STALKED AND STOLEN

Chapter 10

“I got something else,” Tommy said. “You play?”

I looked up at him from my bag of crisps and saw him holding a pack of cards. After I get over the utter disgust at his blatant stealing, I lifted my hand and gave him a so so reply.

“I think the only thing I can play is solitaire. I don’t really have any friends to play with.” As soon as those words left my mouth I pulled a face of disgust at myself for saying it.

“How come?” He grabbed a bottle of beer and sat next to me. “You’re the daughter of Bill Walker, sure you’ve got many, many friends. People rend to levitate toward money, and people with it.”

“I guess I’m different then.”

He tore open the cards and stuffed the wrapper into his hoody pocket.

“Who needs friends when you got a family like yours, and enough money to end world hunger.”

“There are things money can’t buy.” I scoffed. He clearly had no idea about my life. “Money can also make you incredibly lonely.”

He stopped shuffling and looked up at me, straight into my eyes, like he was searching for something.

“So, this is about money? That’s why you took me, right?”

He ignored me and went back to shuffling the pack of cards.

“You want money?” I pushed.

“Enough of the questions. I can’t answer any of your questions, but I’m telling you, as long as everything goes to plan, you will return home.”

I sucked in my top lip and bit down in an attempt to shut myself up before I said something he didn’t like.

“So, you always been a kidnapper?” I said cockily and watched him deal the pack into half.

“No. My first time. Actually, I joined the army at sixteen. and went to prison when I was twenty for four years.”

“For what?”

“Self defence. I shouldn’t be telling you any of this.” He tapped his cards on his knee to straighten them up.

“I won’t tell anybody.”

“I know you won’t,  because if you do I’ll come find you.” His head stayed tilted down but his eyes shot up to look at me, and at the same time I felt a flutter in my stomach when his gaze met mine. I didn’t know why, but the thought of him coming to find me and ‘get’ me gave me a rush of excitement, and I had to put a lot of effort into giving my head a wobble and to stop being so ridiculous. God, what was wrong with me?

“So how’d you do four years if you did nothing wrong?”

“You ever heard of a one punch killer?”

My whole body leaned back in shock and my eyes widened so much they stung.

“You killed someone?”

“He attacked me. I hit back. He died.”

“But, you went to prison...”

“I was found guilty, then I appealed and my lawyers proved it was self defence.”

“Is that what your scars are off?”

He sat up straight and looked like he was chewing the inside of his lip. I wasn’t sure of he was annoyed at me.

“No. Which ones?”

Oh, wow. He had that many?

“Your back, and your neck.” I pointed out the places on my own body, as if would somehow help him locate his scars.