One hour until freedom. She texted Jake, who had left a little early an hour and a half ago while Rachael stayed late with the excuse of finishing up Elena’s work, so that nothing looked suspicious.
Can’t wait for tonight, baby. Be outta here in an hour then it’s just you and me
Jake texted back:
Can’t wait either. I want you, but I want to talk to you tonight too
Rachael trembled with equal parts love and fear.Just get past the blackbirds. Love will take care of the rest.
She started texting Elena to check on Tina, when a gentle knock on her office door told her the receptionist had come back. She walked to the door and opened it.
“Oh, good, Elena, I was just texting to check—”
Daddy Deal filled the doorway.
“Oh,” Rachael whispered.
She stepped back, all of the day’s confidence draining out through her feet as if Elena’s superstitions had jumped from the tote to her body. “Daddy.”
“Rachael, my girl.” Daddy swaggered into the office as Rachael crept backward until she bumped into her desk.
No. This is not who I am anymore.
“What do you need?” Rachael straightened up and stared down her father. He’d caught her off-guard and she’d slipped into her old role. But she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her this time.
“What? Can’t a daddy check up on his little girl? One of the perks of having a family business.” Daddy’s voice stayed sweet, but his eyes were like a cat’s looking at a cornered mouse.
“I’m fine now that Hank’s gone. Lucky you had someone to do that for you.”Like so many of your dirty chores. Rachael fought to keep the blackbirds from rising and the cicadas from singing their high-pitched scream.
Daddy laughed and sauntered around the office as if he were strolling through a museum looking at the exhibits. When he got to the first lit candle, he paused and waved his hand over the flame. “Jake’s a good’un, isn’t he? Real take-charge, take-no-bullshit kinda man, don’t you think?”
“Sure, from what I’ve seen.” Rachael stepped around her desk both to put furniture between herself and Daddy and to grab her tote. The last thing she wanted was her father seeing her notebook and the old forbidden photographs of her mother she’d kept so carefully hidden. “I don’t think you came in here to shoot the breeze about Jake Spiro. What do you want?”
“Well, now there you’re wrong, baby girl.” Daddy pinched the candle wick and extinguished the tiny flame. A thin plume of smoke filled the office with its acrid smell. “He’s exactly the reason why I’m here.”
“I don’t understand.” The first bead of sweat trickled down the back of Rachael’s neck.
Daddy gave her a big smile as he shook his head andtskedher. “I think you do, Rachael. I think you’ve got that boy wrapped around your little finger sotighthe doesn’t know if he’s,” Daddy chuckled obscenely, “comingor going.”
No. Not this time. I’m not backing down. My father’s no different from the assholes downstairs who think they can scare me.
“I’m not going to let you intimidate me anymore.” The words felt far away, like someone else spoke them. “You have no idea who’s in my life and who isn’t. What I do is my own business. Stay out of it.”
“Oh, Rachael, Rachael, Rachael.” Daddy shook his head and laughed. “You went and grew yourself a spine! You got some nerve, I’ll tell you what. You want me to stay out of your business?”
He extinguished another candle before lumbering to her desk. “Every now and then you surprise me and do something smart, little girl. First Hank, now Jake. Times I’ve thought about painting the killing floor like a chessboard, then setting you on one side, me on the other. But that would elevate you too much. You’re not an equal opponent, you’re one of the pieces I control.”
“Not anymore.” Rachael picked up her tote. “Get out of my way. I’m leaving.” She swung the straps onto her shoulder and walked around Daddy. The door was eight feet away, then five, then three, then her hand was on the doorframe and she had one foot in the hall when Daddy said:
“Going out to meet Jake at The Hideaway tonight? I don’t think so, little girl.”
He knows. Oh fuck me running, he knows everything.
Rachael stopped.
The blackbirds rose. The cicadas sang. They chased away every other thought in Rachael’s head. Daddy would always know. He would always make her do what he wanted. He would always hunt her down wherever she ran to and drag her back here to keep his secrets hidden.
Before the dark night fell in her head, Rachael grabbed for the little bit of light left in her soul. She remembered the way the mic felt in her hand, how it amplified her voice. The spotlight shining on her. The crowd clapping and cheering when she finished her song.
