Emily’s eyes had grown big. She shied a little when Lucas stepped to the table, aware of his movements. Karina read fear in her daughter’s face and reached over to hold her hand. He’d given Emily no reason to fear him, yet she was clearly scared, almost as if she sensed on some primal level that he was a threat.
Lucas sat next to Karina, opposite of Daniel, and reached for the pancakes. She watched him load his plate: four pancakes, four links of sausage, six strips of bacon . . . The plate would hold no more. He pondered it, frustrated, then piled the apples atop the pancakes and drenched the whole thing in maple syrup.
It was good that she had made enough for ten people.
Lucas sliced pancakes with his fork, pierced a slice of the apple, and maneuvered the whole thing into his mouth. Karina sat on the edge of her seat, listening to the elevated tempo of her own heartbeat, watching him chew, and waited for him to throw the plate across the table. She wanted them to like the food; no, she desperately needed the three of them to like the food. Her survival depended on it.
Lucas swallowed. “Good,” he said and reached for more.
Karina slumped a little in her chair, unable to hide her relief.
“Good? It’s f**king divine,” Daniel said. “It’s the first decent meal we’ve had in weeks.”
Lucas leveled a heavy stare at him but said nothing.
“Mom,” Emily said.
“What, baby?”
“I left my backpack at Jill’s house. It has my school stuff in it.”
The three men ate, watching her.
“That will be okay, baby,” Karina said. “You have to change schools anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because we live here now and you’ll go to a special school.” The words came out painfully.
“Do I have to ride the bus?”
Karina swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. Acknowledging where they were was hard, as if she were driving nails into her own coffin. “No.”
“Why do we have to stay here?”
“This is where I work now.”
“Your mother is a slave,” Daniel said. “Lucas owns her.”
If only she could have reached across the table, she would have hit him with a closed fist so it would hurt. Karina forced neutrality into her face, pulling it on like a mask. Show nothing. Betray no weakness.
“Is a slave better than a payroll supervisor?” Emily asked.
“They’re not that different,” Karina lied. So many times before she had thought she worked like a slave, pulling in long hours, picking up project after project, perpetually behind, trying to get to the bottom of her to-do stack. She thought she had experienced the worst life could throw at her. All of it seemed so pointless now. Her memories belonged to someone else, a happier, flightier, younger person. She had a new life now and new priorities, chief of which was the welfare of her daughter. She had to keep Emily safe.
Emily poked her pancake with a fork. “What about the house? All our stuff is there . . . my Hello Kitty blanket . . .”
“We’ll get new things.” She cast a quick glance around the table but none of the three men said anything to break down her fragile promises.
“Will I get my own room?”
Karina looked to Lucas. Please. Don’t separate me from my daughter.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, his movements unhurried. “You have to stay at the main house. You can come to visit your mother on weekends. We’ll set up a room.”
“I want to stay with Mom.” Emily’s voice was tiny.
“You can’t,” Lucas said.
Emily bit her lip.
“You’ll have a good place at the main house. A room you’ll share with a nice girl. Toys. Clothes. Everything you need. If anybody tries to be mean to you, tell them you belong to Lucas. Everyone is afraid of me. Nobody will harm you.”
“No,” Emily said.
Lucas stopped eating. Karina tensed.
“Are you telling me no?” Lucas asked. His voice was calm.
Emily raised her chin with all of the defiance a six-year-old could muster. “I’m tired and I’m scared, and I’m not going. I’m staying with my mom. Are you going to yell at me?”
“No,” Lucas said. “I don’t need to.”
“You’re not my dad. My dad left.”
Lucas glanced at Karina.
“I’m a widow,” she said quietly.
“I’m not your father, but I’m in charge,” Lucas said. “You will obey me anyway.”
“Why?” Emily asked.
Lucas leaned forward and stared at Emily. “Because I am big, strong, and scary. And you are very small.”
“You’re not nice.” Emily held his gaze, but Karina could tell it wasn’t out of courage. Emily had simply frozen like a baby rabbit looking into the eyes of a wolf.
“It’s not a nice world and I can’t always be nice,” Lucas said. “But I will try and I won’t be mean to you without a reason.”
Karina put her hand on his forearm, trying to tear his attention away from Emily. It worked; he looked at her.
“Please.” It took all of her will to keep the tremble out of her voice. “Please let her stay.”
“I want to stay,” Emily said. “I’ll be good. I’ll do all my chores.”
“I’ll think about it,” Lucas said.
Chapter 4
A half hour later, breakfast was finished. The men rose one by one, rinsed their plates, and loaded the dishes and silverware into the dishwasher with surprising efficiency. Karina put the last of the food away. Henry had stepped out, but Daniel remained in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, watching her. Lucas loomed by the door, watching Daniel.
“Can I go outside?” Emily asked.
Karina paused. “I don’t think that is a good idea.”
“Why not?” Daniel arched an eyebrow.
“Because there are scary birds out there.”
“There are scary birds? What kind of scary birds?”
“It’s safe,” Lucas said. “The net keeps everything out.”
Karina remembered the bird’s body hitting the invisible fence. “What if she walks into this net?”
“She’d have to walk a mile and a half down the hill before she reached it,” Lucas said.
“I want to see the birds,” Emily said. “Please?”
It would get them out of the house, away from the men and out into the open. She could get a better look around. Maybe she would see a road, or a house, some avenue of escape. Karina wiped her hands with a towel and hung it on the back of the chair. “Okay. But we’re going to stay by the house.”