I sat on the floor right next to the stain of my wife’s blood and pulled a spare pair of batteries from my pocket. I always carried spares. Old habits. I swapped the batteries. The screen flickered to life. Folder A1 file. Date yesterday. Time 7:42 p.m. My thumb hovered over the play button. I was terrified.
I have breached compounds with terrorists waiting on the other side. And my heart rate never went above 60. Right now, it was hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. I didn’t want to hear her pain, but I had to. I pressed play. Static. The sound of a door opening. Not kicked in. Open with a key. Then the voice. Smooth. Arrogant.
Hello, sweetheart. Daddy’s home. It was Victor. Then the sound of boots. many boots. The heavy thudding of a pack entering the room. Dad. Tessa’s voice. She sounded surprised but not shocked. She sounded resigned. I told you not to come here, Victor. You don’t tell me where to go, Tessa. Victor said, we own this town.
