Norah rests her hand on my thigh and says, “I had a really nice time today, Daddy.”
I squeeze and rub her hand. “I had a nice day, too, baby girl.”
It occurs to me that every day could be like this, if we wanted it badly enough. The cabin is practically a house at this point. What’s to stop us from making it into our home? I could start my own real-estate consulting firm, or shift gears completely and do something different. Norah could get an online degree in whatever field sparks her interest. We could build a nice little life together, Norah and me, up here on the mountain.
A figure slinks out of the trees beside the road. A small doe or a young moose. I brace my foot on the brake, ready to stop the truck. But as we drive past, I swear it looks more like a person waving. A boy with dark, messy hair...
“Is that the kid you saw?” I ask Norah.
“What kid?”
“The kid by the road.”
“I didn’t see anyone by the road,” she says.
Again, the back of my neck breaks out in pins and needles. I shake off the uneasiness and chalk it up to the twilight playing tricks on me.
The sun’s just beginning to set when we reach the cabin. I help Norah unload the groceries onto the porch.
“I’ll start food prep,” she says. “You grab the charcoal and get the grill up and running.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I fetch the bag of charcoal briquettes from the garage and bring them around to the back porch. Dropping the bag by the grill, I call to Norah through the open window, “Baby, I need matches.”
She doesn’t respond.
“Baby?” I call again. No answer.
I enter the kitchen through the back door. There’s a half-sliced eggplant on the cutting board, but no knife.
No knife, and no Norah.
“How did you find me?” she says from the living room, her voice thin and brittle.
My whole body goes rigid, every muscle pulled taut.
“Come on, Nor,” says a guy’s voice I don’t recognize. “Haven’t you ever wondered how I always seem to know where you are?”
I move slowly through the kitchen, careful not to step on the loose floor boards. Rounding the corner to peer into the living room, I see him. Pale, skinny, greasy, and armed with a Glock.
“Remember how grateful you were when I gave you that new smartphone?” he asks her. “I didn’t just buy it for you out of the kindness of my heart. I installed a little tracking app, so I could keep tabs on you. Make sure you weren’t off sucking some other guy’s dick. I thought I’d lost you for a while, but as soon as you turned your phone back on, I knew exactly where to find you.”
The greaseball reaches out to stroke Norah’s cheek. She flinches. My blood turns to magma, my whole body into a raging inferno. I should be coming up with a plan of attack, but all I see is red.
There’s a stranger in my cabin, and he’s pointing a gun at my little girl.
Chapter Ten
Silas
I round the corner, advancing on the asshole waving a Glock in Norah’s face. The piece of shit spots me before I can reach him. Quickly, he grabs Norah and drags her out in front of him, pressing the barrel of the gun to her jaw.
“Take it easy, Daddy,” he says, his gaze narrowing. “Wouldn’t want to ruin this pretty face.”
I stop in my tracks. The sight of Norah’s eyes filled with fear turns my stomach. I don’t have to ask who the fuck this guy is. I already know.
“Put the fucking gun down, Brody.”
His mouth curls into a smirk at the sound of his own name. “I see Norah’s told you about me. Though, I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest clue who the fuck you are.”
“I’m the guy who’s gonna gut you like a fish if you don’t point that gun somewhere else.”
Brody’s nostrils flare. “Empty threats are cute, but they don’t answer my question.” He rubs Norah’s stomach. “I watched you two through the window this morning. Watched you fuck her from behind. Heard her call you Daddy. I’ll admit, I was a little jealous. She’s only ever called me that because I told her to.”
I ball my hands into fists as he touches the gun to her lips.
“You’ve got this one wrapped tight around that pretty pussy of yours.” He draws the barrel down her throat. “You think sucking Daddy two-point-oh’s dick will ease your conscience?”
“Brody, please...” Her voice cracks. “Don’t...”
“You haven’t told new Daddy that you’re the reason old Daddy’s dead?” He narrows his gaze at me. “It’s a killer story. You might want to sit down for this.”
“I’ll stand.” I have no idea what part Norah could have possibly played in a random bank robbery. But as long as this blowhard keeps talking, he’s not pumping bullets into my little girl. “Go on, enlighten me.”
“Norah was in on the heist from the start. We planned the whole thing. Well, actually, my buddies and I planned the whole thing, but Norah provided the important details. You see, she was a bank teller, so she knew exactly how much cash they kept on hand, and how long it would take for the cops to get there once the alarm was tripped.”
Norah studies me with tears in her eyes. I wait for her to shake her head or object to the tale in some way, but the guilt written all over her face tells me Brody’s story is true.
“The job went off beautifully,” Brody continues. The blowhard clearly enjoys listening to himself talk. “Besides the one glaring, unfortunate hitch. Why don’t you finish the story, Nor.”
He nudges her, sending tears streaming down her cheeks. She closes her eyes. “He wasn’t supposed to be there.”
“No.” Brody sighs. “He wasn’t supposed to be there. But sweet little Norah forgot her lunch, so dear old dad thought he’d do her a solid and drop it off at work. Too bad he had to walk in at exactly the wrong moment.”
“I’m sorry, Silas.” Norah’s practically sobbing now. “I didn’t want to lie, but I was scared—”
“Dad just had to play the hero,” Brody cuts her off. “I’m sure seeing his daughter the way you’re seeing her now set off a spark in him he could not extinguish. But I couldn’t let him come to her rescue. It would’ve upset the whole plan.”
Rage churns in my gut, but as shocked as I am by this new information, none of my ire is for Norah. Yes, she made terrible choices. Yes, she lied. But I can’t blame her for what this monster made her do. She may have opened the window of opportunity for Brody to creep in through, but he’s the one who pulled the trigger.
I stare daggers into the eyes of Jack’s killer.
“Everything was perfect,” Brody says, running the gun barrel down Norah’s cheek. “We were in the clear. But then my sweet, obedient Norah went and got stupid. That’s the only reason I can think of for why she’d threaten to turn me in.”
He wedges the gun barrel between her lips. My muscles cramp from holding myself back from ripping his fucking head off. He’s right. I know exactly how Jack must’ve felt, walking into that bank.