“All right.” His gaze doesn’t waver from my gun.
“You’re not going to leave this place. In fact, I’m going to have someone watching you at all times.”
“I have a job,” he says.
“What the hell do you do?”
“I’m an—"
“Doesn’t matter,” I say. “You had enough money to go to that damned island. Even with the fine you paid, you can easily stay here and not go anywhere. You’re at my fucking beck and call. Is that clear?”
“Who… Who will be watching me?”
“What fun would this be if I told you that? Just know that I’ve got someone good on you at all times. You move? I’ll know. Their orders are to kill.”
“Oh… Okay.” His voice cracks.
Good. He’s scared.
No one will be watching, of course. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
And now he knows who I really am.
That will be enough to keep him quiet. If my father was on that island and escaped incarceration, he can easily have Pollack killed without blinking an eye.
“I’m going to go now. You’re going to lock yourself in. You will order your groceries to be delivered. That is that.”
“I understand.”
“Make the call.”
“To whom?”
“To whoever you work with. Your boss. Tell him or her that you have a family emergency, and you have to take an unpaid leave of absence for an indefinite period of time.”
“I can’t just—”
“I wasn’t asking.”
“Fine. My phone… It’s in my pocket.”
“Well, get it out. You’re acting like someone has a gun held to your head.” I can’t help a caustic laugh.
“I have your permission. To get my phone.”
“You do. You’re going to make the call, and you’re going to put it on speaker. Because I don’t really trust you not to call someone else and try to maneuver out of our deal.”
“I wouldn’t.”
“Yeah, you probably wouldn’t. You’d be stupid to try. Funny thing is…I still don’t trust you.”
Slowly, he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a smart phone. He punches a number.
“Hi, Darlene. It’s Chris. I need to talk to Ray.”
“Sure, Chris. I’ll patch you through.”
Pause.
“Hey, Chris, what’s up?”
“Sorry I didn’t get in today. I’ve got a family emergency.”
“Oh my. Anything I can do to help?”
“No, I can’t really talk about it.” Pollack’s voice cracks, and he clears his throat. “I’m going to need to take an indefinite leave of absence. I don’t expect to be paid.”
“I can give you your PTO, and then yeah, it’ll be unpaid.”
“That’s fine. Sorry for the inconvenience and for the short notice.”
“No problem. We all have families. Let me know if we can do anything for you.”
“Sure. I will.” Another throat clear. “Thanks, Ray.”
“No problem. Take care.”
Pollack ends the call. “Satisfied?”
“Not even close. But at least I know where you are. My guys will be giving me hourly updates, so if you try to escape, you’re going to have an issue.”
He nods. “I understand.”
“I’ll be in touch.” I rise finally, strap my gun back to my ankle and secure my knife. “Have a fucking nice day.”
Once I’m out of his apartment I make a call.
It’s not a call I ever wanted to make.
But I make it anyway.
“Yeah?” the familiar voice says.
“It’s me, Dad.”
12
KATELYN
I feel pretty good after coffee with Aspen. We’re not besties or anything, but it was nice to talk.
Back at my place, my phone rings.
“Oh, crap,” I say aloud. Then, into the phone, “Hi, Mom.”
“Katelyn, darling, I just wanted to check in with you and see how you’re doing.”
“As well as to be expected, I’m sure. Is that really why you’re calling?”
A pause. “That and I’d like you to come home.”
“We’ve had this conversation, Mom. I’m better off here for now.”
“I’m going to have to put my foot down. We need you home, Katelyn. You’re my only child.”
What would my mother think if she knew how I ended up on that island? How family members—family members she sent me to for the summer—turned me over to the priest?
“I didn’t want to have to tell you this,” she says, “but it’s Dad. He…”
My heart jumps. “What? What’s wrong with Dad?”
“I’m afraid he’s sick, Katelyn. He has a tumor. On his liver.”
“Is it malignant?”
“We don’t know yet. He’s going in for surgery to have a biopsy next week. I’d like you to come home.”
“Mom, I just got a new job. I start on Monday.”
“Is your new job more important than your father’s health?”
“Of course not, but there’s nothing I can do. You can let me know what the results are. I don’t need to be there for the surgery. People are depending on me here.”
“I’m depending on you, Katelyn. You’re my only child. I need your support.”
I roll my eyes.
I love my father. I love my mother too, but reclaiming my life is not conducive to being around her. “What are the chances that it’s malignant?”
She pauses once more. Then, “It’s most likely benign.”
Classic Farrah Brooks.
Dad is the one facing a potential health crisis, which is most likely benign, but she’s turned it into everyone needs to support me.
I’m not sure she even cares if my father’s ill. Doesn’t matter anyway. I have a new job, and I can’t come home.
“Keep me in the loop,” I tell her. “If it turns out the tumor is malignant, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Katelyn, how can you be so selfish?”
My jaw drops, though I’m not sure why. This behavior is on-brand for her. At least, it was before I disappeared. You’d think she might be a little more supportive of me, knowing what I’ve been through.
Clearly that’s not going to happen.
Again, classic Farrah.
“This conversation is over, Mom. I can’t do this right now.”
“Katelyn, I’m sorry. It’s just… I’m your mother. I need your support.”
No, I will not let her get to me. I already went on a crying bender today over Luke. This woman cannot affect me this way.
I swallow. Give myself a few seconds to compose myself.
“I need your support, Mom. I was held for ten years against my will. Unspeakable things were done to my body. Unspeakable things were done to my mind. Did you know I have scars on my back from where I was whipped with a yardstick? Did you know I have scars from cuts all over my body? Did you know a man used to urinate on me? I’ve been raped, beaten, tortured. I think I need your support right now.”