Page 182 of Solanum

"What do you mean who is this, you little bitch? Where's my Goddamn daughter?" said the angry, slurred voice of a man.

"Who the fuck is this?" Rage boiled my blood and Nora crumbled against me, covering her face.

"You tell that little fuck that if she turns another trick in my house, not even the Lord gonna look for her six-feet under." The grating and wasted tones sliced at me, unleashing a fury I could hardly tether.

"Watch who the fuck you're talking about, you bastard. I'll skin your balls and leave you suckling your own dick for comfort if you call this number again." The words flew out of my mouth before I could get a grip on them.

"Y'all tell that fuckin' Nora-slut I'll put a Goddamn bullet in her brain 'less she gives me Maya!"

Reality stabbed me in the gut, and I cradled Nora's head to my chest. "You're fucking piss drunk, Chris."

"Where's Maya!" His voice boomed through the phone.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and ran his number through Gordo's tracing app. In less than thirty seconds, police would dispatch in podunk town Alabama to toss his ass in lock up. The man continued to shout obscenities while I held the line open, then clicked the record button on Nora's phone so it would pick up the threats he continued to toss. I turned the volume down so she couldn't hear it, then set the phone down on the mantle.

"It's okay, baby." I stroked her hair, but she kept her face hidden against my shoulder. She said nothing and held herself together so tightly that she felt like stone. She shook her head, then covered her ears when my phone rang.

A private number appeared, and I answered it, "Donovan."

"This is Sumter County Sheriff's Office, Dispatcher Souza responding to an emergency report transmission from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Please advise."

"Special Agent Caroline Donovan, Seattle FBI. Reporting local, Christopher Brody, for threats and harassment of his niece. EDP in an inebriated state, making homicidal statements with intent, in need of an evaluation. Please respond." I rattled off my I.D. number, credentials, and the phone number he called from.

"Address acquired and will dispatch, Agent Donovan. Thank you. Is this your call back?"

"Yes. I have a recording of the phone call that I'll send over."

"Much appreciated. Stand by."

"Thanks." I hung up the phone and wrapped both arms around Nora while keeping a tight rein on my emotions. It wouldn't help either one of us if I lost it any more than I already had.

She didn't speak or cry, only covered her head and kept her face hidden. I moved back over to her phone where her uncle continued to shout and scream threats and obscenities into the line. He must've called her from a landline because the police response sounded within three minutes and I could hear the sirens in the background.

"Fuckin' A, you dumb fucking piece of shit." He ended the call then, and I stopped the recording.

I sent it to myself, then thumbed through my phone to forwarded it to proper authorities, first filtered through Gordo per usual.

I set both phones down then squeezed Nora to me. "You're okay, honey."

She sniffled, shaking her head, but still not returning my embrace.

"When was the last time this happened?"

"When you and I weren't talking," she whispered, then covered her ears again. "I need to check on Maya."

"Maya's okay, honey. He doesn't have her number or address. C'mon." I scooped her up, sweeping her off the floor and she hugged me around the neck.

I sat with her on the sofa, forcing myself to steady my breathing while allowing her time to calm down. She sniffled, her forehead warm against my skin as she covered her ears again. I rubbed her arms from wrist to elbow, turning to kiss her red cheeks.

"Your ears are okay, baby. Look at me. C'mon." I gently tugged her hands away and she peeked up at me, tears beginning to stream her cheeks. "You're none of those things he said."

"He's not like that when he's sober," she said, sniffling. "I mean, he's irresponsible and inept, but he's not cruel."

"He's been hurtful to you a lot though, hasn't he?" I asked, tucking her hair behind her ear when she began to open up. Normally, it took a lot more for me to drag forth a discussion.

"When I was younger, yes." She sniffled, shaking her head. "Why are people so cruel to me? I don't understand it. I don't. Not just Uncle Chris, but my father was…" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Brutal. My mother didn't care a lick about me, and then just…so many other people."

"I don't know." I placed my palm against her cheek while attempting to hide how deeply her words fractured my heart. "You didn't deserve any of that, Nora. You deserve to be loved and cherished, and revel in pleasure and happiness every day."

---