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My father hung his head. “Please, John. Just let her go, and you can do what you want with me.”
John laughed again. “Oh, we’re not going to kill you, Frank. You owe us money. You’re no good to me dead.”
I wanted to heave a sigh of relief, but I could sense a catch coming. If they weren’t planning on killing us, what were they going to do? Death might be the better option with these thugs. Dozens of equally horrifying scenarios played in my mind.
“What do you want, then? I can have the money to you by Friday. I swear!” Dad sounded frantic.
John grinned, showing all of his yellowed teeth. “We came to get some insurance.”
Dad’s eyebrows furrowed.
John pointed to me.
My heart pounded in my throat as the younger man stepped toward me with a pocket-knife in hand and cut one of my wrists free, holding it tightly in his hands. Tears flooded my vision. I tried as hard as I could not to let them escape. I did not want to give these goons the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
“John, Tommy, please,” Dad begged. “Please don’t do this. I will have your money by Friday. You have my word.”
“Oh, we’re going to make sure of that,” John said in a low voice. His eyes darted to Tommy. “Do it.”
Without hesitation, Tommy snapped my wrist like a twig.
A scream forced it way out of me, and the tears came out with it. I had tried to be tough, but the pain in my wrist was too much to bear. I lifted my leg and kicked Tommy’s shin as hard as I could from my seated position.
Tommy lurched forward, grabbing his shin. “Ow, you bitch!” He swung his arm and backhanded me across my cheek.
“Stop!” Dad screamed. “Please, stop!”
John cackled. “Fifty-thousand dollars, blondie. That’s how much money your old man owes us. Take that wrist as a warning. If we don’t get our money by Friday, your other wrist is next.”
Tommy cut my right arm loose, and then Dad’s.
Dad wrapped his arms around me, tears streaming down his face. “Charlotte, I am so sorry. I’m so sorry!”
I backed away from him, cradling my wrist. My protector, the man I once sought comfort from, was now a stranger.
John and Tommy were halfway out the door at the far end of the kitchen when John looked back and grinned evilly. “You should get that wrist checked out. It looks broken.”
I grabbed a ladle, the closest thing within reach, and hurled it at him with all my might. The spoon barely missed his shoulder, bouncing off the door frame. He threw his head back and laughed as he closed the door behind him.
“Come on, honey. I’ll take you to the hospital.” Dad wiped his tears with the back of his hand.
“How are you going to get $50,000 by Friday?”
“Don’t worry about that. Let’s go. When we get to the hospital, we’ll say that you fell and landed on your wrist.”
The lies rolled off his tongue so easily. How had I not known? How had I not seen it? A tornado of questions swirled in my head. I leaned against the counter to steady myself. “Those guys are coming back in seven days, Dad. I don’t want my other wrist broken, too. How are you getting that money?”
He sighed, rubbing the stubble on top of his head. “Can we talk about it on the way to the hospital?”
The sooner I get to the hospital, the sooner I’ll get pain meds. I turned without a word and exited the kitchen.
Outside, I scanned the empty parking lot while Dad locked the shop door. I knew John and Tommy were gone, but they had left me with a frightened feeling in addition to my purple, swollen wrist. The pain was so bad I wanted to vomit, but the pain of my father’s secret hurt worse than any broken bone ever could.
As my father drove to the hospital, I studied him out of the corner of my eye. With his round face and brown eyes, we did not look alike, though we shared the same nose. I was the spitting image of my mother. Did Mom see what just happened? What would she say in this situation, if she were still here?
“I’m still your dad, you know. I’m the same person you’ve known your whole life.”
I shook my head. “The man I know would never get involved with people like that.”
