The man hummed. “I have a debt to fulfil.”
What kind of debt?
“This is a mistake,” I blurted. “This has to be some sort of mistake. My family has no debts, I swear. You’ve got the wrong person!”
My captor sighed. “I’ll explain all that in good time, but first, I need you to confirm something for me. You’re Branna Murphy, right?”
A fresh surge of panic set in. This wasn’t some kind of mistake, this man knew my name, which meant he purposely was in the right house and came after me for a reason.
“Ye-Yes.” I stuttered.
“Then there is no mistake, you are the right person,” the deep voice responded. “I’ve been waiting a few months to get you on your own”
“Why?” I swallowed down bile. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“Which question do you want me to answer first?” he asked, sounding bored.
A sheen of dread settled over me.
“The second,” I whispered.
“Well, Branna,” he began, “my name is Philip, but I believe you know me as Big Phil. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
My world stop spinning, and it hit me that every moment throughout my life where I had ever felt scared or alone didn’t come close to the emotions I felt during that moment. I was absolutely terrified, and almost instantly began whimpering and trying my hardest to get free because this man… he tried to kill my best friend and her son, and once upon a time he tried to kill Kane too… and now… now he was going to kill me.
“Oh, my God.” I cried. “Please, don’t kill me.”
I heard movement, and every muscle in my body tensed as I felt the monster approach.
“Why would I kill you?” Big Phil asked me and I could hear the smile in his tone.
The sick bastard liked that I was petrified.
“Why else would you abduct me?” I asked, now hiccupping from crying so hard.
“To draw out Kane,” he replied. “Why else?”
I swallowed down my fear, which was no small feat, and asked, “Wh-why would I draw out Kane? I’m n-not with him… I’m not even with his br-brother anymore. Ryder and I br-broke up.”
“How devastating for you,” Big Phil said, sounding like he couldn’t care less.
I was shaking as my fear amplified.
“So you see,” I sniffled, “I won’t draw Kane out be-because—”
“If you don’t draw Kane out then there will definitely be no use for you so I suggest you stop talking.”
I clamped my mouth shut.
“I like you.” He chortled. “You’re obedient, not like that fucking Aideen bitch. She had a mouth on her.”
I couldn’t begin to imagine how Aideen could backtalk him when he had her, I was almost too scared to breathe in fear he would hurt me.
“I made a mistake with her. I wanted her to suffer, like my boy suffered, when what I should have done is put a bullet in her head and stomach. That would have really killed Kane.”
“You bastard!”
It was out of my mouth before I realised I said it.
Big Phil laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”
I continued to cry, and it grated on his nerves.
“Stop your blubbering, I haven’t got the patience for it. I’ve worn out every ounce of tolerance I have for your fucking family.”
I closed my mouth and tried my hardest to control my sobs, but it was difficult. It was like every ounce of strength I had up and left me, and I just accepted my fate like a coward. I wanted to be strong, but my body hurt, my head hurt, and my heart did, too—I honestly didn’t know how it was still beating.
After what I saw with Ryder and his… friend, I was positive it would never work right again. I thought for sure the shock alone would kill me.
I wasn’t stupid, in the back of my mind I knew we were all in constant danger from Big Phil. A man didn’t attempt to murder a pregnant mother for revenge then just disappear because he failed. No, Big Phil had an agenda, and it was obvious it was one he was going to fulfil no matter what—or who—it cost.
It was unbelievable, but the threat of him and what he was capable of faded to the very back of my mind when my relationship problems took centre stage.
To be honest, I just didn’t care about Big Phil, or the threat he posed to me when I thought about what my so-called partner did to me. I didn’t care about anything because I was so focused on Ryder and how much he, and our relationship, had changed.
It was then that I wondered why I was so scared. When I thought hard about it, Big Phil kidnapping me was kind of—in a twisted way—a favour to me. If he killed me, I would be at peace. No more sadness, no more bleeding for Ryder and the love we once shared, no more of anything. If he beat on me, maybe he would hit me so hard that it would erase my witnessing Ryder with another women. Maybe one solid knock to my head and he could wipe out all the heartache I carried and I could start over on a clean slate.
It suddenly became very tempting to anger him just to see if he would do it.
“You aren’t shaking anymore,” Big Phil commented, gaining my attention.
He was right. I wasn’t shaking anymore. If I was being completely honest, I didn’t really feel fear anymore either, what I felt was curiosity. This man could take all my suffering away, what the hell was there to fear about that?
“‘Cause I’m not scared anymore,” I replied, my voice firm.
This made him laugh before he asked, “Where are we, Branna?”
How in the Hell was I supposed to know? I wondered. I had a blindfold covering my eyes for God’s sake.
“Darkness?” I guessed.
“Why would I take you to a nightclub?” he curiously asked.
I managed to shrug. “It’s where me sister and friends were taken to when they were kidnapped, so I figured since you American arseholes and wanna-be gangsters are all alike, you would take me there, too. It’s unoriginal which makes it the best bet.”