Page 126 of Fame And Secrets

He laughed maniacally as I continued screaming, my throat constricting along worn out vocal chords. Black spots clouded my vision. Without warning, his hand wrapped around my throat, lifting the chair from the floor. I gasped for air, desperately twisting my chin from his fist.

“That’s for me to know and you to find out, princess.” He gave my throat one last squeeze and released his hold, the chair falling back to the floor with a thud. Gasping, I coughed and forced air back into my lungs.

I wanted to cry. I was desperate to cry. But I wouldn’t.

“I’ll kill you.” I choked out the words through a garbled whisper.

He smiled. “Not if I kill you first.” Turning to walk out, he hooked his toe through one leg of the chair and flipped it. The momentum sent me sprawling onto my side, my forehead and hip slamming against the hard, concrete floor. Sliding my chin across the rough stone, I smelled and tasted blood. I tried to look at him one last time, but with the position the chair had me in, I couldn’t face the door.

He hummed as I heard the click of the lock opening. “Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them; leave them alone, and they’ll come home, wagging their tails behind them.”

“Fuck you!” I screamed as he closed the door.

Crying silently on the cold floor, the only sounds I heard were my own pathetic wails. Forcing myself to calm down. I took a shuddering breath and spit out the blood that pooled in my cheek.

It took a moment to realize I still heard crying. I held my breath, just to confirm to myself that the sounds weren’t coming from my own voice. In the quiet of the room, with my lungs expanded full of held breath…I heard it.

Faint cries followed by a long gurgle, three successive hiccups, and a sneeze.

***

I’d dozed off by the time he came back in. He righted my chair and took something out of his back pocket. The man and woman from the car assembled equipment behind him. I still didn’t recognize the woman, but with one glance, I knew why the man’s voice resonated with me.

“Why?” Tears filled my eyes.

McKellan shrugged as he set a camera in front of me. “Money, sweetheart. Your man’s rich but he’s tight as fuck with a dollar. I go where the money takes me.”

I let the tears fall. “He’s a felon. You swore to protect me. We trusted you.”

He finally faced me, his eyes as dead as my father’s. “You should run better background checks, baby.”

The guy was just as crazy as my father. His predatory nature made me shiver, but I kept my eyes on him. Life with my father taught me that once they knew you feared them, they had you.

Making a conscious decision not to tip my hand about hearing Iris cry, I focused on my father’s actions. He stood in front of me as a woman with short blond hair walked behind me.

“What are you doing?”

Casting a sideways glance, he smirked and nodded to the assembled tripod. “We’re going to make a little video.” He opened his hand, revealing a dirty yellow scarf, and I squeezed my eyes shut. “Open your eyes, princess.” I shook my head violently. “Open your eyes, or I’ll open them for you.”

Reluctantly, I peeled my eyelids back. The smile returned as he spoke directly into the camera. I couldn’t make out what he said until he stomped behind me in his dirty, worn brogans, tightening the scarf in each hand.

“Remember this, son? Should’ve listened to the little woman.”

I opened my mouth to scream, but he’d already wound it around my neck and pulled tight. Struggling, I thrashed to free my neck from the crushing pain on my windpipe. As the lights above twinkled and faded, I saw him lick his lips and face the camera.

“One down, one to go.”

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