Page 9 of Razor
“About three years now,” he said, checking on Violet in the rearview again. She knew that she was butting her nose into his business, but he had practically done the same to her when he picked her up off the side of the road.
“How did she die?” she asked, not thinking about her question before it was even out of her mouth. “You don’t haveto answer that, sorry,” she whispered, noticing that Violet was listening to their conversation.
“I really don’t like to talk about her death. I’ve never even told Violet how she passed—she’s just too young,” he whispered. From the way that he was shielding his daughter, her death must have been a nasty one. He glanced back at Violet and whispered, “It was the Devils,” and she didn’t hide her gasp. Ella knew what the Devils were capable of, and there was no way that they’d go easy on his wife if they wanted her dead. “But that’s a story for another time,” he continued.
She quickly nodded her agreement and smiled back at Violet. “Would it be okay if I took a little nap?” she asked, “I’m pretty worn out from everything.” She giggled when she realized that Violet had already beaten her to the nap portion of their trip. “She’s asleep,” she whispered.
Razor smiled and looked back at his daughter. “She’s always been able to sleep anywhere. It’s a gift. You okay?” he asked. “We never got the chance to have you checked out today before we left. Do you want me to find you a doctor?”
“Spade had a medic down at the station look me over. She was very thorough and even did a rape test kit, but I’m not sure what the point of that was. I explained that my attacker was no longer living and that even if she found something, it wouldn’t matter. I didn’t put up much of a fight,” she admitted. “I wanted him to let his guard down so that I could best him and run when I got the chance.”
“I’d say that you bested him all right,” Razor said. “You fucking demolished him, and from what you’ve said about what happened, he deserved every inch of that knife you shoved into him.” Razor almost sounded proud of her, but that was impossible. He didn’t even know her.
“I’m glad that you were able to get checked out,” he said. He sounded as though he wanted to say more to her, but was holding back.
“What aren’t you telling me, Razor?” she asked. Ella could always tell when a patient came into the ER and lied straight to her face. She had always considered an omission a lie, and she had a sneaky feeling that Razor was leaving something out right now.
“I did a little bit of digging on you and found your father. I called him and he said that he believed that you were dead,” Razor said. “I’m sorry, but all your stuff is gone. He did say that he kept some keepsakes, but that was about it from your apartment.”
“Oh, God,” she gasped, raising a shaking hand to her mouth. “I don’t care about my stuff. I just hate that he had to go through all that.”
“Someone showed up at his house about a month after you went missing and told him that you were dead. I think that the guy was posing as a cop, and if I had to guess—he was probably a member of the Devils.”
“Why would the Devils go to all that trouble? Why would it matter if my father believed that I was dead?” she whispered.
“He had filed a bunch of missing person reports over the first month that you were gone. He was working on your case as hard as the Detectives who were trying to find you. I think the Devils must have felt that if your father thought you were dead, he’d give up looking for you, and they could get on with their auction.” She thought back to when she was first tossed into that disgusting cage. They kept her there for what felt like an eternity. Maybe Razor was onto something. If her father was fighting to find her, and the devils held a public auction, they might be found out, and she would have found a way to escape earlier. She wouldn’t have had to let that old, fat slimeball use her body inorder to secure her freedom. Ella knew that dwelling on what-ifs wasn’t a good thing to do, but after getting this news from Razor, it was all she could do.
“Can I call him?” she asked. At the very least, she wanted to tell him that she was okay, for now. He deserved some peace of mind after everything that she had put him through.
“Not until we are safe. I don’t want you to put your dad in danger just to tell him that you are alive. In fact, if the Devils know where he lives, they might stop by to ask if he’s heard from you. Is he a good liar?” Razor asked.
She barked out her laugh, “Um, no,” she admitted. “He’s our tribe’s elder, and he dabbles in medicine, but not the Western medicines that white people use. He’s kind of like a medicine man. He’s the reason why I became a nurse. My dad doesn’t have a bad bone in his body, and lying isn’t in his wheelhouse.”
“Then, it’s a good thing that I didn’t let on that you were alive,” Razor said. “I told him that I was just following up on cold cases, and yours popped up. He seemed to buy it, but I worried that I might have dredged up painful memories for him. I know what that’s like, and I hated doing it to your dad. I promise, as soon as it’s safe, you’ll be able to call him and hopefully go see him.”
He was making her a promise that he might not be able to keep—Ella could tell that just by looking at him. “You can’t make me that promise, Razor. But I appreciate you trying to make me feel better about this situation. I dragged you and Violet into my mess, and here, you’re the one who’s trying to make me feel better about everything. You really are a good guy, aren’t you?”
He barked out his laugh, “Don’t give me too much credit, honey. I’ve done my share of shitty things, but when I married Tori and we had Violet, I tried to change my wicked ways.” He bobbed his eyebrows at her, making her giggle. Ella was sure that it was the first time that she actually laughed out loud inover six months. She had almost forgotten what her own laugh sounded like.
“You have a nice laugh,” he said, as though reading her thoughts.
“Um, thanks,” she squeaked. “And thanks for trying to lighten the mood. I haven’t had much cause to laugh over this past half a year, you know?”
“I’m sure that’s putting it mildly. I can’t imagine finding too much to be funny while you’re sitting in a cage waiting to be sold off to the highest bidder. I’m so sorry that you had to go through that.”
“It’s not your fault,” she insisted. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I feel that you might change your mind after I tell you how my wife died,” he said. He looked in the rearview mirror to find Violet awake and watching them. Razor nodded back to the little girl, “But that will have to be a story for another time.” She turned in her seat and smiled at Violet. “Did you have a good nap?” she asked.
“I didn’t take a nap,” the little girl insisted. Even having just met her, Ella could tell that the kid had a stubborn streak a mile long, and she was pretty sure that she got it from her father.
“Well, if you’re not going to nap, then I am,” Ella said, snuggling down into the front seat. She felt as though she could sleep for years, not just days, and judging by the amount of time it was taking them to drive to the safehouse, she just might get the nap she needed. If only the nightmares from the past six months could just leave her alone, she’d sleep like the dead.
“Night, Ella,” Violet said from the backseat around a yawn. She couldn’t help but giggle at the little girl. If she didn’t know better, Violet would once again beat her to nap town in no time flat.
Razor
He had only been to this safehouse once, but he remembered the way as though it had been burned into his memory. After Tori was murdered, he needed to get out of town with Violet for a while until they could figure out the motive for killing her and assess if the Devils would come after him and his daughter next. He already knew the answer—they would. Tori’s body was left as a warning, and he got the message loud and clear.
