The Ladykiller

by Martina Cole

  He was staring at the phones in his office, hoping that whoever had her would just ring him up and let him know she was OK. Then, once he had paid them off, and his Jessie was accounted for, he would hunt the bastards down like the fucking rabid dogs they were, and personally make sure that they never again put any other parents through such agony. He would take great pleasure in ensuring they disappeared from the world with as much pain and terror as physically possible.

  He was taking his daughter’s disappearance personally; whoever was behind it was trying to prove a point. Inside his head, he could not help wondering if his daughter was a part of it all. She was capable of anything, as he knew better than anyone. But he hoped that he was wrong. For all that had happened, he hated to think she was capable of trying to rip him off and, if she was trying to do that, he would personally make sure that everyone involved would be made aware of just how irritated their actions had made him.

  Jessie woke up once more, and she was immediately aware that there was somebody else in the room with her.

  It was still pitch dark. Still cold and damp. She knew that she couldn’t be the first to speak – her dad always told her: when in doubt, shut your trap. If you kept your own counsel, eventually the others would feel the need to explain themselves, and he had been right. She had learned that the hard way. So she didn’t say a word.

  She could hear the shallow breathing of whoever was now in the room with her and, more to the point, she knew that they could also hear her breathing. They would know that she wasn’t asleep anymore. She was very much awake. It was a terrifying experience. She had never once, in her whole life, needed to worry about someone else’s reactions to her or her antics. No matter what had happened to her, no matter what she had said or done, she had always known that her father would be in the background, and that was the reason why she would ultimately be safe no matter what. No one was willing to confront her, because that would mean they would have to deal with him. That was something no one in their right mind would even consider. It was her get-out-of-jail-free card, the reason she pushed everything as far as she could. It was why she had been able to fuck her father over again and again. He had always made sure that she was untouchable. She had always thought that she was invincible because of her father – it was something she relied on. No matter what she did, no matter how much trouble she had landed herself in, her father had always made sure that it had all gone away. It was something she had seen as another of his weaknesses, as another reason to do whatever she wanted. After all, no matter what she did, he bailed her out. He made sure that her actions did not infringe on his lifestyle in any way and that was what it was all about. She knew his reputation was everything to him. Well, she was his daughter, his only child, and she had made sure that his reputation as a parent was worth nothing. She had enjoyed that, enjoyed the knowledge that her actions had undermined him, and made him see that he was not worth anything really.

  But now she didn’t know what to think. She would have to play this one by ear. She was in serious trouble. Whoever was behind all this was not someone she knew personally.

  She was so scared. She wasn’t alone in this darkness, and she knew that she wasn’t going anywhere.