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My foot tapped nervously on the floor as I waited for my father to appear. He always had a soft spot for me, but that was natural coming from a parent that was never around when I was growing up, or when my mother died. The moment I called him ‘Daddy’, I got whatever I wanted. Maybe I should be ashamed of that, but I wasn’t. I did what was necessary in times of need. I just always saved up those phone calls for really desperate situations. Landing myself in a bomb vest hadn’t seemed that dire, but going to live with a man that lived with a bunch of oversized toddlers definitely called for intervention.
“He’s going to be fine,” IRIS said, leaning back on the bed, eating popcorn.
He was spilling all over the sheets, which meant I was going to have butter-flavored skin tonight, and not because of something Eli and I got up to.
“I’m not worried about that,” I sighed, plopping down in the chair.
“Then why are you pacing so much?”
“Nothing,” I muttered, staring out the window. He promised he would be here by nightfall. I just had to pray our situation didn’t suddenly change in the next few hours.
A knock at the door had me standing upright. My heart pounded out of control as I waited for one of them to answer the door to the terrifying face of my father. Maybe this was a bad idea. I didn’t want to see any of them hurt, especially not Eli. I just didn’t want to be dragged back to the compound in Kansas and forced to clean toilets for the rest of my life.
Fox placed his hand on my shoulder. “Relax. We won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I winced at his gruff tone. Poor Fox. He had no idea who was coming for him. And while I was pretty sure Fox could handle himself, my father didn’t mess around. He nodded to IRIS, who had his gun out as he looked through the peephole.
“Who is it?”
“Simon.”
My shoulders sagged in relief. As much as I wanted my father to come, I wasn’t quite ready to face what was to come. I walked toward the door, ignoring IRIS’s glare as I put my hand on the doorknob.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s Simon,” I said. That pretty much summed up why I was answering the door.
“And you just want me to open it for a man that tried to kill you?”
“Do people in your business normally knock before they kill someone?”
“People in my business don’t kill. People inhisbusiness do,” he said, pointing the gun at the door.
“Right, but I already told you that he didn’t want to kill me.”
“That’s beside the point!” he hissed. “Why can’t you see that?”
“Because I have empathy.”
“Serial killers could have empathy. That doesn’t mean they won’t kill you.”
I pursed my lips at the ridiculous statement. Seriously, who was he trying to fool with that?
“Okay, maybe serial killers were a bad example,” IRIS huffed out.
“You think?”
“The point is, we can’t just open the door.”
I was getting really irritated now. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. “And you’re telling me that two crazy people like you and Fox can’t protect me against one man who couldn’t even stand to blow the bomb himself?”
“Nobody blows the bomb unless they live in the Middle East and are literally called suicide bombers!”
“And he’s not one, so you will be just fine stepping aside as I let my friend in.”
“Friend—” He scoffed, turning to face Fox. “You wanna help me out here?”
“Are we thinking acid or swinging from trees?”
