Page 45 of Jael

“Is he gonna kill my dad?”

“No.”

“You promise?”

“I do. But in order to protect you, I’m going to need you to come into the house with me. Do you think you can do that? Is there a room in your house where I can lock a door to make sure you stay safe? Like your dad does?”

“My room has a lock. It’s on the second floor, so it’s too high to climb out.”

“Your dad locks you in your room?”

“No. He doesn’t have to. I like it in my room. But my mom used to.”

“I see.” He reached for her but left room for her to reciprocate. “I’ll let you stay in your room, but I’ll have to lock the door to protect you.”

Eva looked at his hand and frowned. “That man won’t hurt me?”

“No. He won’t even touch you. All he wants to do is make sure you don’t run away. That would make your dad sad, wouldn’t it? If he lost you?”

“I guess.”

“We won’t stay too long. We just need to ask your dad a few questions, then we’ll go, okay?”

He leaned in, and this time, she reached back and awkwardly climbed out, squeezing his fingers tightly. When she reached the door of the cubby, she scooted out.

Then she stood with him, her round, dark eyes fixed on his.

“You ready?” he said.

She nodded, and he walked her back into the house, keeping her behind him as they neared the living room. He pulled her closer when he saw what he’d expected. Burger’s arms were tied behind the chair he was sitting on. His head was hanging and bleeding. He looked unconscious.

“There you are,” Christopher said, shaking out his hand and taking a deep breath. He was winded. “Put the girl on the couch where I can keep an eye on her.”

Eva’s nails dug into Danny’s hand.

“I was going to lock her in her room.”

“Why?” Christopher paced in front of Burger.

“Because she doesn’t need to see this.”

“She’ll be fine.”

“She’ll scream, and then someone will call the police.”

“You think I haven’t handled a kid before?” Christopher said. “You’re a lot softer than Gregory made you out to be, you know that?”

“I like to work effectively. Involving the girl makes things messy.”

“I disagree. I think she’ll make this process much more efficient.”

“And if she screams?”

“Slap her. Then she’ll know not to scream.”

“I’m putting her in her room. I can lock the door.”

Christopher’s shoulders sagged before his arm reached for his gun and he dragged it out, pointing it at Danny. “Explain to her that if she makes a sound, I will shoot her. Otherwise, I’ll shoot you.”

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