Now, if you stepped into the corridor, you'd never know three men died there. No one could slip in the blood and sue Forrest. Bonus.
Not surprising, none of the men carried ID, just themselves and a gun. Not even a phone between them. Forrest suggested they left at home, wherever that was, or tossed it away before they entered the building. Chances were, we'd never find it.
"You don't think we should hide?" Woody asked, sitting with his arms stretched across the back of the couch.
"I don't know," I admitted. I let out a long breath through my nose. "I'm trying to remember back when my life was normal,but I can't," I said. "I feel like nothing has ever been normal. How do I carry on like normal if I don't know what normal is?"
He frowned briefly. "I don't know. I think maybe mine was relatively ordinary before my half-sister disappeared."
"What was she like?" I asked. If he didn't want me to pry, he'd tell me to my face. If he wanted to share, he would.
"Bethany?" He glanced over at me before looking over toward the window. "She was mouthy, like you. Smart as fuck. She never took shit from anyone, not even me." He blinked slowly, a hint of grief in his eyes. "She was the best of us. Me, her and Mom."
"She must have been special," I said. "You never had a clue what happened to her?"
"Clues? Kinda," he said slowly. "Ideas but no proof."
"You think your father had something to do with it?" I knew he didn't want to consider the possibility. He'd had an uneasy relationship with his father, from what I gathered. They weren't close, but Wolfgang was still his flesh and blood.
You know what they say, though. You can pick your nose, but you can't pick your family. Or something like that.
"I wondered but I wasn't sure. Until I met you." Woody turned his face to look at me. "I'm starting to understand. He was a bigger asshole than I thought he was. I used to think he was disappointed in me. Like nothing I could do would be enough for him. Now I get it. It wasn't about me. It was about him. He was a prick."
"Yes, he was." I couldn't argue with that. Wolfgang was all of that and more.
"I make more sense," Woody continued. "Who else would have an asshole like me for a son, except another asshole?"
"You're not an asshole," I told him. I hated that that was the conclusion he'd come to. My parents were assholes too, but I turned out okay. Sort of.
He scoffed. "We both know that's not true. I practically put the ass into hole. What happened at the senator's place? It shouldn't have happened." He didn't need to explain what he was referring to.
"I don't remember us having a choice," I said carefully.
"There's always a choice." He rubbed a hand over his jaw. "I could have told him no. I should have said, ‘go fuck yourself’."
"What would have happened then?" I asked. "He would have had you killed." He would have blown his cover.
"I'm not that easy to kill," he said.
"You're that easy to kill if you're outnumbered five to one, and four of them have guns," I insisted. "I know you're a badass, but they would have overpowered you. Then, what would have happened if you were dead?"
"That prick would have forced himself on you." His jaw set angrily.
"Exactly. Better that it was you fucking me, not him raping me," I said. "I have some mad skills, but they don't include taking on five armed men by myself. I didn't have a lock-pick either."
"Do you know how to use one?" he asked.
"As a matter of fact…" I raised my finger in front of my face, lowered it again and added, "No."
"I'm going to teach you," he said, "I'm going to teach you how to pick locks, and use a gun so you don't hurt yourself. A knife too, and how to strangle someone with a necktie."
"You're going to teach me how to kill?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do." He nodded. "Let Leif and Forrest live their lives. You and I, we're going down into the basement, and I'm going to teach you everything I know about surviving. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to save yourself, even ifItry to kill you again."
"Is that something you're planning to do?" I asked. That seemed like the kind of thing a girl should know.
"No, but it never hurts to be prepared," he said. "I might pretend someday. Just to see how well you've learned." He pointed a finger gun at me. "You should be prepared."
