Page 53 of Brando

“I remember the first time I took her. She was so innocent, so trusting. I could smell the fear on her as I made my move. She begged me to stop, but you know how that goes. Little girls have a way of breaking under pressure, don’t they?”

His words infiltrate my skin. They scrape at every last remaining inch of sanity I have left as their meaning sinks into the very depths of my soul.

My vision blurs with a red haze of fury. I feel the world tilt, my heart pounding in my ears like the war drums of a madman. “You’re lying,” I growl, my voice low and dangerous. “You’re sick.”

“Am I?” Frank purrs, amusement evident in his voice. “I had my fun with Mia long before you ever laid claim to her. And now, here she is, back in my arms again. You can’t save her, Brando. You never could.”

Every word Frank utters feels like a knife twisting deeper into my chest. Memories of Mia’s laughter turn to screams in my mind as I fight against the urge to throw my phone against the wall. I imagine Frank sitting there, smirking, glorifying himself in this moment as he tears at every last shred of my mind.

“Where is she?” I demand, my voice rising, trembling with barely contained rage.

“She’s safe with me, where she was always meant to be.”

My breath quickens, blood pounding in my temples. “I’m going to fucking kill you, you hear me? There is not an inch of this city you can hide in where I won’t find you. If you so much as lay a hand on her, I will…”

His laughter cuts me off, filling the silence around me. It’s a sound that echoes with the weight of my desperation. I’ll do anything to get her back, but I know he’s not willing to play fair. “You’ll what, Brando?” His voice is suddenly seriously sober as he snaps down the line. “I want you to know what it’s like to be powerless while I have her right here, screaming for salvation that will never come. I’ll even tape it for you to watch on a loop if you like.”

The darkness threatens to swallow me whole. I feel the overwhelming urge to reach through the phone, to wrap my hands around Frank’s throat and squeeze until that mocking voice vanishes forever. But even through the static of our connection, he’s still too far for me to reach.

“Frank,” I say, forcing the words through gritted teeth, “if you hurt her, I swear?—”

“Swear what?” Frank interrupts, his tone dripping with derision. “That you’ll come after me? That you’ll hunt me down like the rabid dog you are? I’m counting on it, and just so you know; that won’t end well for you, either.”

My fury reaches a boiling point, but I force myself to remain calm, even as my knuckles tense against the edge of my desk. “I’ll find you,” I vow, my voice low and steady, even as my heart races with the promise of violence. “And when I do, you’re going to beg me to put a bullet in your head.”

“Good luck with that,” Frank replies, the smugness evident in his tone. “I dare you to come and find me. I dare you to put me down before I destroy you.”

Frank’s laughter echoes in my ears as I feel the walls closing in. I hear the click that signals the line is dead. And this time, I do throw the phone. It lands with a heavy thud against the far wall, leaving behind a gaping wound in the plaster.

I’mmurderous as I storm out of my office, my heart pounding as I find Mason in the main room, staring into his drink. The sight of Mia’s father, lost in despair, only fuels my rage.

“Mason!” I shout, my voice echoing off the walls.

Mason looks up, confusion etched across his features. I pull him up by the scruff of his shirt and have him pinned to a nearby wall before he can catch his breath.

“Why didn’t you fucking tell me!” I growl. I punch the wall beside his head. Mason just stares through me, too surprised by my actions to say anything.

“Frank called,” I spit, the words laced with acidic venom. “He’s trying to torture me, and I need to know why you didn’t tell me the truth!”

Mason’s eyes widen in shock. “What truth?”

“About what he did to her!” I yell, frustration boiling over. “Did he rape her?”

Mason shakes his head, his face draining of its color.

“Mia told me he tried to take her against her will,” Mason replies, his voice trembling. “She never said that he did. He tried…”

“How can you know for sure?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “I’m telling you what she told me.”

“And what did you do, huh? What kind of a father are you?!?”

“I ran him out of the city, Brando. Tommy and I, we went in search of him, but he’d left town. As long as he stayed away from her, that’s all that mattered!”

“Well, he’s not staying away now!” My voice is bitter as it circles us and I push away from the wall, scrubbing at my eyes with the heels of my palms. “This changes everything. If he’s violated her, there’s no way I’m letting her stay there a moment longer. “There’s no possible scenario on this earth where I leave her in the same house with that psychopath!”

Mason shakes his head, confusion and guilt washing over him. “I didn’t know, Brando! I swear. I thought it was nothing more than him trying to force himself on her and it was dealt with.”

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