Page 58 of Reclaim

I know she’s going to be ecstatic that I took the plunge to leave the house. I may have lured Dakota with promises of whatever fast food she wants, but there was no way I was going to be able to come here without her. She’s my familiar place. My comfort, and I’m man enough to admit that.

“I think she’s going to be really happy about it,” I assure her.

Getting off at Martin Place Station, Dakota insists she can read the map and will lead the way. Letting her have fun with it, I walk beside her and make sure we don’t bump into anyone. The city is packed with commuters, some ready to leave for the day and others getting ready to start out their night.

“We came here on a school excursion last year,” Dakota informs me.

“What was the excursion for?” This is my favourite thing to do with my daughter. Whenever something triggers a memory, she lets me know the whole story and then some. Besides her size and age, somedays her storytelling has me believing I didn’t really miss a thing.

“It was an end of year reward for students who’d been at school every day of the year.”

“So, you got to go?”

“Of course. I love school,” she exclaims. “I got to pick any food I wanted, we went to Timezone, and we watched a movie.”

“Which movie was it?”

“Beauty and The Beast.”

“They remade it?” I question.

Yes.” She lights up in excitement.

“That good?”

“So good, Dad. Emma Watson plays Belle--she also plays Hermione in the Harry Potter Movies--but she played Belle perfectly. I even made Mum buy me the DVD. We should watch it sometime.”

“That and Harry Potter, our list is growing.”

“Okay,” she says cutting me off. “This is it. Do you know which floor she’s at?”

“We can check out the signs near the elevators. Come on.” We walk up the steps that lead to the building. The entrance is flooded with people. “Let’s move to the side so we don’t walk into people while we’re trying to figure out what to do next.” Shuffling to the edge of the crowd, my eyes zero in on a familiar brunette. She’s talking to someone, but I can’t see who.

“Dad, that’s Emerson,” Dakota points out excitedly. “Lets go and see her.”

We get closer, and my heart starts to beat frantically. She’s angry. Arguing with someone. Noticing me, she has panic written all over her face, and my gut knows which motherfucker she’s talking to. I see rage before I see him.

She walks away, beelining for me, when a meaty hand latches onto her bicep and yanks her back. Shaking her head, she warns me, but it’s useless. He’s a fucking dead man.

His face comes into view, and I lunge for his shirt. Grabbing him by the collar, I push him into the brick wall behind him. “You can’t fucking help yourself, can you?”

His eyes widen in fear, and then recognition sinks in.

“If you touch her again, I will fucking kill you,” I roar.

“What because your touch is better?” he taunts. “You’re nothing but a fucking junkie. A rap sheet that goes for days.”

“Yet she still doesn’t want you, right?” I pull him toward me and slam him into the wall. “Isn’t that what it’s all about? You’ve had your eye on her since the moment I met you.”

“She’s cleary just interested in gutter trash.”

His eyes veer to the side. “Oh, is that your daughter?”

Pulling back my arm, I line his face up with my fist, wanting to murder him for even mentioning her.

“So glad she’s here, and you didn’t kill her.”

“Jagger,” Emerson interjects. “Don’t listen to him. He’s trying to fuck with your head.” Her fingernails dig into my bicep as she attempts to weaken my hold on him. “We have to go. People are going to start calling the police.” Unclasping each of my individual fingers from Joe’s shirt, Emerson uses all her strength to create a gap between his body and mine. Palms on my chest, she pushes me backward and pleads for me to listen. “Jagger, baby. You have to get the fuck out of here, please. This place is swamped with police.”

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