I spun around and practically spat at the man. “Shut the fuck up or I’ll make you shut the fuck up.”
Trooper snickered. “Promises, promises.”
“Princess, you have to listen to me. Those guys, they were--.”
I shook my head. “Have you taken your meds? I know it’s dinnertime. Have you taken them?”
Dad paused. “At a time like this? Stop worrying about me and start worrying about yourself. You’ve always been terrible at that, you know.”
I groaned as I rolled my eyes. “Just answer my question. Have you taken your meds? Are you hurt? Has Gordon come to see you at all?”
I felt something bury its way into the tendrils of my hair before a force stronger than my own willpower yanked my head back.
“Watch it,” Trooper warned.
I nodded my head quickly as Daddy kept rattling things off. “I haven’t seen Gordon, Princess, but this isn’t over. He’s going to get you back. You know he is.”
Trooper reached for the phone. “That’s enough. Give it here.”
I turned my back to him, trying to steal a few more seconds as my voice weakened with another set of tears. “You—haven’t heard from him at all today? He didn’t even come by?”
“No, Princess. Why?”
“Aaaaand, that’s enough of that,” Trooper said as he plucked the phone from my hand.
“Daddy! No! Give me that back! He still hasn’t answered me! Have you taken your meds!?”
“Princess? What are they doing to you? Take your hands off my daughter!”
“I love you, Daddy! Take your god damn medication!” I cried out in desperation as tears streaked my cheeks.
“I love you, Princess. Stay safe! Gordon will handle this, I promise!”
And as Trooper hung up the call, I watched him take the battery out of the back. My eyes widened as he kept taking the damn cell phone apart, piece by piece, dropping it to the ground at his feet. With every piece that fell, I realized just how much trouble I was in. They used burner phones. They sold weapons and used motherfucking burner phones, and as he stomped his boots into each and every piece, shattering them into unusable slivers, I felt the breath being ripped from my lungs.
“Guess that fiancée doesn’t really care about you after all,” Trooper said as he kicked the pieces of the phone at me.
I moved my hand mindlessly toward my back pocket. Maybe I’d get lucky. Maybe my cell phone was still on me. But, as my hand slid along the back pocket of my jeans, the smoothness of its form stole my breath away. I dropped to my knees and picked the small chunks of the burner phone into my hands, studying their lifeless form.
I was fucked.
And for the first time in my life, I wished for Death to take me quick.
5
TROOPER
“Jesus, does she ever fucking stop?” I hissed as I dropped my fork onto my plate.
Ranger shrugged as he continued shoveling dinner into his face. “Stop what?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t even play like you don’t hear that shit. Dutch?”
He sipped his soup with his free hand in his lap like the proper little lady he was. “I think it’s actually kind of nice.”
I blinked. “Nice?”
He didn’t bother looking at me as he took another slurp. “Yeah. Like Christmas music, or something.”
