“Cat got your tongue?”
“I’ll just go,” I said hoarsely, taking another step back.
“Now that you are here,” the short guy said, shaking his head and lifting his hands up in a what can you do? gesture.
I took another step back, and hit something. When I glanced behind me, a scream got trapped in my throat. There was a third man.
“Mr. Duncan, this worked out not so well for you,” the short one said jovially as the man behind me shoved me forward. I looked down at Reb to see her staring at her Kindle, and I was grateful for the first time ever that she’d checked out. She was in her own world at the moment.
“Let her go,” my dad breathed, his voice barely audible.
“Come on,” short man called, waving me forward. “Hold your granddaughter, Duncan.”
The big guy cut the ropes from my dad’s wrists, and his hands fell limply to his sides. I pulled Rebel even tighter against me as we got closer. My hands were shaking so badly that I wasn’t even sure how I was still holding her.
Who were these men? What the hell had my dad gotten into? There was no way for me to call for help. My dad’s cell phone was in pieces on the floor, and I’d left mine in the cup holder in my car. I briefly thought about the hospital noticing my absence, but knew instinctively that they’d just assume I’d been a flake. If I didn’t show up by the end of my shift, they’d wonder why I wasn’t there, but it’s not like they’d file a missing person’s report.
There was no one looking for us. No one to realize that we weren’t where we were supposed to be.
“Give the child to Duncan, or I will,” the short man ordered. He didn’t raise his voice or do anything outwardly intimidating, but the calm way he’d spoken was almost worse.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, and shook my head. I didn’t know what the fuck they were going to do, but they wouldn’t touch my kid as long as I was still breathing. I locked eyes with the short man, and his lips quirked up just a fraction.
“Hold her,” he snapped at the man behind me.
I jerked when the man’s fingers dug into my biceps, and Rebel’s ear piercing scream rang through the house as the short man snatched her from my arms. I fought like hell, yanking as hard as I could against the hands that held me, but I couldn’t get free. My scrub top ripped as I fought, and I bit my tongue as the guy shook me. As soon as the short man had Rebel, the man behind me pulled my hands behind my back.
Then, in less than ten seconds, it was over. Rebel stopped screaming as soon as the short man set her on my dad’s lap. He held her awkwardly, like the weight of her was painful, but he didn’t let go.
He met my eyes across the room, and I saw everything he was feeling. The fear, the apology, the determination. The love.
“Now that is done,” short man said briskly, wiping his hands on a handkerchief. He nodded to the man behind me and I was shoved forward again, until I was just feet from my dad and Rebel.
“You have high pain tolerance, no?” short man asked my dad, tilting his head to the side. “Daughter have same pain tolerance?”
His words barely registered before his fist hit my belly, knocking the air out of me in a whoosh. I choked, panicking when I couldn’t inhale.
“No!” my dad yelled, startling Reb. I glanced toward them as I sucked in a desperate gasp of air and met my dad’s eyes again, just barely shaking my head.
He had Rebel. He couldn’t draw attention to himself again. It wasn’t worth it. The men were going to do anything they wanted. We couldn’t stop them. I felt a sob climb up the back of my throat, but held it in.
They didn’t seem interested in Rebel. When the short man had taken her, he hadn’t hurt her. He’d been almost gentle. I had to focus on that.
“You make list, yes?” the short man asked my dad, looking at the big guy next to him and gesturing to me. “I would like that list. Simple trade, eh?”
My dad’s swollen jaw twitched and he met my eyes, just as the big guy came forward, punching me in the face. My glasses flew off and an inarticulate sound ripped from my throat as my vision went black for a second, my legs turning to Jell-O beneath me.
“Mama?” Rebel’s voice had my mouth snapping shut as I tried to stand back up. The man behind me was still holding me up, but I was having a really hard time bracing myself. My arms were already throbbing painfully.