melt. That’s exactly how Gabriel likes them. Though it didn’t work out so hot for the last actress he became obsessed with.’ He laughed, then got up. He produced a gag from his pocket and tied it around my mouth.
We sat like that for thirty or forty minutes, him not speaking, me unable to speak. Whenever I looked around, or even glanced up, he would snap at me, telling me to keep my eyes on my lap. I no longer thought of him as the boy next door. His good looks masked something rotten. While we waited, he treated me to a litany of all the things Gabriel was probably doing to Ruth right now, like he was reading off a list of PornHub keywords. I did my best to tune out, to let the filth wash over me. I think he saw it as a minor punishment for all the trouble I’d put him through. Or maybe he was just doing it to stave off boredom.
And then came the unmistakeable sound of someone turning a key in the door.
‘Don’t move,’ Emilio whispered, getting up quickly. ‘Make any kind of noise and I’ll fucking hurt you. Your girlfriend too.’
He went into the hallway just as I heard the door open.
‘Surprise,’ I heard Emilio say.
A moment later, they appeared in the living room – Callum first, then Emilio behind him, the gun pressed into his spine. Callum had his hands up but his eyes darted around. I wondered if he had his gun on him, but then noticed Emilio was holding it in his other hand.
‘Sit down,’ Emilio said, nodding towards the chair he’d been sitting in.
Callum obliged. He shot me a searching look and I wanted to tell him about the tracking device in Krugman’s phone, but of course I couldn’t.
‘I’ve heard so much about you,’ Emilio said to Callum.
‘I’m sure,’ Callum replied, darting another look in my direction.
‘Yeah. I’ve heard all about what an asshole you are.’ He raised his gun and pointed it at Callum’s forehead. ‘This is from Eden,’ he said.
Callum was calm. He stared at Emilio as if daring him to do it.
‘Eden? How is she?’ Callum asked. ‘How is my daughter?’
Chapter 36
The van’s rear doors opened and two pairs of arms – Emilio and the man he had called for assistance – threw me inside. I landed on my front, scraping my cheek on the metal floor. My wrists were still cuffed behind my back and I lay still for a moment, gathering my breath before rolling on to my side and struggling into a sitting position.
‘Are you all right, son?’ said Callum, who was over in the corner of the van, behind where the driver would be.
I was still reeling from what he had said. How is my daughter? ‘Why didn’t you tell me that you’re Eden’s dad?’
The van lurched into motion, sending me rocking backwards, only just able to keep my balance. Nearby, a car engine started up, presumably Emilio. And then we were moving.
After lowering the gun, Emilio had laughed in Callum’s face. ‘Don’t worry, Dad. I’m not going to shoot you. I wanted to see if you’d piss your pants. Eden wants to kill you herself.’
‘She knows I’m looking for her?’ Callum had asked.
‘Of course she does.’ Emilio had taken a couple of steps away, then had second thoughts. He’d gone back and spat in Callum’s face. ‘That’s from me, for Krugman. But also for what you did to Eden. You deserve everything that’s coming your way.’
He had gone into the other room and made a call, then come back and switched on the TV, settling on ESPN, where two men were talking about baseball. Despite everything, I noticed that the show caught Callum’s interest.
‘We’re staying here till sunset,’ Emilio had said.
Now, in the van, I repeated my question to Callum, adding, ‘Why did you lie to me?’
‘Because I didn’t think you’d help me if you knew Eden was my daughter. I knew that you blamed Eden, or would soon blame her, for making off with your girlfriend. I needed you to think we were in exactly the same situation.’
I tried to wrap my head around this. I remembered the story Callum had told me the day he’d stopped me from being run over. The story about raising his daughter on his own after his wife died. He’d said that his daughter, Sinead, had met Eden and run off with her to join the cult. ‘Did you make up the part