Page 5 of Safe and Sound

“Don’t fucking talk to her like that!”

Once again, Da popped me in the jaw. As I bent double, blood spewed from my mouth onto the floor. After swiping my hand across my bloody lips, I glared up at Da. “If she says she didn’t know, she didn’t know. So deal with her father and be done with it.”

Da narrowed his eyes at me. “I tried having an amicable talk with him. I even offered my apologies for my wayward son’s behavior by assuring Neil you would cut ties with Shannon immediately. I offered my promise to keep the affair quiet.” With a shake of his head, “But that wasn’t good enough for him. That’s when he claimed you’d knocked her up, and he wanted money.”

At Shannon’s gasp of horror, an evil chuckle rumbled from Da’s chest. “I know, right? He had a hell of a lot of cheek trying to extort his leader.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

With a cruel laugh, Da replied, “Aye, you will be.”

Shaking my head wildly back and forth, I countered, “There’s no reason to punish her. She didn’t do anything wrong for fuck’s sake. It’s her father who ought to be strung up.”

A maniacal grin curved on my father’s lips. “Shewill be his punishment.”

Fear crashed over me at the realization of his words. Dad had forced us to be part of many of the “punishments” he doled out to his men and enemies. It always involved extreme torture, if not death.

As my chest clenched, I choked out, “No.”

“Aye. She is his weakness.”

Shannon glanced wildly back and forth between Da and me. “P-Please, d-don’t hurt m-me” she sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Rolling his eyes in exaggerated bliss, Da replied,“Oh I do like the sound of you begging. Perhaps I need to send your father a video of it.”

“Enough!” I blared. After stepping toe to toe with my father, I repeated, “Fuck your revenge, and let her go!”

“Get out of my face, you useless shite,” he sneered.

Jerking my chin up at him, I replied, “Fine. You want someone to punish. Take me instead.”

“No, Dare!” Shannon cried.

Sneering, Da said, “Don’t you get it? By punishing her, it kills two birds with one stone, boyo. O’Dell’s punishmentandyours.”

“Mine? What the fuck did I do besides care for her?”

“Younever let your feelings betray your family. You thinking with your dick brought trouble to our door.”

“That’s your fucking opinion.”

“It’s my fucking law,” Da countered.

Spitting at his feet, I replied, “You can fuck your law and yourself. I won’t lay one finger on her.”

“I’m not asking you to touch her.” Reaching into his pocket, he produced a gleaming silver pistol. “I’m ordering you to put a bullet in her head.”

A horrified scream tore from Shannon’s lips and echoed through me. “Never!” I spat.

“I’m not giving you an order as your father. This is from your clan leader.”

Shaking my head, I countered, “You can torture me from sun up to sun down.” I shook my head vehemently from side to side. “I won’t fucking do it!”

“Don’t you think I didn’t know you would say something like that?” A wicked gleam burned bright in his eyes. “I suppose we can move to Plan B.”

Apprehension pricked along my skin. “And what is that?”

“Giving you motivation.”

---