As my dad’s eyes raise to meet mine, I look to the side, straight to where the book is situated on his shelf. It’s still there, in the same place where I left it 13 years ago.
My dad gets up and rushes over to me with arms stretched as wide as they go. He wraps me up in his bear hug, a strange but pleasant mixture of tobacco smells and warmth that emanates only from the realization that someone you thought might be dead wasn’t really dead. I hug him back and bury my face in his neck. The two cops who brought me in give us a few moments.
When we finally separate, a little unwillingly though, my dad speaks to them.
“I really don’t know how to thank you,” his voice trembles, something I’ve rarely witnessed. Maybe only once in my entire life.
“We didn’t do anything,” the moody guy speaks first.
I have to admit I like the other one better. He at least asked me how I was doing and offered me a drink and his blanket. This guy barely looked at me. Not that I wanted him to look at me. But, if you come to rescue someone, don’t you want to make sure they’re alright when you actually find and rescue them?
“I wouldn’t say that, Fynn,” the other guy pats him on the shoulder, the way partners do. “We found her and brought her back safe and sound, didn’t we?”
“She is back here because Sven arranged it that way,” Fynn snorts, and again, doesn’t even look at me. “He had it all planned out and we did exactly what he wanted us to do. Now, the question remains, why is she here, safe and sound, without him getting what he wanted?”
His voice lingers in the air, and I know my father is thinking about it. I myself am thinking about it. The guy just left me there, without a word. He threatened to kill me if he didn’t get what he wanted, and he just left me. That can’t be right. Even I know this much.
“Do you have it, Hugo?” Fynn asks.
“Of course,” my father replies. “It’s in my safe.”
I wonder if it’s in the safe everyone assumes he has, or in the other one, where he keeps the really valuable items. He doesn’t elaborate, and neither do I.
“I was ready to hand it over for Maddie, like Sven asked.”
“He’s not working alone,” Fynn says, what I know they’re all thinking. “This is way too sophisticated for him. And, the ending is confusing as Hell. Why run without getting his hands on it?”
That curiosity catches my attention, and I wonder what it could be. I know my father has a few special items in his other safe, things that are better kept hidden than allowed to roam the world, getting transferred from one pair of wrong hands to another.
“That can mean only one thing,” my father adds. “This is just the beginning. I’m sure that there’s a phase 2 to whatever this is, and that’ll be even more dangerous.”
“Absolutely,” the other cop finally chimes in. “That’s why Fynn and I were thinking… you guys need to lay low for a while. We could arrange your stay at a safe house, and not even a battalion of tanks will be able to get through to you.”
I see the look on my father’s face change. He’s remembered something, something that doesn’t align well with this reasonable plan.
“I have to travel,” he tells them.
“This is a little more important than your business, Hugo,” Fynn eyes him scornfully.
“You don’t understand. This is a multi-million dollar deal that’s been planned for a year now. I can’t back down. You don’t understand the consequences this might have on my business. I… I just can’t.”
Listening to my father worry about his work when our lives were in danger hits a sore spot, but I know him. I know that he’s built this company from ground up and I know how much it means to him. Giving in to that guy and whoever he’s working with would be like giving up on everything he’s worked for, losing his company, maybe even more. So, I can understand where he’s coming from, even though Fynn doesn’t seem to.
“I can hire bodyguards, pay them whatever to keep me safe,” my father adds. “But, I need to be present at that meeting.”
“Listen, Hugo - “ Fynn starts but his partner interrupts him.
“Let’s all calm down here,” his voice is calm, friendly even. “If Hugo needs to go, then we can arrange for someone from our precinct to join him. Maybe, Rodnet and Kear.”
“I don’t know them,” my father shakes his head.
“And, you don’t need to,” Fynn snorts again. “All you need to know is that they will keep you safe, at the expense of their own lives. So, if you really can’t sit your ass down here and lay low, this is the only other option available.”
“What about Maddie?” my father wonders, and I feel this is the first time Fynn actually looks at me, and not through me.
“She won’t be going anywhere,” Fynn shrugs. “It’s difficult enough keeping an eye on one person who’s got a target on his forehead, let alone two. And one of them being a girl who prefers bars.”
“I beg your pardon!?” I take a step forward to him, ready to explain that the only reason I was at that bar was because my friends made me do it, and I was about to head home when all that happened.
“Alright, alright,” my father lays his hand on my shoulder, trying to calm me down. “Fynn’s a little rough on the edges, sweetheart. You’ll get used to it. Just don’t pay too much attention to what he says.”
“Yeah, princess,” Fynn grins at me, his ghostly white teeth, with fangs that I only noticed now. “If you want a shoulder to cry on, talk to Anderson there. But, if you want to stay alive, then do listen to what I have to say.”
And, with those words, everyone is left speechless. The smirk on his face tells me he liked how that felt.
“So, Fynn and I were thinking,” Anderson jumps in here, and we’re all kinda happy he does, “we’ll take Maddie to the safe house up North.”
“Is that the one - “
“Yes,” Anderson interrupts my father. “It’s the one where we made sure that Milo would stay alive.”
I have no idea what they’re talking about, but I know it’s important. I can’t go back to my life knowing that the person who kidnapped me is still out there, maybe plotting something more, something worse.
“Take her there,” my father agrees without another word said.
“What? Dad, I don’t - “
“I can’t stay here to keep you safe, sweetheart,” my father tells me. “And, right now, these two guys are the only ones I trust. They’re the only ones I know will be able to protect you.”
Nothing else needs to be said. Nothing else needs to be explained. I know he’s right. Especially if he’s not here, I can’t go back to my apartment alone. That guy probably knows all about where I live and that I’m alone there.
“When will you be back?” I ask him.
“I’ll try to return as quickly as I can, hopefully a week, maybe two.”