Page 121 of Heartless Game

“That string, Tovah, is you. And it’s time for me to cut it. I’m delighted because it does kill two birds with one stone, since you and your mother took someone very important from me. Your stepfather, you see, was like a brother. And while I know your mother was the one who killed him, you were an accessory to the crime and should be punished as such.”

He rose. I rose, too.

“You don’t know your son,” I told him. “He is fiercely loving; he is obsessively caring. He’s protective. He’s the best man I know.”

“Then you clearly haven’t known good men.”

“I didn’t. But I do, now.”

The moment stretched between us, and then he finally nodded, acknowledging it, before changing the subject.

“Now, would you like to see your mother?”

It was so tempting, to get close and slide the blade across his neck. But I had no idea where my mother was, and there were probably armed soldiers everywhere. No, I needed to wait for the right moment.

I followed Abe out of the house, down a path in a huge garden that I sometimes saw in my dreams. I’d played out here with Isaac, played “he loves me, he loves me not” with dandelions, and hid from my stepfather. There was no time for memory lane, though, when he stopped in front of a large building that looked like a garage.

A silent garage.

“In here,” he said.

I hesitated on the threshold. I had no idea what waited for me in there. It may not even be my mother. Most likely what waited for me was excruciating pain, maybe even the death Abe had threatened earlier.

But I had to find my mother. Had to save her.

Squaring my shoulders, I opened the door.

It was a torture chamber.

Sharp implements everywhere. Hooks hanging from the ceiling. Dried blood.

And my mother, at the center of the room, tied to a chair. Bruises covered her face, her body, and there was blood around her mouth.

She cried out as soon as she saw me. “Tovahleh, why are you here? Run!”

The man beside her cuffed her ear, and she yelped from the pain.

I took a step forward, only for Abe to stop me.

“Not so fast,” he scolded.

“Let her go. What will it take Abe?” I spoke through clenched teeth, fingering the blade in my pocket. “What will it take to let her go?”

He tsked. “That was never our deal. I’ll tell you what though, I won’t kill her, if you’re a good girl and go sit in the chair next to her. I have no need to kill either of you for now. I need to make sure my son sees it.”

“What makes you think he won’t kill you?” I asked him.

A strange look appeared in Abe’s eyes. “A father’s job is to sacrifice for his children.”

Oh god, he was insane.

But he was also distracted enough for me to do what I needed to do next. I pulled the blade out of my pocket…

“You know what, I won’t kill your mother,” he mused. “Instead, I’ll make the murderous cunt live with the grief. That’s a much better punish?—”

He didn’t finish the sentence, because I’d reached out and sliced his throat with the blade.

Blood appeared, and he staggered backward.

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