The angel from hell took another drag on his cigarette, his features illuminated once more. A small frown played on his face, his full lips wrapped around the end of the cigarette, and I could imagine those lips, that mouth, could be twisted into a beautiful smile, if he wanted.
Another life, perhaps.
Because in this life, this man clearly had no reason or desire to smile. To spread love and happiness of any kind.
In this life, all he wanted was to hurt people. To hurt me.
He stood up slowly, swaying a little, and I realized he must have been drunk. He looked worried. His eyebrows pulled down like he was deep in thought.
“If you let me go now, my daddy won’t even care,” I whispered at him.
He paused, half falling into the wall, and turned back to look at me. My eyes had adjusted, and I could make out the hard angles of his jaw and the shadow of his beard across his chin.
“Just drop me off somewhere and go. I’ll tell him I went away for a few days. He’ll never even know,” I continued. “I swear to God, I’ll keep my mouth shut about all of this.”
“You’re just embarrassing yourself now, Penny.”
And I hated how good my name sounded on his wicked tongue. How each syllable seemed to have been made just for his mouth to speak. And I hated that he knew I was lying to him.
“How did you know?” I asked.
He rolled his shoulders, and I watched the muscles in his back move and stretch as I swallowed. “’Cause I do my homework on every job.”
“So that’s all I am to you? A job?”
“What else would you be?” he replied indifferently as he started back across the room.
“I’m a person,” I ground out, the words sticking in my throat. “I’m a person, and you have no right to do this.” My voice shook and I bit down on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from crying.
“A job’s a job until it’s done, and we’re nearly done here.”
He opened the door and sighed in the darkness.
“And then what?” I asked, almost too terrified to ask him.
“Then we’ll see. Go back to sleep.”
“Why were you watching me?” I asked.
He hung his head, and I wondered whether he’d answer or just walk away. I was betting on walking away, since he didn’t owe me an answer. So I was surprised when he looked back over his shoulder and replied.
“Go back to sleep, Penny.”
And there it was again—my name on his lips and a pull in my chest.
“It doesn’t have to be like this,” I said. “Maybe we can help each other.”
He closed the door behind him, ignoring me, and I listened to the lock slide back into place. I stared into the darkness, frustration and worry burrowing deep into my soul. The camera light blinked from the corner, and I wondered if he was watching me right then. That perhaps somewhere in the house, the dark angel was sitting watching me, wondering if there really was any way out of this situation, or if perhaps he’d have to kill me in the end.
After all, a job is a job until it’s not. And I had no doubt in my mind that if my daddy hadn’t paid for my freedom by then, he didn’t plan to pay at all.
And once the dark angel realized that, I was useless to him.
Perhaps that was what had led him to drink. To let his mask slip. To let himself open up enough to talk to me. He knew that time was running out too.
He knew he’d have to kill me soon.
~ 9 ~
