Rick pressed his arm over my mouth to muffle the scream. “Shhhhhhhhh. Quiet down, Maddie, or I’ll rip your arm right off.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and ground my teeth together to keep from crying out again, but it was the hardest thing I’d ever had to do. The pain was excruciating. In the back of my mind I wondered where the patrolman was. How had Rick come into the house without being seen? Why was there no one to save me?
“I know what you’re thinking,” he told me. “You’re thinking, why doesn’t Rick kill himself? That would solve all his problems, wouldn’t it? But that would nullify the life insurance. My family would get zip. And here it is, Maddie, one minute to midnight, and I’m still alive.”
I was sobbing so much that it was hard to breathe. I thought I was going to pass out, and I prayed for it. I wanted to black out and not hear or feel one more thing.
“I’ll make you a deal, Maddie. Want to hear it?”
I didn’t reply, because I couldn’t. Rick started talking again anyway. “The deal is that we’ll watch the time together, and if the clock strikes midnight, and I’m still alive, then I get to finish what I started with you. You get to be my next little lamb, but I’m going to drag it out for as long as I can, because people who lie about such important things, well, they deserve to feel some pain, don’t you think?”
I shook my head; the terror and physical agony I felt was overwhelming. And then I heard a soft click as the big hand on my dad’s clock slid over the little hand and it began to chime softly. One chime…two chimes…three chimes…
I realized Rick was waiting out the chimes. He’d wait until exactly midnight to begin the real torture, and I was beyond desperate. I acted without thinking. A rush of adrenaline coursed through me and I remembered a move from a self-defense class I’d taken freshman year. Wedging my hand between the blade and my neck, I let my legs go limp, sinking down in Rick’s arms. He bent forward, and as he did I swiveled in a tight circle, relieving the pressure on my arm but taking a deep slice to my hand.
Ignoring the pain I focused on aiming my knee up into his groin and kicked him as hard as I could. With a loud grunt he let go of me and bent double. I took a step back, moving my weight to the other foot, and I kicked out at him again just as he swung his fist in an arc to punch me in the side of the head. We both reeled away from each other. I saw stars from the force of Rick’s blow and staggering back, I lost my footing and fell, slamming my head against the window. There was a second explosion of bright sparks behind my eyes, and shards of glass clinked to the ground. Searing heat erupted at the back of my scalp. I sank to the floor, knocking over the lamp next to Dad’s chair as I went.
Once on the floor, I didn’t think I could move or even breathe. I lay there, trying desperately to stay conscious. Dully, I was aware that the clock had finished chiming and across the room Rick was cursing and spitting with rage. He’d tripped over the ottoman and had fallen against the opposite wall. He held his left hand up, and I saw the handle of the knife sticking out of his palm.
I struggled to take a deep breath, and as I did, some of the stars crowding my vision dimmed. I took another shuddering breath and willed myself to move, but none of my limbs would cooperate. My good arm flailed next to me, and my legs only bent at the knees. I had no strength left to fight, and then the stars started to spark again and a wave of dizziness washed over me.
“You little bitch!” Rick screamed, gripping his wrist and rocking in pain.
I took a third deep breath and tried in vain again to get up, kicking my legs feebly. The world was fading in and out of darkness, and I fought as hard as I could to focus my eyes. In a haze I saw Rick lurch himself to a crouched position, baring his teeth at me, and then he pulled down hard on the handle of the knife. With a loud growl he freed it from his hand and then he started for me again. “You’re going to pay for that!”
I opened my mouth to scream, but only a hoarse whisper came out, and then there was a loud BOOM from the kitchen, like the door being kicked open, and from the light in there I saw a figure emerge. I blinked again as Rick turned toward the figure, raising the knife. I squinted through the fog and haze of my clouded vision, and suddenly, I saw my dad standing in the doorway, his black hair sleek and his blue eyes bright. He grinned at me, looking proud. Then he raised his arm to wave.
“Dad?” I croaked, drinking in the sight of him. “Daddy!” And then the most incredible thing happened. His waving hand made a loud popping sound. Then another. Then two more times. In front of me, Rick Kane dropped like a stone, and a red stain began to spread across the carpet like a burgundy stream.
I shut my eyes and fought another wave of dizziness, and when I opened them again I saw that Dad was gone, and in his place was Agent Faraday, holding a smoking gun. He holstered the weapon, pulled out his phone, and began to speak into it so rapidly that I couldn’t catch any of the words. As he talked he moved over to Rick, kicking the knife out of his hand before bending to check for a pulse. He stood up again, clicked off the phone, and rushed over to me, stooping low to try and pick me up, but I cried out when he touched my arm.
He backed away and looked me over. “Your arm’s out of the socket, Maddie,” he said gently. The pain in my shoulder began to flood back, and I whimpered.
“I can put it back in,” he said. “It’ll hurt like hell for a second, but you’ll feel a whole lot better after it’s done.” I nodded. If it would stop the terrible throbbing, I’d do anything.
Faraday gingerly sat me forward, lifted my arm above my head, and stood up. I was trying with all my might not to give in to a sob that would only cause more pain, and as I was concentrating on that, Faraday pulled up hard on my arm and there was a loud snap and I screamed.