Kids laughed. A mother scolded a young child for attempting to go under the bar and get closer to one of the cages. Brack and I stood in the center of the primate exhibit. My phone chirped. It didn't startle me this time; I was too numb. "Yes."

"Walk over to the primate exhibit sign and you'll find another cell phone behind it. Exchange it for the one you're using. Have Mr. Jacobs leave his phone behind, too."

Brack followed me to the sign and I did exactly as told. The phone was there. I picked it up and lay mine down. "He said to leave yours, too." Brack took his from his jeans pocket and placed it beside mine. Thankfully, no one paid attention to us. I had no idea what we needed to do next. The phone in my hand vibrated. This time I clicked the call button without saying a word.

"Go to your left and keep walking on the path. Did you bring my present?" I carried a bag with the dress inside so both of Brack's arms would be free. He carried a gun in a hidden leg holster.

"Yes, it's in the bag."

"What does the adulterer think of this escapade?"

Most of what Leo said scared me or creeped me out. It wasn't calling Brack an adulterer that got to me, though. It was calling all his bullshit demands an escapade. It was really hard to keep the anger from my voice. "He cares about my father, too. He loves me and he doesn't want either of us hurt."

"Did you tell him he's going to die?"

I shouted into the phone finally losing my cool, "No, you bastard I didn't!"

The psychopath laughed. "Then I wonder if you'll be able to tell your father you choose him to die."

I lowered my voice so the clueless people around us stayed that way. "I choose neither of them. It's me you need to take this out on. My father and Brack did nothing to you." I hadn't realized I'd stopped walking.

"Keep going. You're almost there."

"Dammit, where are you?"

More laughter. "Go out the gate and get into the van."

There was a gate to the right that said 'Exit Only'. Brack held the gate for me to walk through. A white van waited at the curb. "It's a white Ford van," Brack whispered. I knew he was wired. He walked to the side door. The van's windows were dark and we could see nothing inside. Brack wasn't letting me go first. His team was here, we had to be safe. He reached out to the handle and opened the door. The loud staccato electric sound made me jump. Brack fell forward. A gun barrel pushed against the side of my head and I was pulled inside almost on top of Brack.

"Not a word from either of you. Here." Ty placed zip ties in my hand. "Put those around his wrists." He dug the gun farther into my head. "Mr. Jacobs, put your hands behind your back."

Brack didn't make a sound. He slowly rolled away from me and placed his hands behind his back.

"Do it now," Ty demanded. "Tighter," he said when I looped both ties and pulled.

With shaking hands, I pulled tighter. My eyes were adjusting to the shadows in the back of the van and I saw my father in the same position as Brack. Both men were turned away from me.

"You're driving. Move up front." He used the pressure of the gun to guide me. I climbed behind the wheel and placed the van in drive. "Follow the road." I did as he said even when he pulled the steering wheel and we followed the circle without driving out onto the main exit. Ten feet from where we were a moment ago, Ty lifted his hand to the van's visor and hit a button. Large vehicle gates opened back onto the zoo property. A sign beside the gate said, "Employee Entrance Only." I turned sharply and followed the path.

From the corner of my eye, I studied Ty or Leo or fuck head. I liked fuck head better. I'd never have recognized him. There was none of the sweet little boy left. The only problem I had was that he was simply ordinary. Not nice looking or ugly- just ordinary. Killers shouldn't look that way. I glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed Brack move slightly. I didn't think my father was conscious. I refused to give the possibility of him being dead a millisecond of thought.

I wondered where Sander and Molly were. I didn't know Brack had a female on his endless team of people. There was so much I didn't know. Would I ever have the chance to learn all Brack's secrets? I wanted that opportunity so badly it hurt.

"Pull up here and keep your hands on the steering wheel." Ty held a gun and a Taser. I knew he'd stunned Brack with it. I watched him move to the back of the van through the mirror. He searched Brack and found the gun. Ty pointed the barrel upward and expertly checked the chamber.

"For that, I'm making the decisions."

Everything happened at once. Brack kicked out, I flew up from my seat, and the gun went off. The loud bang rang in my ears. Smoke wafted through the van. A heavy shove to my chest sent me back against the front control console. He'd shot Brack. I saw Brack's foot jerk once before his entire body went motionless. Blood ran from a wound in his head. I came forward again.

The punch to my face had me flying back. The next thing I knew, Ty pulled me from the van and dragged me through a door leading into some type of building. It was dark inside and my tears didn't help. He'd shot Brack in the head. It happened so quickly we had no time to react.

I was in shock. This wasn't our plan. Brack said no one would die. Ty- just killed him. "You're going to hell," I said in a low, precise voice.

"Stop it." Ty shook me making my teeth rattle. "Your father is alive; he's only drugged. Here," he thrust the bag with the black dress into my arms. "Put this on."

Brack was dead and my father was alive. I wiped tears from my eyes and glanced around. We were in the back of an enclosure. I smelled animals. I concentrated on finding some kind of weapon. There was nothing, but I refused to give up hope.

"Undress and put it on," Ty roared. He tapped Brack's gun against his leg. I could still lose my father and somehow I needed to think of him instead of Brack. I couldn't care less about myself anymore.

I dropped the bag to the floor by my feet and pulled my t-shirt over my head. Ty shifted his eyes slightly. I could tell he didn't want to look at me, but he couldn't help himself. I reached behind me to unsnap my bra.

"No, leave it on, whore." His voice had dropped. I would swear it held desire.

I toed off my shoes and unsnapped my jeans shimmying them down my legs. I wasn't in a thong, but these panties were skimpy. Ty stared at them and I watched his Adam's apple move as he gulped in air. "Put the dress on."

Desire. He couldn't hide it. What a sanctimonious psychopath. I turned slightly, bent over, and made sure my ass displayed for his benefit. Three seconds. The thought started rolling through my mind like a mantra. Only one of us was leaving this room and to save my father it had to be me. Three seconds.

I lifted the dress and slowly looked at it. I turned it around so it faced the right direction. God it was ugly. Some woman from the eighteen hundreds would be right at home wearing it. I bent a little and watched Ty from the corner of my eye. A noise from the direction of the door made us both turn.

Brack stood there, blood running down his face as he held the doorframe. I attacked as Ty lifted the gun. I kicked the gun as I slammed my fist into Ty's throat. I didn't stop there. He bent forward and with a loud grunt, I smashed the heel of my hand into his nose. I grabbed his hair and jerked his nose into my knee feeling more cartilage give way. Blood sprayed everywhere. Ty's arms clamped around my legs and we went down. I hit my elbow hard but the pain didn't quite register. The gun fell on the floor a foot away from my hand. I rolled and scrambled to grab it. My fingers wrapped around the grip; the cold metal filling my palm. I pointed it at the man who destroyed so many lives. The look of shock on his face gave me no satisfaction. Pulling the trigger did. The tip of the barrel followed him to the floor. I pulled until clicking was the only sound in the room. Ty's sightless eyes stared into mine and I pulled the trigger again.

Click.