I sniffled as tears clouded my eyes. I shook my head. “I’m fine. What about you? Mom?” I cried.
“She’s fine. Stable.”
Blinking slowly, I sighed in relief. Since being locked up I feared my mom might take a turn for the worse.
“I want to go home.”
My dad swallowed roughly. “Let her go. Do what you want with me, but please don’t take it out on my daughter. She has nothing to do with this!” he shouted, trying to break free.
I’d never seen my dad look as scared and out of control as he did right now.
Kairus spun around, his gun resting at his side. Fear shot down my spine when he stared as if he was looking through me. The scars on his face suddenly looked more frightening.
Tears ran down my face and my stomach twisted.
Kairus stalked toward him and I yelped when he sent the butt of his gun down. “I told you, you don’t make demands here.”
“Stop! Please, stop!” I begged. My wrists burned the more I tried to break my restraints.
“This is how this is gonna go. Your daddy owes me money. He’s unable to pay. Do you know what I do to people unable to pay me?” This time he re-tucked his gun and held his hand out. The man who dragged the other guy away handed him a knife. Kairus forced my father’s head back and held the blade to his neck.
“Don’t do this!”
“People who owe me don’t make it out to tell another tale.” I watched as my dad flinched when the blade pierced his skin.
“Now, I consider myself a reasonable man.” He moved the blade and my dad’s head lowered. He was now bleeding from the top of his head.
The doors to the warehouse opened. The new guy that walked in caused a new wave of fear to pass through my dad’s eyes.
“I see you started the party without me.” He cracked his neck along with his knuckles. The grin on his face was one that made my blood run cold. Nothing about it was friendly.
“What do you want?” Dad asked tightly.
Kairus’s cold stare never left me. “Your daughter.” My eyes bucked.
“No! Anything but her,” my dad blurted.
“You say that as if you have a choice.” The man who just came in walked toward Kairus. Both were roughly the same in height and built, his complexion a shade or two darker. His hair was cut into a fade with a connected beard surrounding his pink lips.
“I see the party is just starting.” He patted Kairus’s shoulder but was shrugged off.
Kairus shifted his eyes to my dad. “The deal is your daughter is mine to own for the next six months. In that time you get my money back,double the interest.” At that last part, my dad’s eyes widened.
“Dou-double?” he sputtered.
“If you fail to get my money, I’ll kill you, your daughter, and end the suffering your wife is experiencing the moment the clock strikes twelve.”
“But, but how am I gonna get a hundred grand in six months!”
My heart dropped at the amount. “A hundred grand!” I shrieked.
He flinched when the blade went against his skin again. “That’s a problem for you to worry about.”
I sniffed back my tears. Blinking rapidly, I bounced my eyes around the room, hoping to find something that could help.
“Please not my daughter.” The brokenness in my dad’s voice caused my heart to crack open. Right now I couldn’t care less about myself. I just didn’t want my dad to suffer anymore.
“Please, don’t hurt him anymore! My mom needs him!” I begged, but it fell on deaf ears.
