Page 48 of A Father's Insistence

“Do you remember the names of any of the men he kept close?” Nicholas asks while keeping his eyes on the road.

I shake my head and swallow down the rising bile. I don’t know the names of any of the men. I blocked out what they called each other. I had to after they gang raped me.

“I’m sorry. I…” My voice breaks.

“It’s ok.” Theo brings my hand up to his lips and kisses it. “We’ll make them all pay.”

“I’m sorry to ask you, Joanna, but is there anything else you remember? Anything that could be helpful regarding the way he works.”

I take a deep breath and try to think, but only one thing comes to mind.

“I think they’ll be kept somewhere dark in the house…maybe a cellar if it has one. It’s his way of disorientating you. He’ll want Tamara and Victoria confused and scared. It’s the way he breaks you.”

William nods his thanks at me and pulling out his phone, he dials a number. It comes up on the Bluetooth in the car.

“Carter.”

“Do you know the layout of the house?” William asks.

“It’s in front of me. What do you need?”

“Does it have a basement or cellar?”

“Yes.”

“That’s where they are.”

The cars stop outside a large country house in the middle of a busy area of London. It’s surrounded on all sides by other properties. Two men stand guard outside. Within seconds, the people in the other car are out, and the two men are disarmed and secured. I’m shocked at the speed of it all. One of the men, a massively built man with a commanding look mixed with dreamy brown eyes, nods at Nicholas.

“Clear,” he mouths, and we all get out of the car and follow behind the large man and three others. I’m surrounded by William and Theo. My gun is in my hand, and in my head, I’m running through all the things I need to do to ensure it works properly if I need to shoot it. The tension in the air is palpable. The door is kicked in, and two men standing in the hallway are shot with silenced guns. I pull my lips together tightly to stifle the scream threatening to escape. We need to be quiet.

“Please, let them be ok,” I whisper a prayer to myself as we make our way through the house. We reach the kitchen via the entrance to the hall, and there, in the middle of the floor, lies a woman with blood pooling around her from a wound to the head. Her eyes are open but dead. I instantly grab hold of Theo’s hand. I know who the woman is. His mother. A single tear tumbles down his cheek before he mouths.

“Let’s end this. My father dies today.”

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