“Easy does it. Good. Just stand there for a minute while the blood begins to flow again.”
I wiggled my toes, willing my limbs to work correctly. Hopefully, if I behaved myself, he wouldn’t tie me up again.
He patted my hand as though I were a little girl. “Are you ready?”
“I think so. Can we take it slow?” When I stepped forward, my body shook from hours of not moving.
Several agonizing steps later, we reached the door. Jack flung it open, and a burst of freezing, fresh air blew past me.
“Shit.” I rubbed my arms. “It’s cold.”
“At least you had your coat on when we left Barney’s. It will help a little bit. The temperatures at this level are much colder.”
My hand clenched into a fist. He made it sound as though we were out for a Sunday drive instead of him killing Matthew and forcing me into a car.
Dried leaves crunched beneath my feet as we stepped outside. The early evening sun broke through the leafless trees, and I inhaled deeply. I had no idea when he would make us go back inside to Lola and the overwhelming stench.
“Isn’t it lovely up here?” He searched around as though he were enjoying the great outdoors, but I suspected he was surveying his surroundings in case we’d been followed.
Apparently we hadn’t. Whatever Layne had planned, it hadn’t been fast enough.
I squeezed Jack’s arm affectionately. “How did you and Matthew meet, and who was he to you?”
We stopped, and he dropped my arm. His cold gaze connected with mine. “I’d not kept tabs on you until you were eighteen. It was then I realized that you and I might have a lot in common. After your unfortunate events in high school … well, I knew you were in Spokane. I made my way there a few times, and one night, I was at Barney’s. This was before the FBI had identified me, so I could still be seen in public whenever I wanted. Matthew had a certain quality about him. You’ll understand soon enough. As I said, I’ll teach you what to look for. Anyway, it was late, and we were the last two people there. I explained I was trying to keep an eye on my daughter, told him who you were, and he offered to help. Over the last two years, he’s given me updates if I had to be gone for a while. By the way, he hated that boyfriend of yours, but it made things easy for me when I told him I needed direct access to you. His feelings were easily played on.”
“Matthew let you in the door in the office, didn’t he?” It was all coming together: how he’d found me, how he’d gotten into the bathroom with me at Barney’s, and the help he’d had to abduct me.
“He was good to work with. It was such a shame I had to put a bullet in his head. When you lunged at him, his finger was on the trigger. I couldn’t take any chances. As I said before, if anyone is going to kill you, it’s me.” He tsked, then looked at the sunset.
I tilted my head up to the sky. My face warmed from the fading embers of the evening sun, and I wondered if it would be the last sunset I would ever see. My pulse spiked as I scrambled for a way out of this mess.
“Are you feeling better?” he asked, looking at me. “I know we have so much to catch up on, but we have plenty of time.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and gave me a fatherly hug. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I couldn’t decide if he was so narcissistic that he assumed I was on board with his plans or if my acting ability was better than I’d suspected. I’d had years of practice, but I thought I’d found Jack’s weak spot. More than anything, he wanted me to join forces with him.
I plastered an adoring smile on my face. “Me too.”
“That’s my girl.”
We stood quietly for a few minutes as the sky darkened and the moon peeked between the trees.
The stench nearly doubled me over as we entered the small building again, and Jack closed the door behind us.
“Let’s get to work. Torturing one-oh-one.” He rubbed his hands together, excitement flickering in his eyes as he stared at Lola. “I know you’re still a bit tired and weak, so I’ll put Lola on the table and strap her down. Why don’t you get into my bag and grab the gag for me? Although no one is around, her screams will become irritating. It will help muffle the sound a little bit.”
I nodded, unable to find any words, unsure of what was about to happen. Fuck. Is he going to kill her now? Training. Shit. Shit. Shit. He was going to teach me how to skin a victim alive. Apparently, the drug he’d given me not only numbed my body, but it had muddled my brain. I clenched my jaw together tightly, forcing the bitter bile back down.
I located the backpack, unzipped it, and rifled through the contents. I spotted the gag but kept searching through his belongings. Maybe there was something that would help Lola and I escape. My eyes widened as I recognized my phone. I groaned inwardly. There was no way I could conceal it on my body. I attempted to power it on. “Come on, come on.” I glanced over my shoulder to see where Jack was in the room. Hoping like hell there was battery left, I shoved it back where I’d found it. Cold metal touched my skin, and I sucked in my breath. Jack had left a scalpel tucked away in a pocket. Was this a test, or had he not remembered there was a surgical tool—a weapon in his bag? I slid it into my coat sleeve and hoped like hell he didn’t catch me.
“Did you find it?” Jack asked, interrupting my progress. The chain hit the floor with a clank and he threw Lola over his shoulder as though she weighed nothing. Since she’d been curled up, I hadn’t realized how petite she was.
I held it up. “Anything else?” I asked, stalling for time.
He tossed Lola on the table and strapped her ankles and wrists down. “No. That’s all.”
I made my way over to her slowly. It was then that I saw the cuts and bruises on her breasts and stomach. One of her eyes was swollen shut. He’d beaten her badly. No wonder she hadn’t fought him. She had nothing left inside her, no strength and no will to live. She blinked at me as though she were trying to focus, then she closed her eye and groaned.
“Here.” Jack held his hand out, and I handed him the gag.
I wondered if Lola understood what was about to happen. I didn’t. Logically, I did, but I’d learned a long time ago that understanding a situation and living through it were often two completely different things.
Swallowing hard, I looked at my father. How had I ended up here next to a murderer? I wondered how many kids had a serial killer for a father. My fury rose to a boiling point, but I couldn’t act on it. Fuck you, universe!
Jack whistled while he prepared his tray. “I don’t bother cleaning the tools. It’s not like she’ll get an infection.” He laughed at his own joke.
I held my breath, counting the minutes until …
“Well.” He paused and stared at me. “This is our first of many father-daughter killings. I never imagined life could be so fun.”
“It’s strange how things turned out, isn’t it?” I squared my shoulders and tightened the hatches on my emotions. It wasn’t the time to feel anything. “Show me how it’s done.”
Jack paused, searching me for any sign that I wasn’t ready. My heart hammered against my chest.
“Excellent. I was really shaky the first time I did this, so I’m going to teach you the proper technique. Just take a step back and watch. If you have to puke, there’s the drain.” He nodded toward the opening in the floor. “It’s not uncommon to get sick during the first few skinnings, but it will get better.”