Come on, Daddy… As much as I want to jump up, I know better than to do that.
“Never assume it’s me coming into the room. You wait until I let you know everything is safe, you hear me?” Daddy explained the fourth time he had taken me on a mission.
“How will I know it’s safe?” I’d asked, confused.
“I’ll give you a codeword.” Daddy had paused to think about what that word would be before he smiled at me and said, “Your favorite dessert is a cinnamon roll, right? That will be the codeword then. If I say ‘cinnamon roll’, you’ll know you’re safe to come out of hiding.”
I bite the inside of my cheek as a shadow looms at the top of the steps. What I wouldn’t give for a cinnamon roll right now… My stomach grumbles in agreement. Daddy had warned me to fill up when we’d gone through the drive thru but at the time I hadn’t been hungry. Next time, I won’t make the same mistake. I’ll eat until my belly hurts.
The shadow is an outline of a man. At first I’m sure it’s Daddy and I smile. Is he testing me? Is that why he’s not coming down here right now, or why he hasn’t given me the codeword to let me know I’m safe? Probably. Well, I’ll show him that I’m his good girl. I won’t give him a reason to regret taking me away from Uncle Al.
As I stare at the shadow, though, I realize that’s not Daddy’s frame. This person’s shadow is taller than what Daddy’s would be and their shoulders are much wider. My heart stops. This isn’t Daddy… Immediately, my arm snaps out. My hand finds the small plug-in light and I yank it out of the socket with a swift tug. The basement goes utterly still.
The person standing at the top of the stairs either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care because there’s no reaction to the sudden absence of light. Judging by the sound of things, whoever is up there is struggling with something. There’s grunting and then the word “fuck” is repeated every once in a while.
I cringe against the wall, not sure what exactly I’m supposed to do now. Daddy never told me what to do in case someonefoundme. I bite the inside of my cheek and wait with baited breath to see what happens.
“What?” someone growls.
There’s a raspy noise that follows. I can’t quite figure out what it is but the stranger at the top of the stairs seems to understand it because he says, “You want me to saywhat? Why? Fuck, okay, okay calm down!” There’s a heavy sigh before the male voice calls down, “Cinnamon roll…?”
The codeword doesn’t come from my daddy, nor is it said with much confidence. Does this still count? I don’t know. I bite the inside of my cheek and decide not to move. Maybe they’ll go away and Daddy will appear.
That’s not what happens.
The man who uttered the codeword grunts, curses, and then suddenly begins to make his way down the stairs. Each step is heavy and ominous. I can almost make out that there’s something over the man’s shoulder. It’s large and shapeless. Is whatever they’re carrying down here causing their steps to be so heavy? Who is this? Why are they coming down here? Why are they swearing so much? I curl up tighter and hold my breath. What happens now?
“Light switch… on the wall… to your… right.”
My ears perk up at the sound of Daddy’s voice.
A second later, the dark around me vanishes. The single lightbulb hanging in the middle of the large, empty basement shines its white light over the space, momentarily blinding me. As I blink the room back into focus I catch sight of the biggest man I’ve ever seen. I cower against the wall in horror as I take in his bloody gray shirt, camouflage pants, the two guns strapped to his waist band and heavy duty boots. He’s a giant with wide shoulders, blond hair that’s buzzed down real short to his scalp,clean shaven and mean looking. The dark scowl on his face is paired with the hard press of his mouth and dark glare as his gaze sweeps over the room.
I try to make myself as small as possible, hoping he won’t notice me. My hope is in vain. When the giant’s eyes land on me, his whole body tenses up. His brows fly upward and eyes widen.
“What—and I cannot stress this enough—thefuckis this, Anchor?” the man demands.
That’s when I notice my daddy flung over the man’s shoulder. The stranger lowers Daddy to the dirt floor with a gentleness I don’t expect from such an intimidating person before he straightens and looks back at me.
My dad coughs and groans as he turns his head to look at me. The pain etched into his face is hard to miss. As big and as impenetrable as my daddy seems, somehow someone got the best of him. I gasp at the sight of blood staining his shirt and covering his face and bare arms.
“That’s my little helper,” my dad wheezes before shooting me a pained smile. “Come here, Blair. Bring… bring the first aid kit.”
My gaze darts from my dad’s broken form on the ground to the massive mountain of a man who’s openly gaping at me.
“Please tell me you didn’t kidnap her, Anchor,” the stranger says, his voice strained.
My daddy, who this man keeps calling Anchor, chuckles weakly. “Nah, she’s my kid. Come here, Blair. We need your help.”
“Yourkid?” The man repeats, incredulously. “Since when do you have a kid?”
“R-remember when I told you about that girl I knocked up before I-I joined the service?” my daddy bites out.
“Yeah, but I thought you gave up your rights?” The giant man looks from my daddy, to me, then back to him. “Don’t tell me thatthisis the kid?”
Daddy’s eyes close for a second as he nods. When he opens them, he says, “Yup.”
“Why is she here and not with her mom? Don’t tell me this is some sort of custody agreement?—”
