Family Ties (Rewritten)

The Hostage

Emily:

There was only one good thing that had come from the terrible news of Vincent's escape, and that was Cora spending more time with her godfather.  In the last week, Martin and Amy joined us for breakfast every morning, and one of them was sure to pick Cora up from school every afternoon. 

She spent an hour with them down at the police station, eating snacks and joking around with the entire force.  All of the police men and women knew and adored Cora, and they each swore to protect her and keep her....father....a secret from her.

"Someday I'm gonna be a police officer," Cora said, sticking her fork into her scrambled eggs.  "I'm gonna help people, just like you, Daddy Martin."

Martin smiled.  "If you become a police officer, there won't be any crime left in the world."

"Hmm, then I wouldn't get paid."

"Touché."

Amy took a bite of her toast.  "Not to mention, we would be out of the job.  We can't let Cora have all the fun, you know."

They both laughed, along with James.  There had been a lot of false laughter in the last few days.

It was worth it to keep the smile on Cora's face.

Martin shoveled his last bit of scrambled eggs and wiped his mouth with a paper towel.  "I'm going to come eat lunch with you today, Squirt."  He said, ruffling her hair.  "What do you want?  I can bring a broccoli sandwich, or perhaps some raw fish."

"Eeew!"  Cora wailed, "That sounds gross!"

"Fine.  How about a junior cheeseburger with no lettuce and tomato, just like you like it."

"Yay!"

Cora's smile faded for a moment, and she asked the question I knew would come soon.  "How come you have been spending so much time with me lately?"

My breath hitched in my throat.

Martin, however, was unfazed.  "Because I love you, you little hoodlum.  Why?  Are you getting tired of me already?  Because I was planning on taking you to the park to get some ice cream after school."

"Yay!!"  She bolted up from her chair and threw her arms around him.  "Of course I'm not tired of you, Daddy Martin!  I love you so much!"

James smiled at me, then glanced at his watch.  "I'd better hit the road."  He kissed Cora's forehead and shook both officers' hands.  "See you tonight."

"Bye, Daddy!"

"Go get your backpack, sweetie."  I said, picking up her plate.  "You don't want to be late."

"Yes, ma'am!"

She hummed a tune as she darted up the stairs.

Amy helped me clear the rest of the plates off of the table. Seeing the pistol holstered to her slacks gave me a huge sense of relief, knowing that Cora was always around someone who was armed.

My cellphone vibrated on the counter. 

"Awfully early for a phone call."  Martin said, eyeing me as I picked up the phone.

The number on the screen was unfamiliar.

I answered anyway.  "Hello?"

The call immediately disconnected.

"Who was that?"  Amy asked.

I shrugged.  "I don't know."

The phone vibrated in my hand.