when I promised her in the living room of her home with a positive test in hand that I would protect her and her baby with my life. Dahlia became my family when I was the one who broke the news to her mother, when I later chose her name, and when I became her bodyguard. Seven years ago this beautiful girl came into the world. Seven years that Portugal has been too small for so much love, for a smile as radiant as hers.
A year ago Heiko had asked Ary to return to help him run the business. At the time they had a big fight and Ary had thrown him in his face about the deal they had made! But we know that it is not that simple to get out of the criminal world, his father was in trouble, Meyer Haus was in debt with the militia government and needed his son to get out of it. They closed a deal, Ary said that if he came back it would be to clean Meyer Haus once and for all, that there would be no more drugs... And he promised Jass that within a year he would be clean, without all the filth he carried, that their daughter would not inherit this world. Jass was reluctant, but there was nothing he could do because he knew that Ary would not abandon his mother in danger. He needed to get back to the business world. But you know that nothing is as easy as it seems.
It was supposed to be a normal day, a day when Ary was at home with his family. I was coming back from the market bringing the things from the list Jass had given me while the trio was preparing dinner, when I saw smoke coming out from all sides of the house. I ran out of the car and when I walked through the door, the scene was shocking. The house was in flames; Ary was lying between the living room and the kitchen with a gunshot wound to the forehead and his body practically charred, Jass was on the stairs with three shots through her body. Bloody.
"Adam..." She whispered.
"I'm going to get you out of here." I spoke already ready to carry her out of there.
"We don't have time." She denied as hard as she could. "You need to get her out of here. Save my girl."
"Where? Where's Dahlia?" I asked.
"They broke into the house, shot both of us, Dahlia..." She swallowed dryly, her strength already gone. "She ran to the hiding place. They made it look like it was a fire. Everything is going to collapse."
"Jass... I'm going to get you out of here." I spoke now feeling the smell of smoke fill me.
"No. I need you to get her out of here as soon as possible Adam." She said now coughing up blood. "We don't have time... There's been a fire. There were no survivors." She faced me one last time. "Protect her with your life, as you promised me. I love you."
"No, Jass..." I spoke rocking her as her body collapsed in my arms. "I love you too, don't.... No..". I spoke with tears streaming down my face.
A final crash brought me out of my reverie, a pillar shattered, falling in front of the front door. I kissed his forehead and released his now dead body in the same place where it was, running to the left part of the house that led to the library. I urgently pressed the discreet button behind one of the books, and the bookcase moved to the side giving access to a small gap.
"Hi little one..." I stared at the little seven-year-old girl cowering in front of me with a large suitcase in her hand.
"Daddy..." She spoke startled. Yes, she called me Daddy. My eyes burned. I remember the first time we were called to a meeting at school. The reason: Dahlia was telling her classmates that she had two daddies. We laughed a lot that day. This was real. The two of us would always protect her with our lives.
"It's time to go, my love." I spoke taking her in my arms and picking up the briefcase with my free hand.
I went out the library window and before we crossed the flowerbed of the neighboring lot I saw the fire department approaching in the distance and the house collapse in flames.
I hugged Dahlia still on my lap and carried her to the playground of the house in front of us, put her sitting on one of the little houses and placing the suitcase beside us, I held her face with both hands.
"They..." She spoke now sniffling. "They shot Mom and Dad." She spoke in shock.
"Did you get a look at who did it?" I asked staring at her.
"No. No Daddy. He had his back turned." She spoke now denying with her head without stopping.
"Look at me." I spoke searching her eyes. "It's just you and me now, but I promise I will protect you with my life." I spoke hugging her tightly and letting her head rest on my chest. "It's going to be okay my love, daddy will fix everything."
* Adam..." She spoke. "There was a fire. There were no survivors." She stared at me one last time. "Protect her with your life, as you promised me. I love you.
No, there was no one left now. There were no survivors. Ary Meyer, Jasmine Ribeiro Meyer, and Dahlia Ribeiro Meyer were dead."
I was only seventeen when I decided to drop everything and follow the Meyer family, I left the love of my life, the woman I had planned to marry since I was fourteen, to follow as the hound of a cartel. I knew that with the life I was leading I would not be able to give the best to my family and that the difficulties, the same ones that affected my parents, would affect us and this was not what I wanted for her because I knew she deserved better. I was so good at training that I became a personal security guard for the Meyer family, and at twenty I had the honor of being Jasmine's security guard, at twenty-two my life changed when Dahlia was born and since then she is what I have been living for. I never had a family, I never imagined myself worthy of the smiles that Dahlia ever gave me, I never felt as alive as I did being next to this smart little girl. If I believed in spirituality, I would say that this is exactly what I was born for, to give my life for her, to be by her side whenever she needs me, to help her feel safe, especially when all she can feel now is hatred for the death of her parents, and dread of the nightmares that come torment her at night. I would give anything to rip this pain away, to protect her with my heart, I promised I would do that. I promised I would protect her, and now I am letting her go and learn to protect herself, and I don't know, I don't know how I feel knowing that when I find her again, she will no longer be my little Jasmine flower.