Page 97 of Break Me
“Hmmm… That likely means often you’re called upon to provide demonstrations. Perhaps with the use of your knife skills. That would be difficult with your dominant hand lacking even a single finger. Am I right?”
His answer was a scattered moan.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” I continued the exercise, one I’d learned from my father long before, tapping the sharp tip between one finger to another, picking up speed until the actions were a blur. He didn’t move a muscle, which was good for him. I hadn’t done the little game in a long time and my guess was I was a little rusty.
After a full minute, I pulled the blade away, smiling as I looked at him. He was pale as a ghost. “Who was the photographer, Kirk? I’m finished with playing games, which means I’ll move onto the punishment phase. You won’t like it very much. In fact, my next actions will hurt like a son of a bitch.”
He still didn’t offer the information freely. That prompted me to select a finger, moving it further away from the others and lifting my blade even higher.
“No. Please! I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you.”
Sighing, I continued to remain locked in the position for a few seconds before backing away. “One chance, Kirk. I’m not a patient man.”
He pulled away from me quickly, immediately wrapping his other hand around the one in question, his back slamming against the wall. There was nowhere to go. “Her name is Monica Smith. A waitress.”
I was no fool. Anyone who used the name Smith was either completely innocent or simply not bothering to come up with a creative alternative. “Where is she?” I tried to remember the few people I’d seen on staff. The person who’d served our food and drinks had been a male.
“She quit. The next day. Just didn’t show up.”
“How long had you known this girl?”
“Not long,” he breathed, still panting like a dog. “A day.”
A day. I laughed and scratched my head with the hand still holding the blade. It was another tactic I’d learned from my father. “Let me get this straight. You hired a girl on the day of the reservation and had no thoughts that maybe I wouldn’t want an inexperienced server on the team to make the night special?”
The sweat continued to roll, staining his shirt. He was still hiding something. “I was told to hire her.”
Now we were getting somewhere. “By whom?”
“A man who came to my restaurant much like you did. Unannounced. He had pictures of my daughter from that morning. On her way to school. Lots of them. He told me if Ididn’t hire the woman and use her for the night, my daughter would be killed.”
I had to think about what he was telling me. The only way anyone else could have known about the reservation was based on a single mistake I’d made. I’d called and talked to the girl at the reservation desk first, providing her with limited details about my plans. After that, I’d been transferred to Kirk for his approval of shutting down the restaurant.
I’d stopped by to make certain every detail was in order.
Fuck.
“No idea who this person was or who he was working for?”
He shook his head vehemently and I believed him.
I’d been known to use the restaurant a couple of times in my past, including for business purposes, but the ruse had been put together very quickly. Where the fuck had I made the call from?
My car.
My beautiful Porsche 911 that I’d just gotten back from the shop. Well. Well. I’d been a complete fool, including taking the vehicle to her house two nights before. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
I shut the blade as I thought about how to handle this. I’d also driven the damn car today, which meant whoever was behind this would put two and two together. “I’m going to give you a piece of advice, Kirk, and this is against my better judgment since you didn’t feel it necessary to tell me what transpired. Take a leave of absence. Get your family out of town and tell no one where you’re going.”
“Why?” He was thoroughly confused.
“Because it might mean keeping your family happy and healthy.” The sound coming from my phone instantly made me freeze. Why I’d changed my ring tone to one I’d never used before in case Halle was calling was beyond me. But right now, I was thankful I had. “Hold on a second. Don’t try and move,” I told him. “Halle. Is everything alright?”
“No. No! My daughter. My sweet Emily has been taken. Please help me.”
Where in the fuck was the man I’d assigned?
As she tried to calm herself down long enough to tell me what had happened, the rage became unleashed. The sweet little girl had been taken from her school. “Send me the picture, Halle. I’m on my way. Go to the school, but be careful.”
