There's no going back from this.
Daddy strides toward me, each step deliberate. He doesn't look afraid. The anger on his face, though – mixed with something else – makes me want to look away.
His hands close around my throat. Hands that once held me, touched me, took care of me. He pushes me back until I hit the wall.
"Look at me," Daddy commands, and I obey.
I swallow hard, but it feels like there's a lump stuck in my throat. Daddy's grip is firm but not cruel, just enough to remind me he's in control.
"Why did you kill this man?" Daddy asks.
"Because I was paid to," I answer honestly.
"By who? And why?"
"By a mafia boss from another city. I don't know why I had to kill him."
"So you just kill anyone you're told to?"
"No. I do my research first."
I'm spilling my secrets like Daddy's voice is a truth serum, dragging out every truth I've ever hidden.
"What research?"
"Background checks. I make sure they deserve it before I act."
"And this man deserved it?"
"He did," I say calmly, but from the inside I'm burning.
I don't even care that my Daddy would probably call the police on me. I would go behind bars if that's what he wants and needs. But I can't bear to lose him. Yet, I know that the second he saw me take away a life, I already lost him.
"What do you do with witnesses?"
"I kill them."
And I don't regret it. I bet he can see it in my eyes.
"Why aren't you killing me, then?"
I flinch. Of course, he'd ask that.
"I would never hurt you," I whisper. "Least of all you."
I would much rather slice my own throat.
"Why? I'm a witness. What if I call the police?"
"Then I'd wait for them to arrive." My voice breaks and I glare at my Daddy as anger starts to surface. It hurts that he believes I would hurt him. "I would never lay a hand on you."
"Even if you go to prison?" he challenges.
"Even then. I would much rather slice my own throat than hurt you."
The word Daddy was on my tongue, but I swallowed it back.
His eyes harden, and his hand around my throat tightens. For a moment, I think this is it – he'll call the cops, tell me he's disgusted, walk away forever. But he doesn't.
