Page 16 of Dangerous Pursuit

Next time?Does that mean they’re not going to kill me?

“Why are you here?” I ask.

“You keep quiet. We do the talkin’,” he says as he shoves me onto the couch, forcing my cheek to hit the armrest. Damn, that hurt. My eyes are tearing up, though I’m not sure whether it’s from pain or fear at this point. “Sit there and don’t try to run, or this’ll get real ugly. You sure are a pretty little thing, just like yer daddy said. It’s too bad our orders aren’t to hurt ya too much.We could’ve had some fun together. Maybe next time I’ll have to sweet-talk the boss.”

I’m frozen in place at the mention of my dad. I’m too scared to speak, though, so I wait for him to continue.

The one who held me from behind appears to be the leader. He looks more put together with a leather jacket and biker boots. His hair is black and thick, with a beard that’s more filled in. He’s also the one who’s done most of the talking. They’re standing before me, looking down, arms crossed over their chests, trying to intimidate me. It’s working.

“So, let’s get to the point, shall we? Your daddy’s in a lot of trouble with the boss. See, he borrowed a whole lotta dough and decided to skip town with it instead of payin’ it back. As you can imagine, the boss don’t take too well to losin’ money. Good thing we remembered him braggin’ about his pretty little daughter. Well, surprise, darlin’, we’ve come to collect.”

“I don’t have any money,” I blurt, earning myself a slap to the face. I immediately feel the sting, bringing a fresh set of tears.

“Shut up now, ya hear? If I want ya to speak, you’ll know. We’ll get to whether ya have money soon enough, and don’t think about lyin’. We’ll find out, trust me. The fact of the matter is, you’re gonna earn the money, sweet cheeks.”

My breathing is erratic, and I choke on a sob. My life is over. This can’t be happening. How could my dad do this? Did he know they planned on coming after me?

It doesn’t matter. That he even told them about me is bad enough.

“Now, now, don’t cry. Yer daddy told us how good he taught ya to play cards, bragged about you bein’ some prodigy. So, here’s what’s gonna happen. You’ll earn the money back, same way yer daddy lost it. And let me tell ya what’ll happen if yer not good enough to win. You’ll work it off in other ways, darlin’. Do you pick up what I’m puttin’ down? Yes or no, sweet cheeks.”

I nod. There’s snot running down my lips, tears streaking my face, and the ties are cutting my skin, but all I can think about is what will happen if I don’t win enough.

“So, let’s get a few things straight. Some ground rules, darlin’. First, you love yer momma, don’t you?” Immediately, I panic, nodding while my tears get thicker. “That’s what we thought. Pay close attention, then. If you tell anyone about this, you can say bye to yer Momma. If you even think about callin’ the cops, you can say bye to Momma. And just to be clear, if you so much as breathe the wrong way, you’ll be sayin’ bye to Momma. You following? Nod yer head, yes. Good,” he says when I do.

“Now, here’s how it’s gonna go. You play whatever games we tell ya, when we tell ya, and where we tell ya, and all yer winnings go to Daddy’s debt. Sound like a plan?”

There’s nothing I can do but nod.

“Glad you agree. We’re almost done here, darlin’. But first, let’s go back to you not havin’ money. We’ve been watchin’ you, seein’ yer one of the best damn players out there, and you expect us to believe you haven’t saved any of those hard-earned dollars? Huh?”

I don’t know what to do. That’s our safety net if something happens, maybe for a car eventually, but not to bail out my dad. Would they find it? What if I give them half?

“That’s a lotta thinkin’ for a simple question, darlin’. If I were you, I’d do a little less thinkin’ and a lot more talkin’ right about now unless you want yer left cheek to match the other.”

“I have some,” I say quickly.

“Good answer. How ’bout this? You figure out how much you have, round up all the spare change from those cushions, and plan on havin’ that for us next time. We got places to be, and ya know what?” He leans down and gets right in my face. “I trust ya. I do. I think you’ll do the right thing. Ya know why? I don’t think yer ready to say bye to yer momma just yet.” He wipes my tearswith his thumb on the side he slapped, making me wince from the sting.

“There, there. You’re okay now. If ya do as yer told, there won’t be any problems. Isn’t that right, Frank?” He grabs my chin hard as he stands, tilting my head in his direction.

“That’s right, Jay. All she has to do is follow directions. If not, though, we get to have some fun, and boy, would I like that. She’s a looker.” The other man stares at me, licking his lips.

This can’t be happening.

“I couldn’t agree more. For now, darlin’, we’re givin’ ya a chance to do right. Put your number in my phone here, and we’ll be in touch.” He goes to hand me his phone and stops. “Well, shit. Ya can’t very well do that now, can ya? Cut the tie, Frank. And don’t you get any ideas, girl. Just sit there and be good.”

Frank pulls out a pocketknife, and I gasp at the sharp pain from the tie digging in as he pulls on the blade to cut through. The guy named Jay holds his phone out again. “Here.”

With shaky hands, I enter my name and number, then hand it back.

“Well, there ya have it. We’re all set, darlin’. You’ll be hearin’ from us real soon. We’ll be thinkin’ about you and all those things we’re lookin’ forward to if ya don’t do as yer told. You have a good evenin’ now.”

Before they reach the door, I call out, “Wait,” making them pause and turn. “Can I ask a question?”

“Well, now, that was mighty rude of me. Sure, darlin’, ask away, and I’ll see about answerin’.”

“H-How much does he owe?”

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