One More Time

Somewhere else in the building, a phone rang. Most of the guys walked off to take the call, leaving me with Cal. He stood there, looking down at me, a look of darkness and despair upon his fatures.

“If I were Zoey, would you let them kill me for asking questions?” I asked.

Cal's hard face softened a bit at the mention of his daughter, but only for a split second before he clenched his jaw tight.

“I guess you haven't heard,” he said. “Zoey is dead.”

I felt my stomach lurch and tears well in my eyes. “Oh God, I had no idea –”

“The fuck you didn't,” he growled. “You playin' games with me or what, girl?”

“No, Cal. Seriously. I had no idea – I haven't been around for a long while, remember? I never heard anything about her,” I pleaded. “I cared for Zoey a lot. She was a good friend of mine.”

Maybe it was the tears in my eyes, or maybe something else entirely delayed the inevitable. Whatever it was though, Cal paused. He loomed above me with a contemplative look on his face.

“Cal, come here,” Paul said.

It left Chris standing there, watching over me. Any trace of the All-American, good boy I remembered was gone. His face was as hard, his eyes as jaded, as any of the rest of them.

“Of all people, Chris, you shock me the most,” I said softly. “I actually thought I could date you. I thought you were one of the good ones.”

“There's no such thing as good and bad, Hannah. Just those on top and those on bottom,” he said, shrugging. “I'm tired of always being on bottom. So, I'm going to fight my own damn way to the top. It's about goddamn time I get a taste of the serious action”

“Nah, I don't believe you,” I said. “Good guys exist alright. As do bad guys. You just won't find any of the former here. From where I'm sitting, there's nothing but bad guys here tonight.”

“Your dad is one of us, Hannah.”

“Yeah, I know. And I'm slowly starting to realize he's not so good himself,” I said quietly. “Did he order you to kidnap me?”

Chris shook his head. “He ordered us to protect you. Just wanted us to keep you here long enough to complete this deal,” he said. “But we all know that's not how it works. There's always more deals and more business to be had. And you, sweetheart, have become a liability.”

“Then why not kill me already?”

I pulled hard at my restraints even though I knew it was useless. I was tired of just sitting there, waiting to die, though. I was tired of being helpless while everyone talked about my future. About what they were going to do to me and deciding my fate for me. Fuck them. Fuck them all.

“Because your dad is still in control,” Chris said. “He says when you die.”

There was a twinkle in his eye when he spoke those words, however. Something said he knew more than he was letting on. A commotion in the other room caused him to look over his shoulder, and I swear, he grinned from ear-to-ear like the Joker. He looked absolutely malevolent. Absolutely insane. It sent a cold chill through me and I felt an icy fist of fear grab my heat and squeeze it tight.

Chris seemed pleased as punch when Cal and Stan started screaming at each other. He even seemed to grow excited when one pushed the other down and out of the way. Cal won the battle of strength and came rushing over to me.

“Looks like there's a new president in town,” Cal said, sharing a look with Chris. “And some things are going to change around here real fuckin' fast.”

Cal pulled out a knife and held it to my throat. No one – not even Stan – tried to stop him this time. I swallowed and closed my eyes, thinking that was the end of things. I thought my last words were my final chance to stay alive. I only hoped I could appeal to their sense of humanity – that was, if they had any sense of humanity left.

“My dad is going to kill you for this,” I spat, reminding them that my dad was somebody they should fear – and that I was his little girl.

I wiggled my feet, and they were tied together, but not tied to anything. I suddenly realized that if I could just get my knees up, I might be able to push Cal off me. What good that would do, aside from giving me a few extra seconds of life, I wasn't sure. But, it beat sitting on my ass waiting to have my throat cut for me.

“Hannah, your daddy dearest is dead,” Cal growled. “There ain't no one to save you now. The only thing I got to decide is whether to fuck you before I kill you. What do you think, sweetheart?”

Voices came from a room nearby. Men were shouting at one another. The screaming though, was quickly followed by the booming echo of gunshots. Screams of bloody murder followed. Cal hesitated, turning his back, and in that one free moment, I pulled my knees to my chest and positioned them outward, slamming them into his stomach. He went flying, and the knife flew out of his hand, landing on the cold concrete floor with a metallic ring and a clatter. Chris and the others rushed from the room, leaving me alone with Cal, who looked even more pissed than before.

“That's it,” he said, cracking his neck as he climbed back to his feet. “You were so close to my daughter, huh? Well, I guess you're going to see her again real quick here.”

Cal picked up the knife and stalked back toward me. I scooted my body away until I hit a wall with my back. There was nowhere for me to go. I fought and struggled against the restraints, kicking and screaming like a wild, cornered beast. I was hoping that he'd lied about my dad and that it was my dad out there shooting his gun off. I found myself hoping that my dad was going to rush in and save me before Cal killed me. He had to.

“No, Cal, please –” I cried. “You don't want to do this!”