Page 17
The back door stood open behind him, rain blowing across the tiles. Cold air rushed into the kitchen. Freedom was only a few steps away.
Then a fist struck my father from the side. His head snapped around. He lost his grip on me.
Another man seized the back of his shirt and dragged him away from the door. My father fought. He drove an elbow backwards, caught one man in the ribs, then turned and struck another across the mouth.
“Papa!”
He looked at me.
“Go!”
A man hit him in the stomach. The breath left his body in a broken sound. He folded forward, and a second man brought his fist down across the back of his neck.
My father dropped to one knee.
I lunged towards him.
Someone caught me around the waist and dragged me backwards. I screamed and clawed at the arm across my stomach.
“Let him go!”
My heel connected with a shin. The man holding me swore and tightened his arm until I could barely breathe.
My father tried to stand. A boot struck his ribs. He went down hard. The sound of his body hitting the floor deflated me.
“Where is it?” one of the men demanded.
My father pushed himself onto one hand. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The man kicked him again. My father’s body rolled across the tiles.
“Don't lie to me.”
Another kick. This one landed in his stomach. My father curled in on himself, coughing, his fingers clawing at the floor.
“Where’s the drive?”
My heart stopped. The drive. Not the folder. There was something else. Something they believed my father had.
“I don’t have it,” my father rasped.
A man knelt beside him and grabbed his hair, wrenching his head back.
“You copied everything.”
“No.”
“You thought we wouldn’t notice?” The man drove his fist into my father’s face.
His head jerked sideways. Blood sprayed across the tiles. I screamed until my throat burned.
“Stop! Please, stop!”
The man holding me clamped a hand over my mouth. I bit him. Hard. He shouted and struck me across the face. Pain exploded through my cheek. My ears rang. The room tilted, but I stayed on my feet.
I had to stay awake. I had to see my father. I had to get to him.
