Page 13 of Kingpin

“Enjoying yourself?”

The voice of my uncle made me jump as I whipped around. There he stood, in the middle of the sidewalk, in his decadent khaki-colored trench coat and his fedora.

I blinked. “Dad?”

His eyes fell to my bags. “Is shopping really what you should be doing with your time?”

“What in the world are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you, of course.”

I didn’t like the way he said it. His tone of voice was off. My eyes flickered to the car he stood next to, and I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my gut. Something told me it wasn’t just some random encounter. Nothing with my uncle was ever just some random encounter.

“Are you tracking me?” I asked.

“Why is that the first question you ask?”

“So you are.”

“Brianna, this isn’t—”

I took a step back from him. “What do you need?”

His eyes narrowed. “I need you to not make things so complicated and convoluted. I had a feeling something happened to you when I didn’t get that call last night. But out shopping? Really?”

“You have no idea what’s gone on since that wedding ceremony. It’s been odd, to say the least.”

He opened the car door. “Care to get in and indulge me?”

I looked around, wondering if more people were watching me by the second. As time passed by in slow motion, I wondered if my uncle was manipulating me more than I thought. And if he was watching me, did Israel have men watching me?

Was I really just some animal in a cage for everyone to ogle?

“I think I’ll stand here. I’ve got my own mode of transportation, and I should be getting back,” I said.

“You mean that disgusting taxi you—”

I licked my lips. “Well, thanks for answering that question for me.”

“Brianna, just get in the car.”

I took another step away from him. “I’m good, thanks. I’ll talk with you sometime tonight. Israel told me not to wait up for him, so—”

“Not to wait up for him? What the hell does that mean?”

I raised my hand to flag down a cab. “I really have to go.”

That was when my uncle charged me.

He grabbed my arm and twisted it down to my side. The pain made me yelp as tears crested my eyes. A couple of my bags fell from my hand onto the pavement, and I tried not to cause a scene, but it was hard with him, gripping me so hard.

“Let go,” I whimpered.

“You listen to me, and you listen right now. You had one job. Just one. And you can feed me any excuse you want. But if that job isn’t done before the week is out… I’ll have no choice but to execute this my way. And you’re not going to like my way.”

My eyes shot up to his. “Then, why didn’t you do it your way in the first place, instead of putting your daughter and me in this position?”

He growled. “Openly question me one more time and see what happens.”

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